Poetry
Glossary
poetry: A form of expressive writing that uses rhythm, meaning, and sound to convey the writer's experience and
perceptions.
prose: Ordinary language that is written or spoken. Prose differs from poetry in that it has a variety of rhythms and
reflects the patterns of everyday speech. Prose isn't divided into verses or stanzas.
1. Meter
meter: measured pattern of rhythmic accents in a line of verse. The pattern of repetition of stressed (or accented)
and unstressed (or unaccented) syllables in a line of verse. Lines of verse that connect one or more feet.
rhythm:
Recurrences of stressed and unstressed syllables at equal intervals, similar to meter.
foot: A single rhythmical unit of verse
stress: greater amount of force used to pronounce one syllable over another (indicated by a
‘
)
unstressed: lesser amount of force used to pronounce one syllable over another (indicated by a U )
rising meter: meter containing metrical feet that move from unstressed to stressed syllables
falling meter: meter containing metrical feet that move from stressed to unstressed syllables
pause: (caesura) a pause for a beat in the rhythm of the verse (often indicated by a line break or a mark of
punctuation)
end-stopped: A line with a pause at the end. Lines that end with a period, comma, colon, semicolon, exclamation
point, or question mark are end-stopped lines.
2. Feet
iambic (iamb): a metrical foot containing two syllables--the first is unstressed, while the second is stressed.
iamb is the most common foot in English poetry.
The
iambic pentameter: a traditional form of rising meter consisting of lines containing five iambic feet (and, thus, ten
syllables)
trochaic (trochee): a metrical foot containing two syllables--the first is stressed, while the second is unstressed
anapestic (anapest): a metrical foot containing three syllables--the first two are unstressed, while the last is
stressed
dactylic (dactyl): a metrical foot containing three syllables--the first is stressed, while the last two are unstressed
spondee: an untraditional metrical foot in which two consecutive syllables are stressed
tetrameter: A line of four feet.
pentameter: A line containing five feet. The iambic pentameter is the most common line in English verse written
before 1950.
hexameter: A line containing six feet.
scansion: The act of scanning (or analyzing) a line of verse based on feet and accent (strong and weak).
3. Line Structure
rhyme: In poetry, a pattern of repeated sounds.
end rhyme: the rhyme is at the end of the line.
internal rhyme: Rhyme that occurs within a line, rather than at the end.
stanza: Usually a repeated grouping of three or more lines with the same meter and rhyme scheme. Unit of a poem
often repeated in the same form throughout a poem; a unit of poetic lines ("verse paragraph")
couplet: a pair of lines, usually rhymed
heroic couplet: a pair of rhymed lines is iambic pentameter (tradition of the heroic epic form). Two end-stopped
iambic pentameter lines rhymed aa, bb, cc with the thought usually completed in the two-line unit.
terza rima: A three-line stanza rhymed aba, bcb, cdc (typically written in an iambic line)
envoi: a short stanza at the end of a poem used either to address an imagined or actual person or to comment on
the preceding body of the poem. The envoi is relatively fluid in form, depending on the overall form of the poem and
the needs and wishes of the poet. In general, envois have fewer lines than the main stanzas of the poem. They also
repeat the rhyme words or sounds used in the main body of the poem. For example, the chant royal consists of five
eleven-line stanzas with a rhyme scheme a-b-a-b-c-c-d-d-e-d-E and a five-line envoi rhyming d-d-e-d-E.
quatrain: four-line stanza or grouping of four lines of verse
ballad meter: A four-line stanza rhymed abcb with four feet in lines one and three and three feet in lines two and
four.
quintet: also known as a quintain or cinquain, is a poem or stanza composed of five lines.
rhyme royal: A seven-line stanza of iambic pentameter rhymed ababbcc, used by Chaucer and other medieval
poets.
4. Poetic Devices
allusion: a reference to the person, event, or work outside the poem or literary piece
Example: "Shining, it was Adam and maiden"
alliteration: the repetition of identical or similar consonant sounds, particularly at the beginning of words
Example: ". . . like a wanderer in white, wearing wet woolen gloves"
assonance: the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds
Example: "I rose and told him of my woe"
consonance: The repetition of consonant sounds with differing vowel sounds in words near each other in a line or
lines of poetry.
connotation: the implied or suggested meaning connected with a word or phrase, as opposed to its exact meaning
(denotation).
denotation: the dictionary meaning of a word, as opposed to connotation.
literal meaning: limited to the simplest, ordinary, most obvious meaning
figurative meaning: associative or connotative meaning; representational
devices of sound: The techniques of deploying the sound of words, especially in poetry. Among devices of sound
are rhyme, alliteration, assonance, consonance, and onomatopoeia. The devices are used for many reasons,
including creating a general effect of pleasant or of discordant sound, imitating another sound, or reflecting a
meaning.
diction: Word choice — specifically, any word that is important to the meaning and the effect of a passage.
enjambment: the continuation of a thought or a sentence from one line of poetry to the next one without a pause.
For example, the last two lines of "Sing a Song of Sixpence," above, are enjambed: the question about whether the
blackbird pie is appropriate for the King is one sentence that spans two lines without grammatical or verbal pause.
Lines such as these are said to be enjambed.
elision: the omission of an unstressed vowel or syllable to preserve the meter of a line of poetry
Example: "Th' expense of spirit in a waste of shame"
genre: The term used to categorize art, film, music, poetry, and other literary works based on style, content, or
technique. Common literary genres include tragedy, comedy, lyric, and satire.
grotesque: Characterized by distortions or incongruities.
imagery: The images of a literary work; the sensory details of a work; the figurative language of a work. Word or
sequence of words representing a sensory experience (visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, and gustatory)
Example: "bells knelling classes to a close" (auditory)
lyrical: Songlike; characterized by emotion, subjectivity, and imagination.
motif: An element that serves as a theme, which is developed further and recurs throughout the work.
mood: The atmosphere or feeling created by a literary work, partly by a description of the objects or by the style of
the descriptions. A work may contain a mood of horror, mystery, holiness, or childlike simplicity, to name a few,
depending on the author's treatment of the work.
onomatopoeia: the use of words to imitate the sounds they describe or words whose sound suggests their meaning.
Example: "crack” or "whir” or “buzz” or “drip” or “crunch” or “hiss” or “honk”
sensibility: An eighteenth century approach to truth that relied on one's feelings — not on reason.
style: The mode of expression in language; the characteristic manner of expression of an author. Many elements
contribute to style, such as diction, syntax, figurative language, imagery, selection of detail, sound effects, and
tone. "Devices of style," "narrative techniques," "rhetorical techniques," "stylistic techniques," and "resources of
language" are all phrases that call for a consideration of more than one technique.
synesthesia: an attempt to fuse different senses by describing one in terms of another
Example: the sound of her voice was sweet
symbol: an object or action that stands for something beyond itself. Something that is simultaneously itself and a
sign of something else.
Example: white = innocence, purity, hope.........death = winter, darkness, cold
theme: The main thought expressed by a work, the meaning of the work as a whole.
tone: The manner in which an author expresses his or her attitude; the intonation of the voice that expresses
meaning. Tone is described by adjectives, and the possibilities are nearly endless. Often a single adjective will not
be enough, and tone may change from chapter to chapter or even line to line. Tone is the result of allusion, diction,
figurative language, imagery, irony, symbol, syntax, and style — to cite only the relevant words in this glossary.
5. Figurative Language
figurative language : Writing that uses figures of speech such as metaphor, simile, and irony.
metaphor: A figurative use of language in which a comparison is expressed without the use of a comparative term
like "as," "like," or "than." A simile would say, "Night is like a black bat;" a metaphor would say, "the black bat
night."
simile: A directly expressed comparison; a figure of speech comparing two objects, usually with "like," "as," or
"than." It is easier to recognize a simile that a metaphor because the comparison is explicit: my love is like a
fever; my love is deeper than a well; my love is as dead as a doornail.
irony: a contradiction of expectation between what is said and what is meant (verbal irony) or what is expected in a
particular circumstance or behavior (situational), or when a character speaks in ignorance of a situation known to
the audience or other characters (situational)
Example: "Time held me green and dying / Though I sang in my chains like the sea"
apostrophe: a direct address of an inanimate object, abstract qualities, or a person not living or present.
Example: "Beware, O Asparagus, you've stalked my last meal."
hyperbole: Deliberate exaggeration, overstatement.
Example: "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."
(the opposite of understatement)
understatement: A statement which lessens or minimizes the importance of what is meant.
hyperbole.
The opposite is
metonymy: a closely related term substituted for an object or idea
Example: "We have always remained loyal to the crown."
oxymoron: A combination of opposites; the union of contradictory terms.
Example: bittersweet
paradox: a situation or phrase that appears to be contradictory but which contains a truth worth considering
Example: "In order to preserve peace, we must prepare for war."
personification: the endowment of inanimate objects or abstract concepts with animate or living qualities
Example: "Time let me play / and be golden in the mercy of his means"
pun: play on words OR a humorous use of a single word or sound with two or more implied meanings; quibble
Example: "They're called lessons . . . because they lessen from day to day."
synecdoche: a part substituted for the whole
Example: "Friends, Romans, countrymen: lend me your ears"
euphemism: A figure of speech using indirection to avoid offensive bluntness, such as "deceased" for "dead" or
"remains" for "corpse."
6. Poetic Forms
open: poetic form free from regularity and consistency in elements such as rhyme, line length, and metrical form
closed: poetic form subject to a fixed structure and pattern
blank verse: unrhymed iambic pentameter
free verse: lines with no prescribed pattern or structure. Poetry which is not written in a traditional meter but is
still rhythmical.
lyric poem: A short poem wherein the poet expresses an emotion or illuminates some life principle. Emily
Dickinson's "I Heard a Fly Buzz-When I Died" is a lyric poem wherein the speaker, on a deathbed expecting death
to appear in all its grandeur, encounters a common housefly instead.
narrative poem: A poem which tells a story. Usually a long poem, sometimes even book length, the narrative may
take the form of a plotless dialogue or may consist of a series of incidents.
ballad: A typical ballad is a plot-driven song, with one or more characters hurriedly unfurling events leading to a
dramatic conclusion. At best, a ballad does not tell the reader what’s happening, but rather shows the reader what’s
happening, describing each crucial moment in the trail of events. To convey that sense of emotional urgency, the
ballad is often constructed in quatrain stanzas, each line containing as few as three or four stresses and rhyming
either the second and fourth lines, or all alternating lines.
ballade: not to be confused with the ballad, the ballade contains three main stanzas, each with the same rhyme
scheme, plus a shorter concluding stanza, or envoi. All four stanzas have identical final refrain lines. The tone of
the ballade was often solemn and formal, with elaborate symbolism and classical references.
blues poem: one of the most popular forms of American poetry, the blues poem stems from the African American
oral tradition and the musical tradition of the blues. A blues poem typically takes on themes such as struggle,
despair, and sex. It often (but not necessarily) follows a form, in which a statement is made in the first line, a
variation is given in the second line, and an ironic alternative is declared in the third line.
cento: From the Latin word for "patchwork," the cento is a poetic form made up of lines from poems by other poets.
Though poets often borrow lines from other writers and mix them in with their own, a true cento is composed entirely
of lines from other sources. Early examples can be found in the work of Homer and Virgil. Modern centos are often
witty, creating irony or humor from the juxtaposition of images and ideas.
elegy: A solemn, sorrowful poem or meditation about death in general or specifically for one who is dead.
epic: A long, narrative poem that describes the history of a nation, community, or race.
epigram: A pithy saying, often using contrast. The epigram is also a verse form, usually brief and pointed.
lament: A poem that expresses grief, not necessarily about death
sonnet: fourteen line poem in iambic pentameter with a prescribed rhyme scheme; its subject is traditionally that of
love
English (Shakespearean) Sonnet: A sonnet probably made popular by Shakespeare with the following rhyme
scheme: abab cdcd efef gg
Italian (Petrarchan) Sonnet: A form of sonnet made popular by Petrarch with the following rhyme scheme:
abbaabba cdecde OR cdcdcd. Its first octave generally presents a thought, picture, or emotion, while its final
sestet presents an explanation, comment, or summary.
haiku: A Japanese poetic form which originated in the sixteenth century consisting of three lines: five syllables in
the first and third lines, and seven syllables in the second line (17 total syllables).
triolet: a short poem of eight lines with only two rhymes used throughout. The requirements of this fixed form are
straightforward: the first line is repeated in the fourth and seventh lines; the second line is repeated in the final
line; and only the first two end-words are used to complete the tight rhyme scheme. Thus, the poet writes only five
original lines, giving the triolet a deceptively simple appearance: ABaAabAB, where capital letters indicate
repeated lines.
rondeau: composed of fifteen lines, eight to ten syllables each, divided stanzaically into a quintet, a quatrain, and a
sestet. The rentrement consists of the first few words or the entire first line of the first stanza, and it recurs as the
last line of both the second and third stanzas. Two rhymes guide the music of the rondeau, whose rhyme scheme is
as follows (R representing the refrain): aabba aabR aabbaR.
villanelle: The villanelle has 19 lines, 5 stanzas of three lines and 1 stanza of four lines with two rhymes and two
refrains. The 1st, then the 3rd lines alternate as the last lines of stanzas 2,3,and 4, and then stanza 5 (the end) as
a couplet. It is usually written in tetrameter (4 feet) or pentameter.
sestina: a complex thirty-nine-line form composed and sung by troubadours and accompanied by music. These
troubadours were quite competitive, each trying to top the next in wit with their sestina, as well as building on the
complexity and difficulty of style. The sestina follows a strict pattern of the repetition of the initial six end-words of
the first stanza through the remaining five six-line stanzas, culminating in a three-line envoi. The lines may be of
any length, though in its initial incarnation, the sestina followed a syllabic restriction. The form is as follows, where
each numeral indicates the stanza position and the letters represent end-words:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
ABCDEF
FAEBDC
CFDABE
ECBFAD
DEACFB
BDFECA
(envoi) ECA or ACE
The envoi, sometimes known as the tornada, must also include the remaining three end-words, BDF, in the course
of the three lines so that all six recurring words appear in the final three lines. In place of a rhyme scheme, the
sestina relies on end-word repetition to effect a sort of rhyme.