POETRY TERMS
An Exciting Language
OXYMORON: joining contradictory terms to
make a point or emphasize a phrase... (the
cold sun, the kind killer, the small giant...)
example: excerpt from "He Stands Upon His
Tower Gazing"
Together they are apart,
apart together; opposed in flesh,
combined in spirit.
Apart is dependence but no freedom:
together fleshly- one,
but feeling
separate.
- Richard C. Guches
STANZA:
a grouping of lines in a
poem (like paragraphs
in an essay)
REFRAIN:
repetition of a group of
lines, similar to the
chorus of a song
RHYME:
repetition of end
sounds of words at the
same places (usually
end of each line)
RHYME SCHEME:
the patterns of rhyme
in a stanza (usually
mapped out using A,B,C
etc.)
example: To Electra
A I dare not ask a kiss,
B I dare not beg a smile,
A Lest having that, or this,
B I might grow proud the while.
A
B
A
B
No, no, the utmost share
Of my desire shall be
Only to kiss the air
That lately kissed thee.
- Robert Herrick
IMAGERY:
1. sensory impressions and
2. figurative language
1. Sensory impressions:
writing which appeals
to the senses (sight,
taste, sound, touch,
smell)
examples: salty,
smooth, rotten, jingle
2. Figurative language:
similes (like or as),
metaphors (is, are, am), and
personification (human
characteristics to inanimate
objects or animals) to
communicate a more symbolic
meaning, rather than literal.
Example:
Moons
There are moons like continents
Diminishing to a white stone
Softly smoking
In a fog-bound ocean.
Equinoctial moons,
Immense rain barrels spilling
their yellow water.
Moons like eyes turned inward,
Hard and bulging
On the blue cheek of eternity.
And moons half-broken,
Eaten by eagle shadows...
But the moon of the poet
Is soiled and scratched, its seas
Are flowing with dust.
And other moons are rising,
Swollen like boilsIn their blood shot depths
The warfare of planets
Silently drips and festers.
- John Highness
ASSONANCE:
(or near rhyme) where
stressed vowels in
words agree but the
consonants do not
Example:
Excerpt from 258
When it comes, the
Landscape listens
Shadows-hold their breathWhen it goes, ‘tis like the
Distance
On the look of death-Emily Dickinson
ALLITERATION:
(Or head rhyme) the
echo of the first sound
of several words in a
line
Example: The supercilious snake
suddenly and softly hissed his
message.
FREE VERSE:
Poetry that doesn’t
rhyme and doesn’t have
a constant syllable
count or line.
BLANK VERSE:
Poetry that doesn’t
rhyme but follows
syllable or stressed
patterns.
From Romeo and Juiet
“but soft! What light through
yonder window breaks
It is the east and Juliet is the
sun!
Arise, fair sin, and kill the
envious moon
Who is already sick and pale
with grief
That thou her maid art far more
fair than she.”
ONOMATOPEIA:
Words which represent
sounds (buzz, moo,
meow, swish, whirr,
hiss)
HYPERBOLE:
When conscious
exaggeration is used,
not taken literally but
for emotional effect
UNDERSTATEMENT:
When the literal sense
of what is said falls
short of the magnitude
of what is being talked
about; also used for
effect
Excerpt from “Courage”- Anne Sexton
Later,
when you face old age and its natural conclusion
your courage will still be shown in the little ways,
each spring will be a sword you’ll sharpen,
those you love will live in a fever of love,
and you’ll bargain with the calendar
and at the last moment
when death opens the back door
you’ll put on your carpet slippers
and stride out.
REPETITION:
The repeating of a word or
phrase to add emphasis or
rhythm
PERSONA:
The “second self” of the
poet; when a poet creates
a character of
his/herself who is writing
the poem (narrator or
speaker who is separate
from the poet)
Mother to Son by Langston Hughes
Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floorBare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's
And turnin' corners.
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on those steps
'Cause you find it's kinder hard.
Don't you fall nowFor I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.