POETRY- LITERARY TERMS
1) POETRY- any piece of literature written in verse or meter
2) STANZA-one of the divisions of a poem, composed of two or more lines usually
characterized by a common pattern of meter, rhyme, and number of lines; has a single
main idea
3) QUATRAIN-the most popular stanza form in European history; it consists of four lines
4) COUPLET-a pair of successive lines of verse, esp. a pair that rhymes and is of the same
length.
5) END RHYME-rhyme of the terminal syllables of lines of poetry; the last word of two or
more lines rhyme- the exact same letters appear at the end of each word
6) INTERNAL RHYME-a rhyme created by two or more words in the same line of versethe exact same letters appear at the end of each word
7) IMAGERY-a set of mental pictures or images; the use of vivid or figurative language to
represent objects, actions, or ideas.
8) SENSORY WORDS- carefully chosen words that describe things that can be perceived
by the senses
9) BALLAD-a simple narrative song or a narrative poem suitable for singing; the ballad
usually has short stanzas
10) REPETITION-reiteration or repeating the same word, line, stanza, etc. for the purpose
of making a deeper impression on the audience
11) SIMILE- a comparison of two different things using the words like, as or than
12) METAPHOR- a comparison of two different things as if one is the other
13) PERSONIFICATION- a figure of speech in which inanimate objects or abstractions
have human qualities or are represented as possessing human form
14) ONOMATOPOEIA-the use of words to imitate sounds
15) HYPERBOLE-a figure of speech that uses exaggeration for effect
16) ALLITERATION- the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of words- it can be
a vowel sound or a consonant sound
17) ASSONANCE- the same vowel sounds are used with different consonants in the middle
or at the end of words- the exact same letters cannot appear at the end of each word
18) CONSONANCE- the same consonant sounds are used with in the middle or at the end
of words
19) TONE-an insight into the author’s attitudes about his/her subject or theme
20) MOOD- the state of mind or feeling created by a piece of writing