+
Poetry Terms
English 11
Mrs. Love
+
Alliteration

The repetition of the beginning sounds of words

“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,” “longlived,” “short shrift,” and “the fickle finger of fate.”
+
Allusion

An instance of indirect reference

“Don’t act like a Romeo in front of her.”
“Romeo” is a reference to Shakespeare’s Romeo, a
passionate lover of Juliet, in “Romeo and Juliet”.
+
Antithesis

The direct opposite (usually followed by of or to )

Her behavior was the very antithesis of cowardly.
+
Approximate rhyme

A term used for words
in a rhyming pattern
that have some kind of
sound correspondence
but are not perfect
rhymes. Often words at
the end of lines at first
seem like they will
rhyme but are not
pronounced in perfect
rhyme.
+
Assonance

rhyme in which the same vowel sounds are used with
different consonants in the stressed syllables of the
rhyming words, as in penitent and reticence.

An example of assonance in a sentence would be the repeated
use of the /oo/ sound in the sentence, “True, I do like Sue.”
+

Ballad
A kind of narrative poem, adapted for recitation or singing;
especially, a sentimental or romantic poem in short stanzas.
+
Blank Verse

unrhymed verse, especially the unrhymed iambic
pentameter most frequently used in English dramatic, epic,
and reflective verse.

Iambic pentameter refers to a certain kind of line of poetry,
and has to do with the number of syllables in the line and the
emphasis placed on those syllables.
+
Consonance
the correspondence of consonants, especially those at the end
of a word, in a passage of prose or verse.
Great, or good, or kind, or fair,
I will ne’er the more despair;
If she love me,
this believe,
I will die ere she shall grieve;
If she slight me when I woo,
I can scorn
and let her go;
For if she be not for me,
What care I for whom she be?
+
Couplet

a pair of successive lines of
verse, especially a pair that
rhyme and are of the same
length.

"So, till the judgment that
yourself arise,/You live in
this, and dwell in lovers'
eyes."
+
Direct Metaphor

The comparison of one thing to another without the use of
like or as

“A man is but a weak reed”; “The road was a ribbon of
moonlight.”
+
End Rhyme

End rhyme is defined as when a poem has lines ending with
words that sound the same.

An example of end rhyme is the poem, Star Light, Star Bright.
+
Free Verse

The definition of free verse is poetry that does not rhyme or
have a regular meter.
+
Hyberbole

The definition of hyperbole is a description that is
exaggerated for emphasis.

An example of hyperbole is saying you are so hungry you
could eat a horse.
+
Imagery

Pictures created by the mind or from memory.

An example of imagery is a person remembering what their
first pet looked like.
+
Internal Rhyme

A rhyme that happens within a single line of poetry.

An example of internal rhyme is "while I nodded, nearly
napping, suddenly there came a tapping."
+
Oxymoron

a combination of contradictory words.

An example of oxymoron is "definite maybe” or jumbo shrimp.”
+
Metaphor

a word or phrase
used to compare two
unlike objects,
ideas, thoughts or
feelings to provide a
clearer description.

An example of a
metaphor is calling
the dependable
father a rock.
+
Mood


A pervading impression of an observer
the somber mood of the painting.
+
Onomatopoeia

is a poetic structure of words to convey how something
sounds.

An example of onomatopoeia is a train being called a “choochoo” or hearing the frog land in the pond, “Splunk!”
+
Personification

giving human characteristics to non-living things or ideas.

An author describing the sun smiling on a field of flowers is an
example of personification.
+
Rhyme

Rhyme is a poem composed of lines with similar ending
sounds.

An example of rhyme is the childrens' poem "Hickory Dickory
Dock."
+
Rhyme Scheme

a rhyme scheme is a specific pattern used in a poem that
determines which lines rhyme.

An example of a rhyme scheme is an AA BB scheme, which
means the first line rhymes with the second line, and the third
line rhymes with the fourth line.
+
Satire

the use of irony, sarcasm and humor to criticize or show the
ignorance of people.

An example of satire is The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
+
Simile

a figure of speech where two unlike things are compared
using the word "like" or "as" followed by a figurative
example.

An example of a simile is "He is as hungry as a horse."
+
Stanza

A group of lines that are part of a poem.

An example of a stanza is the first four lines in a 12-line poem.
+
Symbol

a symbol is something that stands for or represents
something else.

An example of symbol is a jack o' lantern representing
Halloween.
+
Synecdoche [si nek′də kē]

a figure of speech using a word that is a part to represent a
whole, a whole to represent a part or a material to represent
an object.

An example of a synecdoche is referring to a vehicle as
"wheels," one policeman as "the police," cola as "Coke" and
credit cards as "plastic."
+
Tone

the quality or implied meaning of something that is said.

An example of tone is sarcasm.
+
Verse

writing that has a specific rhythm to it or a specific section of
a writing.

An example of verse is a stanza or group of four lines in a
poem.