Literary Terms and Techniques
Term
Definition
Poetic Devices and Figurative Language
Connotation
The associations called up by a word that go beyond its dictionary meaning
Denotation
The dictionary meaning of a word
Simile
A figure of speech involving a direct comparison between unlike things
using like, as, or as though
Metaphor
An implied comparison between essentially unlike things without an
explicitly comparative word such as like or as
Conceit
An elaborate or unusual comparison--especially one using unlikely
metaphors, simile, hyperbole, and contradiction
Personification
Giving inanimate objects or abstract concepts animate or living qualities.
Apostrophe
The act of addressing some abstraction or personification that is not
physically present
Metonymy
A figure of speech in which a closely related term is substituted for an
object or idea
Synecdoche
A figure of speech in which a part is substituted for the whole
Understatement
Hyperbole
A figure of speech in which a writer or speaker says less than what he or
she means; the opposite of exaggeration
a figure of speech in which understatement is used with negation to
express a positive attribute; a form of irony (not a bad idea, no small task)
A figure of speech involving exaggeration
Irony (4)
Verbal: characters say the opposite of what they mean
Litotes
Situational: the opposite of what is expected occurs
Dramatic: a character speaks in ignorance of a situation or event known to
the audience or to the other characters
Cosmic: suggests that some unknown force brings about dire and dreadful
events
Symbol
An object or action in a literary work that means more than itself, that
stands for something beyond itself.
Imagery
All the sensory perceptions referred to in a poem, whether by literal
description, allusion, simile, or metaphor. Imagery is not limited to visual
imagery; it also includes auditory (sound), tactile (touch), thermal (heat
and cold), olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste), and kinesthetic sensation
(movement)
Dominant Impression
the principal effect the author wishes to create for the audience through
the use of sensory details
Paradox
a statement that seems contradictory or absurd but in reality
expresses a possible truth.
Oxymoron
a figure of speech in which opposite or contradictory ideas or terms are
combined; a form of paradox
Allusion
reference in literature to a person, place, event, or another passage of
literature
Tone
The implied attitude of a writer toward the subject and characters of a
work
Persona
The narrative voice or poetic speaker in a poem, not necessarily the voice
of the poet
Shift
Alteration in speakers, attitudes, or a word’s meaning; a contrast
Motif
a recurring object, concept, or structure in a work of literature.
Juxtaposition
The arrangement of two or more ideas, characters, actions, settings,
phrases, or words side-by-side or in similar narrative moments for the
purpose of comparison, contrast, rhetorical effect, suspense, or character
development.
Rhyme
Rhyme
A matching similarity of sounds in two or more words, especially when
their accented vowels and all succeeding consonants are identical
End Rhyme
Rhyme that occurs at the end of the poetic line
Internal Rhyme
Rhyme that occurs within the line of poetry
Rhyme Scheme
Regular pattern of rhyme consistent throughout the extent of the poem
Masculine Rhyme
A rhyme made on a single stressed syllable; sky/fly
Feminine Rhyme
A rhyme between words in which one, two, or more unstressed syllables
follow a stressed syllable (verily, merrily)
Perfect Rhyme
A rhyme between words in which the stressed vowels and any succeeding
consonants are identical although the consonants preceding the stressed
vowels may be different (ship/rip; rose/pose)
Slant, Half, or Partial
Rhyme
Assonance
Words with similar but not identical sounds, e.g., notion-nation, bear-bore
Consonance
Repetition of consonant sounds, different vowels: limp/lump, bit/bet
Alliteration
Repetition of the initial consonant sound of words
Identical Rhyme
A word rhymes with itself
Eye Rhyme
Rhyme based on similarity of spelling rather than sound
Onomatopoeia
The use of words to imitate the sounds they describe
Euphony
Smooth, pleasing sounds in a poetic line
Cacophony
Harsh, discordant sounds in a poetic line
Stanza
A division or unit of poetry
Couplet (Heroic)
A pair of rhymed lines that may or may not constitute a separate stanza
Heroic: rhymed pair of lines written in blank verse
Triplet or Tercet
A three-line stanza, which may follow the same rhyme pattern (a, a, a,) or
be unrhymed
Terza Rima
A three-line stanza in which the second line of each tercet rhymes with the
first and third lines of the next one (aba, bcb, cdc, ded)
Quatrain
A stanza or poem of four lines
Rhythm
Meter
The measured pattern of rhythmic accents in poems
Repetition of vowel sounds, different consonants: dip/limp
Iambic
An unaccented syllable followed by an accented one, be-LIEVE
Trochaic
An accented syllable followed by an unaccented one, as in FOOT-ball
Anapestic
Two unaccented syllables followed by an accented one: un-der-STAND
Dactylic
An accented syllable followed by two unaccented syllables: NA-tu-ral
Spondaic
Two accented syllables: WHITE CAKE
Pyrrhic
A metrical foot with two unstressed syllables: “of the”
Number of feet per line
Monometer = 1 foot
Dimeter = 2 feet
Trimeter = 3 feet
Tetrameter = 4 feet
Pentameter = 5 feet
Hexameter = 6 feet
Heptameter = 7 feet
Octameter = 8 feet
Amphibrach
One accented syllable between two unaccented syllables: chi-CA-go
Amphimacer
One unaccented syllable between two accented syllables: AT-ti-TUDE
Anacrusis
One or more extra syllables at the beginning of a line of verse
Catalexis
Dropped syllables at the end of a line of verse
Caesura
A strong pause within a line of verse
Pace
Rate of movement in a line of poetry
Elision
The omission of an unstressed vowel or syllable to preserve the meter of a
line of poetry: o’er (over)
Enjambment
A technique in poetry where a sentence is carried over to the next line
without pause
Scansion
Analysis of a line of poetry for foot and meter
Poetic Forms
Lyric
A genre of poetry expressing personal and emotional feelings rather than
telling a story, including the ode, sonnet, elegy, villanelle, hymn
Narrative
1. Poetry that has a plot, including such forms as epics, ballads, idylls and
lays.
Epic
A long narrative poem that records the adventures of a hero
Ballad
Blank Verse
A narrative poem written in four-line stanzas, characterized by swift action
and narrated in a direct style; often of folk origin
A line of poetry written in nrhymed iambic pentameter
Free Verse
Poetry without a regular pattern of meter or rhyme
Sonnet
A fourteen-line poem in iambic pentameter. The Shakespearean or English
sonnet is arranged as three quatrains and a final couplet, rhyming abab
cdcd efef gg. The Petrarchan or Italian sonnet divides into two parts: an
eight-line octave and a six-line sestet, rhyming abba abba cde cde or abba
abba cd cd cd.
Ode
A long, stately poem in stanzas of varied length, meter, and form. Usually a
serious poem on an exalted subject
Dramatic Monologue
A poem in which a poetic speaker addresses either the reader or an
internal listener
Elegy
A lyric poem that laments the dead
Villanelle
A nineteen-line lyric poem that relies heavily on repetition. The first and
third lines alternate throughout the poem, which is structured in six
stanzas --five tercets and a concluding quatrain.
Sestina
A poem of thirty-nine lines and written in iambic pentameter. Its six-line
stanza repeat in an intricate and prescribed order the final word in each of
the first six lines. After the sixth stanza, there is a three-line envoi, which
uses the six repeating words, two per line.
Pantoum
A poem composed of a series of quatrains; the second and fourth lines of
each stanza are repeated as the first and third lines of the next, continuing
for any number of stanzas, except for the final stanza, which differs in the
repeating pattern. The first and third lines of the last stanza are the second
and fourth of the second to last stanza; the first line of the poem is the last
line of the final stanza, and the third line of the first stanza is the second of
the final. Ideally, the meaning of lines shifts when they are repeated
although the words remain exactly the same
Idyll
A composition in verse or prose presenting an idealized story of happy
innocence
Light Verse
A variety of poetry meant to entertain or amuse, but sometimes with a
satirical thrust
Haiku
A Japanese lyric verse form having three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and
five syllables, traditionally invoking an aspect of nature or the seasons.
Limerick
A five-line closed-form poem in which the first two lines consist of
anapestic trimeter, which in turn are followed by lines of anapestic
dimeter, and a final line in trimeter. They rhyme in an AABBA pattern.