Poetry Terms
Terms
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- Blank verse
- is a type of poetry, distinguished by having a regular meter, but no rhyme
- third person
- referring to anything or to anyone other than the speaker or the one being addressed
- Elegy
- poem which is a reflection on the death of someone
- euphemism
- an expression intended by the speaker to be less offensive, disturbing, or troubling to the listener than the word or phrase it replaces
- symbol
- are objects, characters, or other concrete representations of ideas, concepts, or other abstractions
- Consonance
- Repetition of two or more consonants but has different vowels, for example, the "i" and "a" followed by the "tter" sound in "plitter platter"
- Stanza
- an arrangement of a certain number of lines, usually four or more, sometimes having a fixed length, meter, or rhyme scheme, forming a division of a poem
- End-stopped line
- A poetic line that has a pause at the end
- proverb
- a short popular saying
- narrative voice
- describing a story or account of events
- onomatopoeia
- a word or a grouping of words that imitates the sound it is describing
- Connotation
- the associated or secondary meaning of a word or expression, implied
- Trochee
- a metrical foot used in formal poetry. It consists of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one
- simile
- is a comparison of two unlike things, typically marked by use of "like", "as" or "than".
- paradox
- a statement that seems false but in reality is a possible truth
- Volta
- turn; time
- point of view
- the position of the narrator in relation to the story
- colloquial
- involving or using conversation
- Italian Sonnet
- consisting of an octave with the rhyme scheme abbaabba and of a sestet with one of several rhyme schemes, as cdecde or cdcdcd.
- hyperbole
- obvious and intentional exaggeration
- rising action
- a related series of incidents in a plot that build toward the point of greatest interest
- denotation
- the direct meaning of a word or expression
- Cacophony
- refers to sound that is harsh and unpleasant-sounding
- diction
- style of speaking of writing as dependent upon choice of words
- In media res
- is a literary technique where the narrative starts in the middle of the story instead of from its beginning
- Meter
- poetic measure; arrangement of words in regularly measured, patterned, or rhythmic lines or verses
- Dramatic monologue
- which a character in fiction or in history delivers a speech explaining his or her feelings, actions, or motives
- Feminine Rhyme
- is a rhyme that matches two or more syllables at the end of the respective lines (painted, passion, acquainted, fashion)
- personification
- figure of speech that gives non-humans and objects human traits and qualities
- Quatrain
- a poem or a stanza within a poem that consists of four lines
- Ode
- a lyric poem typically of elaborate or irregular metrical form and expressive of exalted or enthusiastic emotion
- Masculine Rhyme
- is a rhyme on a single stressed syllable at the end of a line of poetry (thee, phy/ spent, went)
- Cadence
- rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds or words
- metaphor
- an indirect comparison between two or more seemingly unrelated subjects. "is a"
- Assonance
- is the repetition of vowel sounds in non-rhyming words as in, "some ship in distress that cannot live."
- Refrain
- is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse
- litotes
- understatement
- Couplet
- a pair of successive lines of verse that rhyme and are of the same length
- tone
- the quality of a person's voice
- apostrophe
- when a speaker or writer breaks off and directs speech to an imaginary person or abstract quality or idea
- character
- a person represented in a drama
- End Rhyme
- a rhyme that occurs in the last syllables of verses
- Pentameter
- a line of verse consisting of five metrical feet
- Free verse
- is a term describing various styles of poetry that are not written using strict meter or rhyme
- Internal Rhyme
- internal rhyme or middle rhyme, is rhyme which occurs within a single line of verse (Fingertips on the hip as i dip)
- Foot
- the basic unit in their description of the underlying rhythm of a poem
- Alliteration
- is a structuring device characterized by the reiteration of the initial consonant at the beginning of two consecutive or slightly separated words. Always avoid annnoying alliteration
- voice
- expression in spoken or written words
- Iambic Pentameter
- An iambic foot is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. da DUM
- Octave
- a group of eight lines of verse, esp. the first eight lines of a sonnet in the Italian form
- understatement
- is a form of speech in which a lesser expression is used than what would be expected
- connotation
- an idea or meaning associated with a word or thing
- limited
- an inability to think imaginatively or independently
- Synaesthesia
- The description of one kind of sense impression by using words that normally describe another
- Iamb
- a short syllable followed by a long syllable (as in i-amb)
- Lyric
- a form of poetry that does not attempt to tell a story, more personal
- Pentameter
- a pentameter is a line of verse consisting of five metrical feet
- Caesura
- a term to denote an audible pause that breaks up a line of verse
- Persona
- the term is sometimes used in the criticism of poetry and fiction to refer to a "second self"
- first person
- a speaker referring to himself or herself
- theme
- a subject of discourse
- Controlling image
- a literary device employing repetition so as to stress the theme of a work or a particular symbol.
- Dissonance
- is the deliberate avoidance of assonance
- External Rhyme
- the last syllable in the last word of each line in a stanza rhymes
- objective
- not influenced by personal feelings
- Epic
- a long poetic composition, usually centered upon a hero, in which a series of great achievements or events is narrated in elevated style
- omniscient
- having complete knowledge or awareness
- Scansion
- Scansion is the analysis of poetry's metrical and rhythmic patterns
- Dirge
- A mournful or elegiac poem or other literary work
- Euphony
- a pleasant sounding or harmonious combination or succession of words
- stream-of-consciousness
- thought regarded as a succession of ideas and images constantly moving forward in time
- slang
- very informal usage in vocabulary
- unlimited
- boundless
- allusion
- The act of alluding; indirect reference
- anecdote
- a short account of a particular incident
- Conceit
- an extended metaphor with a complex logic that governs an entire poem or poetic passage
- dialect
- a language considered as one of a group that have a common ancestor
- synecdoche
- a term denoting a part of something is used to refer to the whole thing
- Enjambment
- is the breaking of a a phrase by the end of a line or between two verses (opp. is end-stop)
- dialogue
- conversation between two or more persons