Musical Poetry Terminology
Mrs. A. Rotker
Weak and weary
Assonance – The repetition of vowel sounds followed
by different consonants in two or more stressed
syllables. It is found in the phrase “weak and weary” in
Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.”
Weak and weary
consonance – The repetition
of similar consonant sounds
at the ends of accented
syllables.
The repeated t and ch
sounds in “the spurt of a
lighted match” create
consonance.
It is used to create musical
effects and to emphasize
particular words.
Poetry- One of three major types of literature; the
others are prose and drama. Highly concise, musical ,
and emotionally charged language. May include
imagery, figurative language and rhyme.
Prose- Ordinary form of written language which
occurs in fiction or non-fiction. This writing is
not poetry, drama or song.
Repetition – The use of
any element of
language- a sound,
word, phrase, clause, or
sentence – more than
once. Alliteration,
assonance, rhyme, and
rhythm are repetitions
of certain sounds and
sound patterns.
BANG!
Onomatopoeia – The use of words that imitate
sounds. Whirr, thud, sizzle, and hiss are typical
examples. Writers can deliberately choose words
that contribute to a desired effect.
BANG!
Rhyme – The
repetition of
sounds at the ends
of words.
Meter – A poem’s
rhythmical pattern.
The pattern is
determined by the
number and types of
stresses, or beats, in
each line.
Couplet- A pair of
rhyming lines,
usually of the same
length and meter. It
generally expresses
a single idea.
Stanza- Unit of a poem often repeated in the same form
throughout a poem; a unit of poetic lines often separated
by spaces. Sometimes named for number of lines in
them (couplet=two line stanza, tercet=three lines,
quatrain=four lines,etc.)
Roses are red
Violets are blue
Sugar is sweet
And so are you!
Alliteration – The repetition of initial consonant
sounds. Writers use alliteration to give emphasis
to words, to imitate sounds, and to create musical
effects.
Study so these words are music
to your ears.
Mrs. A. Rotker