Concrete Poem
A poem with a shape which suggests the subject. The poet arranges the letters, punctuation, and
lines to create a visual image on the page.
Free Verse
Poetry written without a regular rhythmical pattern, or meter. In free verse poems, poets are free
to write lines of any length, rhythmic stresses, or beats. Poets are less restricted by form when
writing free verse.
Haiku
A three lined, Japanese verse form. The first and third lines of a haiku have five syllables; the
second line has seven syllables. A haiku usually represents a single, vivid image drawn from nature.
Sonnet
A sonnet is a poem that consists of fourteen lines. The poem is divided into three quatrains and
every other line rhymes. The quatrains are followed by one rhyming couplet.
Quatrain
A quatrain is a stanza that contains four lines.
Couplet
A couplet is two lines of verse that stand alone in some way.
Hyperbole
The use of exaggeration to make a point.
(I'm starving)
Tone
The poet’s attitude towards the subject of the poem (playful, ironic, somber...)
Lyric Poem
A lyric poem expresses the observations and feelings of a single speaker on a topic about which the
speaker feels strongly.
Narrative Poem
A story, told in verse.
It usually possesses the elements of fiction such as characters, conflict, and plot.
The events are usually told in chronological order.
Ballad
A narrative poem, usually simple and fairly short originally designed to be sung.
They often deal with adventure and romance. Ballads have four-to-six-line stanzas, with regular
rhythms and rhyme schemes.
Many have a refrain.
Refrain
A line or group of lines repeated at the end of each stanza.
Sonnet
A poem consisting of fourteen lines.
There are four main types: Shakespearean, Petrachan, Miltonic, and Spencerian.
Stanza
A stanza is a group of lines in a poem, considered as a unit.
Stanzas are usually separated from each other by line spaces. (Like a ‘paragraph’ in poetry)
Meter
The rhythmical pattern determined by the number and types of stresses, or beats, in each line.
To describe the meter of a poem, you must scan its lines.
Rhyme
The repetition of similar or the same sounds at regular intervals, often the repetition of the
terminal (end) sounds of words at the ends of lines of verse.
Rhyme Scheme
A regular pattern of rhyming words in a poem.
To indicate the rhyme scheme of a poem, lower case letters are used to identify the rhyme in each
line of each stanza.
Imagery
The use of a word or phrase that appeals to the five senses.
Writers use images to create specific descriptions - to show how their subjects look, sound, smell,
taste and feel.
Metaphor
A metaphor is a figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared by saying one ‘is’ the
other. (She is lightning on the soccer field.)
Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two unlike subjects using like
or as.
(He is like lightning on the soccer field.)
Personification
The giving of human feelings or qualities to things that are not human.
(The sun smiled down on us)
Onomatopoeia
Words, the sound of which imitates their meaning.
(hiss, bang, pop...)
Alliteration
The close, repeated sounds of consonants, usually at the beginning of words.
(Slowly the snake slithered)
Assonance
The close repetition of similar vowel sounds, usually in stressed syllables.
(As he walked, King Arthur panted hard)
Consonance
The close repetition of identical consonant sounds before and after different vowels.
(flip, flop)
Allusion
A reference, usually brief, to a familiar person or thing (often from history, the Bible or popular
culture)
Enjambed Line
A line of poetry in which the grammatical structure and the sense are not complete, but are
continued in the following line. (The sentence continues on the next line)
End stopped line
A line of poetry in which both the grammatical structure and the sense are complete (it begins and
ends on one line)
Extended metaphor
A sequence of metaphors, based on single association that runs through a poem. (O’Captain, My
Captain)
Limerick
Highly structured, usually amusing and nonsensical poem.
Rhyme scheme is always aa,bb,a.