POETRY TERMS, DEFINITIONS, AND EXAMPLES

Alliteration: repetition of a leading vowel or consonant sound in a phrase. Sound must be at beginning of
word.
o Ex. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Assonance: the repetition of ONLY vowel sounds in non-rhyming words
o Ex. Looking amazing as always, Allison arrived on time.

Consonance: the repetition of ONLY consonant sounds
o Ex. pitter patter

Denotation: the dictionary definition of a word
o Ex. Home= a place of residence

Connotation: the emotions and feelings we bring to add to the definition of a word
o Ex. Home= a place of warmth, comfort, joy

Imagery: words or phrases that appeal to one or more of the five senses: touch, taste, smell, sight, sound
o Ex. Her silky, auburn hair had the slight scent of jasmine. This sentence appeals to touch, sight, and
smell.

Metaphor: comparing two objects without using the words “like” or “as”
o Ex. Life is a highway, I want to ride it all night long.

Simile: comparing two things using the words “like” or “as”
o Ex. Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get

Onomatopoeia: words that sound like what they actually are
o Ex. splat (sounds like something is splatting on the wall), pow (sounds like an explosion)

Personification: giving nonhuman objects human characteristics
o Ex. The thunder roared; the cars danced along the icy streets

Pattern/Repetition: The use of the same words or phrases over and over again in a poem to add emphasis.
o Ex. The chorus or refrain of a song is often repeated several times in the song.

Rhyme scheme: the repetition of vowel sounds in accented syllables and all succeeding syllables.
o Ex. The splendor falls on castle walls

Rhythm: the rise and fall of the voice produced by the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables in
language.
o Ex. In the following sentence, the stressed syllables are underlined: I do not like green eggs and ham, I
do not like them Sam I Am!

Symbolism: something that stands for more than itself
o Ex. In Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “Sympathy” Dunbar uses the caged bird as a symbol for the racism and
discrimination that some black people face.
ASSIGNMENT: You will be making a booklet about poetry terms. Each half page of paper will be
devoted to a different poetry term. You will have a total of 14 terms.
DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO ASSEMBLE BOOKLET:
1. Grab 4 pages of construction or computer paper.
2. Fold sheets of paper “hamburger” style.
3. Staple sheets together along the spine of the book you just created –OR- punch holes along
spine so that you can connect the pages together using ribbon or string.
DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO CREATE COVER OF BOOKLET:
1. Decorate the front page of the booklet with the following:
a. Name of your booklet (ex. Poetry terminology)
b. Your name
c. Your hour
d. A picture/border/graphic element
DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO CREATE EACH PAGE OF THE BOOKLET:
2. Each page will be devoted to a new poetry term (see opposite side of this paper for terms)
3. Poetry terms will appear in your booklet in the exact order they are found on the list
provided.
4. On the top of the page, write the term.
5. Write a definition for that term on the page.
6. Give YOUR OWN example of that poetry term. Do not use the examples given. These are
given to you to help explain that term. Find an example of your own from a song or poem or
make one up yourself.
7. Create a drawing or picture on your page that will help you remember either the term’s
definition –OR- your example. I do not expect you to be Picasso- this is not an art class so you
will not be graded on your artistic abilities. Try your best and make your art neat and colorful.
ALLITERATION
The repetition of a leading vowel or
consonant sound in a phrase.
Example: Peter Piper picked a peck
of pickled peppers.