English 274: Literary Genres and Periods Spring 2001 Poetry / Literary Terms List Abstractions—Words with no concrete reality or image Truth or beauty Accent – strong syllable, or syllables, in a word – the word we emphasize with breath and tone when spoken out loud Accent - The strong syllable. Alliteration: the repetition of the same sounding letters Apostrophe – to address something intangible or someone not commonly spoken to. Ex. Wilson in Castaway. Apostrophe—Speaking to something that is inanimate “Death be not proud” (John Donne) Assonance: the repetition of vowel sounds within a phrase. Ex. “Opacity opens up rooms.” Closed form – traditional poems –Rhyme, meter, - Traditional form Connotative—Associated meanings What the word connotes (associated meanings) “Gay”—happy or a sexual preference, can take on the connotative meaning “gay” being used to say something is dumb, silly or absurd. Denotative—What a word denotes Dictionary meaning Diction—Language that the writer chose End rhyme: The words at the end of the line rhyme. End-stopped: The meaning of the line comes to a definite end. Ex. “I long to hear love’s gentle tune. I only mourn its end soon.” Enjambed: The meaning does not end, but continues on to the next line. Ex. “Oh to feel the soft, soft touch of spring/ again, and the April softness it will bring.” Eye Rhyme: tow words that look as though they would sound alike but when spoken, sound different. Ex. Tough, though. Feminine rhyme: The accent is on the weak syllable. Ex. Reason, season. Figurative Language – using similes or metaphors to describe something Free verse – no special pattern in poetry (“Contantly Risking Absurdity”; Lawrence Ferlinghetti – pg 605) Hyperbole – exaggerated statements that we do not really intend to be taken for the truth. Ex. “I’ll kill him!” Imagery—Images within a poem Visual Imagery—Words used to describe things that we can see Aural Imagery—Descriptions of things we hear Tactile Imagery—Describe things we can touch Gustatory Imagery—Words that describe taste Olfactory Imagery—Words used to describe a smell Initial alliteration: the first letter that is repeated and the letter is a consonant. Ex. “Susan sat sewing on her sisters smock.” Internal rhyme: Rhyme is in the middle of the line as well as in the end. Ex. “The splendor falls on castle walls. Literal Language – using the exact meaning of a word to describe something Masculine rhyme: The accent on the rhyming words are on the final strong syllable. Ex. Stay, away. Metaphor—indirect comparison “Men are Dogs” METER Meter – the pattern set up by the regular rhythm of a poem Foot – one unit of the rhythmic pattern that makes up the meter Monometer – one foot Dimeter – two feet Trimeter – three feet Tetrameter – four feet Pentameter – five feet Hexameter – six feet Heptameter – seven feet Octameter – eight feet Iamb – a weak and a strong syllable pattern Iambic meter – a line with weak-strong, weak-strong pattern Trochee – strong and weak syllable pattern Trochaic meter – a line with strong-weak, strong-weak pattern Anapest – a rhythmic foot of two unaccented syllables followed by a strong syllable Anapestic Meter – a line with weak-weak-strong accents… Dactyl – a rhythmic foot with a strong syllable followed by two weak syllables Dactylic Meter – a line with strong-weak-weak accents Caesura – a break in the meter, it stops and starts up somewhere in a line – natural flow of speech Anacrusis – an unstressed syllable at the beginning of a line that does not affect the overall meter Iambic Pentameter – a series of 5 iamb patterns…weak-strong, weak-strong….(William Shakespeare) Trochaic Octameter – 8 syllable line – strong-weak pattern (“The Raven”, E. A. Poe) Spondee – two strong accents together Pyrrhus – two weak accents together Rising meter – two feet that begin with a weak syllable, iambic and anapestic Falling meter – two feet that begin with a strong syllable, trochaic and dactylic Blank verse – form that utilizes the oratorical style of a long line in regular meter, but without the confines of rhyme – meter is iambic pentameter but writers generally allow themselves considerable metric freedom (Shakespeare in Plays) Metonymy – using the name of one thing in place of the name of something closely related to it. Ex. Instead of “I knew him when he was young,” say “I knew him in his cradle.” Near/Slant Rhyme: the two words sound close, but are not exact. Ex. Seal, sail. Onomatopoeia: The word that sounds like the word it describes. Ex. Bang, boom. Open form – another name for Free Verse Oxymoron – combining contradictory terms to make a word or phrase. Ex. Butthead. “Parting is such sweet sorrow.” Paradox – a statement that on the surface seems impossible but is true after all. Ex. Socrates: “Everything Plato will say here is false.” Plato: “Socrates spoke the very truth.” Perfect rhyme: The sounds of the two words that are exactly alike. Ex. Moon, June. Personification – giving human characteristics to animals or inanimate objects. Ex. Yogi Bear. “The wind howled.” Poetic diction—A system of words refined from the grossness of domestic use. Rhyme: Words that have similarity of sounds. Scansion – analyzing the meter by placing the accents and counting the beats in a line Simile—comparing using “like” or “as” Men are like dogs Strong Accent – the syllable stressed Symbol – when a word has so much meaning to it that we visualize something else. Ex. The flag, the crucifix. Synecdoche – the use of part of something to stand for the whole thing. Ex. Someone playing baseball “has a heavy bat.” Syntax—Order of words in writing “The strain is soft” can be turned around to say, “Soft is the strain”. When the words are rearranged, the new sound is less choppy. Tone – different than sound – changes the meaning of the words Understatement – Something described in terms that suggest it is much smaller or less important than we know it really is. Ex. “One nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day.” Weak Accent – the syllable unstressed