Poetry
Terms to Know
Stanza
A chunk of lines that is grouped together in a poem.
(Like the poetry version of a paragraph.)
Enjambment
When a line breaks before the end of the sentence.
Example:
No enjambment: So much depends upon a red wheel barrow.
With enjambment: So much depends upon
a red wheel barrow.
Rhymes
• End rhyme– a rhyme that occurs at the end of a line
• Internal rhyme– a rhyme that occurs within a line (before the end of the
line)
“No thing I do don’t no thing
But bring me more to do
It’s true
I do
Imbue my blue
Unto myself
I make it bitter”
-Fiona Apple, “On the Bound”
Rhyme Scheme
A regular pattern of rhyme.
Example:
I do not like green eggs and ham.
I do not like them, Sam I Am.
I do not like them in a boat.
I do not like them with a goat.
I do not like them in a house.
I do not like them with a mouse.
A
A
B
B
C
C
Repetition
A sound, word, phrase, or line that is repeated for emphasis or
structure.
Assonance
Repetition of vowel sounds in words without the same consonants at
the end.
Example:
Mountain sound
What sound is repeated?
Consonance
Repetition of consonant sounds within and at the end of words.
Example:
The short toddler battered the shutters.
What consonant is repeated?
Diction
The author’s choice and use of words, usually for a meaningful
purpose.
Example: How does the following sentence’s diction affect its mood?
Bouncing into the room, she lit up the vicinity with a joyous glow on
her face as she talked about her fiancé and their wedding plans.
Form
Refers to the structure, arrangement of words on the page, where lines
break, use or lack of punctuation, etc. The way the poem is set up.
Types of Poetry
• Traditional– form is highly structured with set rules to follow.
Examples- sonnets, haiku, limericks, odes.
• Free Verse– form does not have a set structure, rhythm, or rhyme
scheme. Many free verse poems don’t rhyme at all.
Remember Figurative Language
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Metaphors
Similes
Personification
Alliteration
Onomatopoeia
Pun
Oxymoron
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Imagery
Extended metaphors
Hyperboles
Repetition
Consonance
Assonance