Poetry Terms
Structure: The structure of a poem is the way words and lines are arranged
Lines: Grouping of words in a poem, a line may not be a complete sentence. A poet may break, or end, a line to emphasize a word or an idea, or to create a pattern of rhythm or rhyme.
Stanzas: Grouping of lines in logical sections of ideas (think paragraphs in essay)
Couplet: 2-line stanza
Tercet: 3 lines stanza
Quartrain: 4 lines stanza
Rhyme Scheme: pattern of rhymes at the ends of lines. Each new rhyme is assigned a letter of the alphabet:
The path of least resistance, a
Is short, but it’s boring. b
Choose the tougher distance a
For soaring. b
Meter: The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables (how you say things and where in the word you put emphasis)
Foot: Each unit of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem
Internal Rhymes: rhyming words within lines and emphasizes the flowing nature of a poem.
End Rhymes: rhyming words at the end of lines
Poetic Forms: A poem’s form that is usually defined by its purpose and characteristics
Formal verse: follows fixed, traditional patterns that may include a specific rhyme scheme, meter, line length, or stanza structure
Free verse: uses poetic language, but does not follow a fixed pattern
3 main categories of poetry: lyric, narrative, and dramatic
Lyric Poetry: expresses the thoughts and feelings of a single speaker (often with musical verse)
Forms of Lyric Poetry:
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Sonnet: A sonnet is a 14 line poem of praise with specific rhyme scheme o Petrarchan Sonnet: often has a rhyme scheme of abba/abba, cde/cde o Shakespearean Sonnet has a rhyme scheme of abab/cdcd/efef/gg
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Ode: A formal poem of honor or celebration (often have a regular meter and end rhyme, but the number and length of their lines and stanzas can vary)
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Elegy: A formal poem reflecting on death or another serious theme (structure, meter, and rhyme scheme of elegies can vary considerably)
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Haiku: A short, unrhymed poem, often about nature, 3 lines that follow 5-7-5 syllabic pattern

Poetry Terms
Narrative poetry: tells a story
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Ballads
 Epic Poetry
Dramatic poetry: presents a drama in verse, the action is told through the words the characters speak
Imagery: vivid language that appeals to the five senses
Figurative Language: describes and compares things in ways that are not meant to be taken literally.
Simile: uses the word like or as to compare two things: The icy water hurt like a thousand bee stings.
Metaphor: compares by describing one thing as if it were another: The icy water was a thousand bee stings.
Extended Metaphor: carries a metaphor throughout part or all of a poem
Personification: assigns human qualities to a non-human subject: The clarinets sang merrily,
While the drums grumbled and complained.
Analogy: explains, clarifies, or illustrates by drawing comparisons:
Age betrayed her daily now
Memories gone, but where?
Somewhere inaccessible,
The way a computer file
Deleted accidentally,
Is there
But not there.
Allusions: are direct or implied references to people, places, events, literary works, or artworks:
In desperate times be brave and bold
Your Cinderella story is not yet told.
(Sound Devices)
Alliteration: the repetition of initial consonant sounds: He climbs the hill and huffs and heaves.
Consonance: the repetition of consonant sounds in stressed syllables with different vowel sounds: Gulls gracefully pass across the sky.
Assonance: repetition of vowel sounds in stressed syllables that do not rhyme: Calling and squawking like crows, they fought.
Repetition: the repeated use of a word or phrase
Onomatopoeia: the use of words that imitate sounds: buzz, whoosh, boom
Connotations and Tone
Connotations: ideas associated with a word beyond its literal meaning (can be negative or positive)
Denotations: Literal (Dictionary) meaning
Tone: attitude the writer projects in poem

Poetry Terms