POETRY TERMS
 1)
figurative language
 the use of words or phrases to express
something different than their usual
meanings.
examples:
hyperbole, imagery, metaphor, personification,
and simile
IMAGERY
use of words that create mental pictures-helps
readers see, hear, taste, smell and feel
examples: hyperbole, onomatopoeia, and
personification
HYPERBOLE
extreme exaggeration; unrealistic; used for
humorous or intensifying effect
“She was so fat she weighed 2 tons!”
“She was 10 feet tall!”
“I ate a million M&Ms!”
ONOMATOPOEIA
The sound of the word imitates what the word
means/describes
examples:
buzz, plop, boom, clang, squeak, peep, quack,
meow, moo, cluck, snap, crackle, pop, neigh,
baa,
PERSONIFICATION
animals, things, and ideas, are described by
using human characteristics
example
“Finally the mountains around the valley
reached out and swallowed the sun.”
“The wind screamed.”
“Cars danced across the icy road.”
SIMILE
 a comparison of two dif ferent things that uses the words , like
or as
Example
 She is as fat as a pig.
 The girl ran as fast as a cheetah.
 He swims like a fish.
METAPHOR
a comparison of two different things that does
NOT use like or as
examples:
She is an angel.
Jail is heaven.
ALLITERATION
The repetition of the same or similar consonat
sounds at the beginning of words.
“ I’ve sailed upon the seven seas and stopped in
every land.”
MOOD
Mood is the overall feeling that the reader
gets from the poem or story.
examples:
humor, anger, fear, depression, quiet, peace,
hopeful, sadness (melancholy), annoyed
TONE
tone
the author’s attitude toward what he or she is
writing
humor, anger, sadness (melancholy), fear,
quiet,
THEME
The main idea of the poem or other piece of
literature. It is often a message that can be
expressed very simply.
Example:
the theme of the book , The Keeping Quilt, is
the creating of a family tradition.
REPETITION
repetition
repeating words or phrases; a way to add
emphasis
Apple snails for dinner
Apple snails for lunch
And every Sunday morning
Apple snails for brunch.
RHYME
words that have different beginning sounds
but the same vowel and ending sounds
fat
skin
ask
cat
twin
mask
hat
shin
task
RHYME SCHEME
the pattern of rhyme in a poem….abba, ababa,
ect.
There once was a big brown cat
that liked to eat a lot of mice
He got all round and fat
Because they tasted so nice
a
b
a
b
RHY THM
a musical quality that comes from the
repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables
in poetry, and by the repetition of words,
phrases, and sentences. (you can clap the
rhythm)
STANZA (VERSE)
a group of lines that form a unit in a poem;
like a paragraph in an essay