SOUND
Matt Stephenson, Jillian Millard
ALLITERATION: the repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words
or syllables
--An alliteration can be identified when there are multiple words with the same consonant within the
same sentence or a line in poetry. The words with the same consonant will be next to each other. The
similar vowel is always the first letter in the words.
Examples:
 Mike’s microphone made much music
 Tim’s took tons of tools to make toys for tots.
 Fred’s friends fried Fritos for Friday’s food.
http://examples.yourdictionary.com/alliteration-examples.html
Poetry Example
“Dewdrops Dancing Down Daisies”
By Paul Mc Cann
Don't delay dawns disarming display .
Dusk demands daylight .
Dewdrops dwell delicately
drawing dazzling delight .
Dewdrops dilute daisies domain.
Distinguished debutantes . Diamonds defray delivered
daylights distilled daisy dance .
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~poems/ps/html/alliteration_examples.html
ASSONANCE: resemblance of sound in words or syllables
--An assonance is usually a vowel and does not have to be the beginning letters of the words like an alliteration.
It can be two vowels that produce the similar sound.
Examples
 “Try to light the fire”
 “I lie down by the side of my bride”
 “Fleet feet sweep by sleeping geese”
“Early Moon” by Carl Sanburg
“Poetry is old, ancient, goes back far. It is among the oldest of living things. So old it is that no
man knows how and why the first poems came.”
http://examples.yourdictionary.com/assonance-examples.ht
CONSONANCE: correspondence or recurrence of sounds especially in words : recurrence or repetition
of consonants especially at the end of stressed syllables without the similar correspondence of vowels
--Consonances contain similar consonant sounds but not similar vowels following the consonants.
Examples
 I dropped the locket in the thick mud.
http://www.sterlingschools.org/shs/stf/jbarnh/poetry/eop14.htm
“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
Robert Frost (1874-1963)
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
http://www.types-of-poetry.org.uk/53-consonance.htm
ONOMATOPOEIA: the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it
--Simply, the word makes the noise that it is describing.
 Cock-a-doodle-do, crowed the rooster.
 The clock goes ticktock.
 The cow says moo all day long.
 The duck quacked at the bird.
 Zip up your pants.
“The Pit Bull”
D. Alsup
The pit bull yelped,
As the police took him away,
Never to growl again,
At us kids in play,
The shriek, squeal, and scream of the English bulldog…
http://bigcsshop.hubpages.com/hub/Examples-of-Onomatopoeia-Poetry
http://www.merriam-webster.com/
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FORM 1
Catherine Falcone & Pete Frank
1. SONNET- noun. a poem, properly expressive of a single, complete thought, idea, or sentiment, of 14 lines,
usually in iambic pentameter, with rhymes arranged according to one of certain definite schemes, being in
the strict or Italian form divided into a major group of 8 lines (the octave)
followed by a minor group of 6 lines (the sestet), and in a common
SONNET 18
Shall
I
compare
thee
to a summer's day?
English form into 3 quatrains followed by a couplet.
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
 A poem with one complete thought, consisting of 14 lines and
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
rhyme schemes or pattern.
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
Ex. Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare- one complete thought, 14
lines, rhyming pattern.
2. ODE- noun. A lyric poem typically of elaborate or irregular metrical form
and expresses of exalted or enthusiastic emotion.
 A poem intended to be sung, with expression of exalted or
enthusiastic emotion.
Ex. “An Ode to Joy” by Friedrich von Schiller- A lyric poem that
emphasizes joyous emotions.
3. DRAMATIC MONOLOGUE- noun. A poetic form in which a single
character, addressing a silent auditor at a critical moment, reveals himself
or herself and the dramatic situation.
 A single character talks alone, reflecting on themselves and the
dramatic situation.
Ex. “Porphyria's Lover" by Robert Browning
This highly disturbing and violent poem is spoken from the point
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course
untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his
shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
“An Ode to Joy” (Excerpt)
Joy, thou source of light immortal,
Daughter of Elysium!
Touched with fire, to the portal,
Of thy radiant shrine, we come.
Your sweet magic, frees all others,
Held in custom's rigid rings,
All men on earth become brothers,
In the haven of your wings.
Chorus
Be embraced, you millions!
This kiss for the entire world!
Brothers, above the starry canopy
Must a loving Father reside.
of view of a murderer. When his ladylove, Prophyria, confesses her love, the narrator strangles her
with her own hair in order to preserve their “happiest moment.” Sick, twisted, and diabolically
eloquent!
“I listened with heart fit to break.
When glided in Porphyria; straight
She shut the cold out and the storm,
And kneeled and made the cheerless grate
Blaze up, and all the cottage warm;”
"Dramatic Monologue - Porphyria's Lover by Robert Browning." Plays / Drama. The New York Times
Company, 2011. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. <http://plays.about.com/od/monologues/a/porphyria.htm>.
4. ELEGY- noun. A mournful, melancholy, or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the
dead.
 A sad and dull poem, used for mourning or a funeral song.
Ex. "O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman- A poem about a recently deceased person; Son
talking to his deceased father. (excerpt):
"Here Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head;
It is some dream that on deck,
You've fallen cold and dead.”
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Form 2
Daniel Dougherty
ENJAMBMENT: the running on of the thought from one line, couplet, or stanza to the next without a
syntactical break.
 the continuation of poem that repeats a basic thought or object in each line
 “I think that I shall never see / A poem as lovely as a tree” (J. Kilmer)
BLANK VERSE: unrhymed verse, especially the unrhymed iambic pentameter most frequently used in
English dramatic, epic, and reflective verse.
 a blank verse has no rhythm that continues for line to line, and that can be viewed a conversation
between two people
 “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, / Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, / To the last
syllable of recorded time;” (WS)
APOSTROPHE: Term is a figure of speech in which someone absent or dead or something nonhuman is
addressed as if it were alive and present and was able to reply.
 an example of the is speaking to a corpse at a funeral in sorrow
 “"Oh, Death, be not proud” (J. Donne)
PERSONIFICATION: the attribution of a personal nature or character to inanimate objects or abstract
notions, especially as a rhetorical figure.
 To relate personal traits to inanimate objects which have to emotions or human tendencies
 “The wind stood up and gave a shout.” (J. Stephens)
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METER
Stephen Hemmig and Kyle Valentino
METER: Rhythmic element as measured by division into parts of equal time value. Units of measurement, in
terms of number of beats adopted for a given piece of music.
 Metrical Unit called a foot
 4 basic patterns of stress
1. Iamb (Unstressed) ˘
2. Iambic foot (Unstressed) ˘
3. Trochee (Stressed) ‘
4. Trochaic Foot (Stressed)’
 Lines classified to the number of Metrical feet
1. My mis/ tress’ eyes/ are no/ thing like/ the sun
2. Tell me/ not in/mourn ful/ num bers
-Pg. 502 in Literature and the Writing Process
RHYME SCHEME: Pattern of Rhymes used in a poem, usually marked by letters to symbolize
correspondences, as rhyme royal.
Ex. He was found by the Bureau of Statistics to be (a)
One against whom there was no official complaint (b)
And all the reports on his conduct agree (a)
That, in the modern sense of an old- fashioned word, he was a saint (b)
For in everything he did he served the greater community (a)
Except for the war till the day he retired (c)
He worked in a factory and never got fired (c)
-“The Unknown Citizen” by Edmund Waller
QUATRAIN: a stanza or poem of four lines, usually with alternate rhymes.
Ex. “O’Melia, my dear, this does everything crown!
Who could have supposed I should meet you in Town?
And whence such fair garments, such prosperity?”
“O’ didn’t you know I’d be ruined?” Said she.
-“The Ruined Maid” by Thomas Hardy
COUPLET: A pair of successive lines of verse, especially a pair that rhymes and is of the same length.
Ex “For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings,
That then I scorn to change my state with Kings.”
-William Shakespeare
Ex “He was found by the Bureau of Statistics to be,
One against whom there was no official complaint.”
-“The Unknown Citizen” by Edmund Waller
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FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Samuel Forst
SIMILES:
Dictionary Definition:
noun
1. a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared, as in “she is like a rose.” Compare
metaphor.
2. an instance of such a figure of speech or a use of words exemplifying it.
Simple Definition:
A Simile is a comparison between two unlike things using the words “like” or “as”
- They have to be two unlike things because it’s not really a simile if you’re comparing, for example,
some sand to some more sand.
- A comparison between two unlike things without the words “like” or “as” is no longer a simile, but
more of a metaphor.
Example:
“Twinkle, twinkle little star, How I wonder what you are, Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the
sky.”
(The famous example above is comparing the “little star” to a “diamond” using the word “like”.)
METAPHORS:
Dictionary Definition:
noun
1. a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in
order to suggest a resemblance, as in “A mighty fortress is our God.” Compare mixed metaphor, simile (def. 1).
2. something used, or regarded as being used, to represent something else; emblem; symbol.
Simple Definition:
A metaphor is a comparison of two unlike things without using the words “like” or “as”.
Example:
“Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.”
(This is from a sonnet by Shakespeare and compares someone to a summer’s day in great length.
SYMBOLISM:
Dictionary Definition:
noun
1. the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character.
2. a set or system of symbols.
3. symbolic meaning or character.
Simple Definition:
In Literature, symbolism occurs when one character or object is representing something else. This can be used
to manifest intangible concepts as physical objects and more.
Example
In the epic poem “Beowulf”, Meade Halls are where the town’s warriors would celebrate their victories, a
happy Meade Hall is symbolic for a successful, protected and happy town.
ALLUSION:
Dictionary Definition:
noun
1. a passing or casual reference; an incidental mention of something, either directly or by implication: an
allusion to Shakespeare.
2. the act of alluding.
Simple Definition:
An allusion is an indirect reference to a story, event, thing or place.
Example:
In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”, there is a bust of Pallas Athena. This is an allusion to the Goddess of
Wisdom.
SPEAKER:
 narrator, persona
 Although poetry is, by nature, quite subjective and emotional, readers must realize that the poet speaks
through a created (fictional) character - NOT necessarily the author
o not his/her gender, race, age
o not automatically his thoughts, views, opinions, beliefs, attitudes
 Disclaimer: “Please understand that the opinions, views, and comments that appear in the poem will not
necessarily reflect the views held by ….”
 Point-of-View (POV)
DICTION:
 word choice
 link to meaning; appeals to emotion, reason, & character; (language = situation)
 connotation vs. denotation:
o connotation: implied meaning & attitude, suggestions & associations, emotional connections
 positively or negatively charged
 feelings or values; influenced by historical or cultural context
 “terrorist” in post-9/11 America
 “mother”
o denotation: dictionary definition
 dictionary:
o look up words you do not know
o look up definitions of key words (different definitions = different meanings)
 types of diction:
o formal: no slang or clichés; no contractions; proper punctuation, style, grammar; for an educated
reader—sophisticated, erudite vocabulary; keeps a “formal distance” from the reader (does not
directly address the reader—no “you”)
o informal: much slang, many pat expressions/clichés; used amongst friends
o colloquial: informal; used in personal, everyday speech (clichés); not as many clichés as informal
(“pricey” instead of “expensive”; “flick” for “movie”)
o to what kind of audience would it be used
o in what kind of situations would it be used
o Britannica Online illustrates the differences between the levels like this:
 “Children” or “youths”(formal), “kids,” “youngsters,” and “brats” (informal, colloquial,
slang)
FREE VERSE: Poetry without regular rhythm, rhyme, form
SONNET: A 14-line poem with 10-syllable lines (pentameter).
 SHAKESPEAREAN SONNET (English Sonnet):
o 3 quatrains + 1 couplet;
o abab, cdcd, efef, gg; 7 rhymes.
 PETRACHAN SONNET (Italian Sonnet):
o octave + sestet (8+6);
o abba, abba, cdecde (sestet rhyme scheme varies);
o 5 rhymes.