Poetry Terms
1. alliteration-
the repetition of initial consonant sounds
2. assonance- the repetition of a vowel sound within non-rhyming words.
ex: sweet dreams
3. ballad- a song or poem that tells a story
4. concrete poem- a poem in which the words are arranged on a page to suggest a visual
representation of the subject.
5. couplet- two consecutive rhyming lines of poetry
6. elegy- a poem of mourning, usually about someone who has died.
7. epic (poem)- a long, narrative poem, written in heightened language, which recount the deeds of a
heroic character who embodies the values of a particular society.
8. free verse- poetry that does not conform to a regular meter or rhyme scheme
9. haiku- a three line poem consisting of five, seven, and five syllables each; usually relies heavily on
imagery and is usually drawn from nature and on the power of suggestion.
10. lyric poem- a poem that does not tell a story but expresses the personal feelings or thoughts of a
speaker.
11. ode- a lyric poem, usually long, on a serious subject and written in dignified language.
12. persona- in a poem, a fictional character invented to play the role of the speaker talking to the
reader
13. poetry-
language arranged in lines, usually with rhythmic patterns, and attempting to recreate
emotions and experiences, but it is more condensed and suggestive than prose
14. quatrain- a poem consisting of four lines, or four lines of a poem that can be considered as a unit.
15. refrain- a word, phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated, for effect, several times in a poem
Ex. In Poe's "The Raven," the line "Quoth the Raven, 'Nevermore'" is a refrain
16. repetition- the recurrence of words, phrases, or lines.
17. rhyme-
the repetition of vowel sounds in accented syllables and all succeeding syllables,
example : tether and together
a, internal rhyme- when words within the same line of poetry have repeated sounds rhyme
"Ah, distinctly I remember it was the bleak December"
b. end rhyme- rhyming words come at the ends of lines; "Twinkle, twinkle little star
How I wonder what you are”
c. slant/ half/ almost rhyme- words that have corresponding sounds but not exact ones
ex.: flesh and flash, stream and storm, and early and barley
d. rhyme scheme- the pattern of end rhymes in a poem; charted by assigning a letter of
the alphabet to each rhyming sound
18. rhythm- The alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables in language; used to bring out the
musical quality in language, to emphasize ideas, to create mood, and to reinforce
subject matter.
a. meter- the regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables found in some poetry
b. foot- each rhythmic unit, has one stressed syllable (`) and either one or two unstressed
syllables ( ).
** metrical feet are: iamb (an unstressed followed by a stressed syllable)
trochee (a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable)
anapest ( two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable)
And dactyl (a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables)
***The Number of feet in a line is indicated by the use of the following terms:
monometer (one foot), diameter (two feet), trimeter (three feet),
tetrameter (four feet), pentameter (five feet), hexameter (six feet), etc.
c. iambic pentameter- the most common form of meter in English poetry
ex. Anne Bradstreet's "To My Dear And Loving Husband":
"If ev] er man ] were loved ] by wife ] then thee"
19. sonnet- a fourteen-line poem, usually written in iambic pentameter, that has one of two basic
structures.
Petrarchan sonnets (Italian) have an octave asking a question or posing a problem with
the rhyme scheme abba abba, which is then followed by the sestet responding to
the problem/question with a rhyme scheme of cde cde.
Shakespearean sonnets (English) have three quatrains concluding with a couplet with
the common rhyme scheme of abab, cdcd, efef, gg.
20. stanza-
a group of lines that form a unit in a poem; usually characterized by a common pattern
of meter, rhyme, and number of lines
a. triplet- three lines in a stanza
b. sestet- six lines in a stanza, especially the last six lines of a Petrarchan, or
Italian, sonnet
c. octet/ octave- eight lines in a stanza/ an eight line poem, or the first eight lines of a
Petracrchan, or Italian, sonnet.
Poetry Terms (30 words total)
1. alliteration-
16. repetition
2. assonance-
17. rhyme-
3. ballad-
a. internal rhyme-
4. concrete poem-
b. end rhyme-
5. couplet-
c. slant/ half/ almost rhyme-
6. elegy-
d. rhyme scheme-
7. epic (poem)-
18. rhythm-
8. free verse-
a. meter-
9. haiku-
b. foot-
10. lyric poem-
c. iambic pentameter-
11. ode-
19. sonnet-
12. persona (look under “speaker”)-
20. stanzaa. triplet
13. poetryb. sestet
14. quatrain-
15. refrain-
c. octet/ octave