Poetry Terms
Directions: Find the definitions of each of the following poetry terms, and then look through the poems in your
book to find an example of each. Remember: poor handwriting can result in zeros. (These are the terms given
out by the GA DOE and may appear on your EOCT!)
Terms
Definition
1. Onomatopoeia
Circle which type of device
this is:
Musical –or- Figurative
Onomatopoeia is the use of words
that__________________________
___________________. Writers can
deliberately choose words that
contribute to a desired sound effect
R12
2. Hyperbole
Circle which type of device
this is:
Musical –or- Figurative
A hyperbole is a deliberate
exaggeration or_____________
______________________.
Hyperboles are often used for
________________ _____________.
R10
3. Alliteration
Circle which type of device
this is:
Musical –or- Figurative
Alliteration is the repetition of the
same letter or ________________ at
the ___________________ of
adjacent or closely connected words.
Writers use alliteration to give
emphasis to words, to imitate sounds,
and to create __________________
effects.
R6
4. Metaphor
Circle which type of device
this is:
Musical –or- Figurative
A metaphor is a figure of speech in
which one thing is spoken of as
though it were
______________________
___________. Unlike a simile,
which compares two things using like
or as, a metaphor implies a
comparison between them.
R10
5. Simile
Circle which type of device
this is:
Musical –or- Figurative
A simile is a figure of speech in
which ______________ or________
is used to make a comparison
between two basically
____________________ ideas.
R13
Example
6. Personification
Circle which type of device
this is:
Musical –or- Figurative
Personification is a type of figurative
language in which a
_______________________ subject
is given _________________
characteristics.
R12
7. Rhyme Scheme
Circle which type of device
this is:
Musical –or- Figurative
A rhyme scheme is a regular
________________ on rhyming
words in a poem. The rhyme scheme
of a poem is indicated by using
different letters of the alphabet for
each new __________________. In
an aabb stanza, for example, line 1
rhymes with l line 2 and line 3
rhymes with line 4.
R13
8. Free Verse
Free verse is poetry not written in a
regular _____________________
pattern or meter. Free verse seeks to
capture the rhythms of
_________________.
R9
9. Lyric Poem
A lyric poem is a highly musical
verse that expresses the observations
and feelings of a single
___________________. In ancient
times, lyric poems were sung to the
accompaniment of the lyre, a type of
stringed instrument. Modern lyric
poems are not usually
_________________. However, they
still have a musical quality that is
achieved through rhythm and other
devices such as alliteration and
rhyme.
R10
10. Rhyme
Circle which type of device
this is:
Musical –or- Figurative
Rhyme is the repetition of sounds at
the ends of words. End rhyme occurs
when the rhyming words come at the
________________ of lines.
R12
11. Internal Rhyme
Circle which type of device
this is:
Musical –or- Figurative
Internal rhyme occurs when the
rhyming words appear in the
________________ line.
R12
12. Haiku
Circle which type of device
this is:
Musical –or- Figurative
A formulaic poem following this
form:
____________ syllables
____________ syllables
____________ syllables
13. Narrative Poetry
A narrative poem is one that tells a
_______________.
R11
14. Allusion
Circle which type of device
this is:
Musical –or- Figurative
A ________________________ to a
well-known piece of artistic or
literary work
15. Ballad
Songlike narrative about adventure or
_______________________.
16. Blank Verse
Consists of unrhymed lines of
_______________ pentameter
(___________ syllables with the
second, fourth, sixth, eighth, and
tenth syllables accented).
17. Assonance
Repetition of _________________
sounds
18. Consonance
Repetition of
_____________________ sounds
19. Diction
How the poet chooses
_________________ carefully
20. Enjambment
When a line from a poem continues
to the next line without using a
natural or grammatical
_____________________.
21. Sonnet
A _________________-line lyric
poem with formal patterns of rhyme
rhythm, and line structure.
- 3 quatrains
- Final ___________________
- ababcdcdefefgg
22. Imagery
Descriptive language used to create
pictures in the reader’s mind. Think
“_________________
_______________ ______________”
and appeal to the five senses
23. Irony
The _________________________
of what is expected occurs