Poetry Terms
Alliteration
The repetition of the beginning
consonant sound in several
words.
Allusion
When an author refers back to
other events, people, or works
of literature/art in history.
Analogy
Comparing two different things
to point out how they are
similar.
Apostrophe
When a writer speaks directly
to an idea, quality, object, or
person who is not there.
Assonance
The repetition of similar vowel
sounds throughout several words,
usually followed by different
consonant sounds (life/bride)
Conceit
An unusual comparison between
two very different things, and is
usually the subject of an entire
poem.
Consonance
The repetition of similar consonant
sounds throughout several words,
often with unmatched vowel sounds
(flip/flop) (willy’s tower wowed them)
Dialect
A regional variety of language
marked by odd grammar and
pronunciation (Ya’ll).
Dialogue
Speech between two or more
characters in a poem; spoken
words are often set off by
quotations.
Dramatic Poetry
Poetry that when read is like
watching a dramatic event
because more than one character
speaks.
Dramatic Irony
A contradiction between what
a character thinks and what
others know to be true.
End Rhyme
The most used type of rhyme
where rhyming words occur at
the end of a line of poetry.
Feminine Rhyme
When the last 2 syllables of
several words rhyme at the
end of several lines:
Ex:
I once had a little bunn(y),
His ears were kind of funn(y).
Figurative Language
Speech not meant to be taken
literally; it’s used to create
vivid pictures.
Free Verse
Poetry without regular rhythm
or line length that has no
rhyme scheme.
Hyperbole
A deliberate exaggeration or
overstatement not meant to be
literal
Imagery
Descriptive language that appeals
to the senses, making the
reader have a sensory
experience.
Internal Rhyme
Rhyme occurring within a line
or lines of poetry.
Ex: she could tell by the bell.
Ex: at the light of day
there was a slight mistake.
Irony
A surprising, unusual, or
interesting contradiction (an
opposite).
Line
A horizontal row of words
which may form a complete
sentence.
Lyrical Poetry
Poetry that expresses intense
personal feelings through
imagery.
Masculine Rhyme
words with 1 stressed syllable
rhyming at the end of several
lines. Ex: Today was the best.
I passed the big test.
Metaphor
An implied comparison between
unlike things without using like
or as.
Ex: That boy has the manners of a pig.
Meter
A regular pattern of stressed &
unstressed syllables that sets
the rhythm or music of a poem.
Metonymy
A figure of speech that substitutes
something closely related for what
is meant.
Ex: The office just buzz the classroom.
(The office is understood to be the secretary.)
Musical Devices
Sound devices that poets use
to make a poem sound a
certain way: alliteration, assonance,
consonance, onomatopoeia, repetition, refrain
Narrative Poetry
A poem that tells a story and
has characters, plot, setting,
conflict, climax, pt. of view,
resolution, etc
Onomatopoeia
Using words that imitate or
suggest actual sounds.
Ex: Boom, whisper, meow
Oxymoron
A figure of speech that combines
opposite ideas…
(icy hot, jumbo shrimp)
Paradox
A statement that appears to
present opposite ideas, but
presents an overall truth.
Personification
Giving non-human or inanimate
objects human characteristics.
Petrarchan Sonnet
An Italian sonnet of 14 lines
that is divided into an octave
and sestet. The octave asks a question
or states a problem, while the sestet
answers the question or solves the problem
The rhyme scheme is always ABBAABBA
for the octave, while the sestet uses
some form of CDE CDE.
Poetry
An expressive form of writing
that is meant to be enjoyed.
Quatrain
A stanza containing four lines
of poetry.
Repetition
When a word, phrase, line, or
stanza is repeated at least twice
in a poem. Not to be confused with REFRAIN which is
a phrase repeated throughout a poem, typically in the last line of
each stanza.
Rhyme
The repetition of same stressed
sounds in two or more words.
ex: Sue / blue
Rhyme Scheme
The pattern made by words
rhyming at the end of each
line in a poem.
Rhythm
Pattern of sound made by
stressed & unstressed syllables
in language (each meter type has
its own rhythm).
Shakespearean Sonnet
An English sonnet, also called an
Elizabethan sonnet, whose 14 lines
consist of 3 quatrains and a couplet
(rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg)
Simile
A direct comparison using like
or as to compare two unlike
things.
Situational Irony
When an event occurs that is
opposite of what was expected.
Sonnet
14 line lyric poem, usually in
iambic pentameter with 1 or 3
typical rhyme schemes:
Shakespearian, Petrarchan, Spenserian
Speaker
The voice of a poem; it can be
the poet’s, a character’s, or
an object’s.
Stanza
A group of lines in poetry that
form a unit, like a paragraph.
Symbol
Anything that stands for or
represents something else
beyond the obvious meaning.
Synecdoche
A figure of speech that uses a part
of something to stand for the
whole.
Ex: All hands on deck! (hands are part of
a person’s body.)
Tone
The speaker’s or narrator’s
attitude towards a poem’s
subject.
Verbal Irony
Using words that suggest the
opposite of their actual meaning.
Ex: Oh that’s just great that Tim isn’t
going!
Verse
The form that poetry is
written in which includes meter
and rhyme.