Poetry Terms
Mrs. Martin
English
Alliteration
The repetition of consonant
sounds at the beginning of
words
EX: Polly’s pink pajamas
Allusion
Referring to
another work of
literature or art
Analogy
a point-by-point
comparison between
two things that are
alike in some respect.
Assonance
the repetition of
vowel sounds within
nonrhyming words.
Ballad
a poem that tells a
story and is meant to
be sung or recited
Blank Verse
unrhymed poetry
written in iambic
pentameter
Character
the people
who take part
in the action
Connotation
the attitudes and
feelings
associated with a
word
Consonance
a
recurrence or repetition of
consonants especially at the end
of stressed syllables without the
similar correspondence of
vowels
 ex. “stroke” and “luck”
Couplet
A pair of lines
working as a unit
in a poem
(may or may not rhyme)
Couplet Example:
Into my empty head there come
a cotton beach, a dock wherefrom
Denotation
the dictionary
definition of a
word
Elegy
A lyric poem of
mourning—a
reflection on the
death of someone or
on a sorrow.
Epic
a long narrative poem
about the adventures of
a hero whose actions
reflect the ideals and
values of a nation or
race
Form
the way a poem is laid out on
the page – the length and
placement of the lines and
the grouping of lines into
stanzas
Free Verse
poetry that does not
contain a regular
pattern of rhyme and
meter
Haiku
Japanese verse, written in 17 syllables
divided into 3 lines of 5, 7, and 5
syllables, and employing highly
evocative allusions and comparisons,
often on the subject of nature or one of
the seasons.
Iambic Pentameter
a metrical line of five feet, or
units, each of which is made
up of two syllables, the first
unstressed and the second
stressed
Imagery
descriptive words and
phrases that re-create
sensory experiences for
the reader
Irony
special kind of contrast
between appearance and
reality – usually one in which
reality is the opposite from
what it seems
Lyric
a short poem in which a
single speaker
expresses personal
thoughts and feelings
Metaphor
a figure of speech that
makes a comparison
between two things that
are basically unlike but
that have something in
common
Octave (OK-TAVE)
An eight-line stanza in a poem. Most
often associated with the first 8 lines of
an Italian sonnet.
 May also be used for a poem consisting
of only 8 lines.

Onomatopoeia
the use of
words whose
sounds
suggest their
meaning





Crunch
Bam
Pow
Buzz
Snap
Parallelism
the use of similar
grammatical constructions
to express ideas that are
related or equal in
importance
Petrarchan (Italian) Sonnet
a sonnet form popularized by Petrarch,
consisting of an octave with the rhyme
scheme abbaabba and of a sestet with
one of several rhyme schemes, as
cdecde or cdcdcd.
Poetry
a type of literature in
which words are
chosen and arranged
to create a certain
effect
Quatrain
Four line stanza in
a poem working
together as a unit
(may or may not rhyme)
Repetition
a technique in which a
sound, word, phrase,
or line is repeated for
effect or emphasis
Rhyme
the occurrence of a
similar or identical
sound at the ends of
two or more words,
such as suite, heat, and
complete
Rhyme Scheme
the pattern of
end rhyme in a
poem
rhythm
Rhythm is a musical quality produced
by the repetition of stressed and
unstressed syllables. Rhythm occurs in
all forms of language, both written and
spoken, but is particularly important in
poetry
Sestet (Ses-Tet)
6 line stanza in a poem
 Most often used to describe the second
division of an Italian Sonnet which
usually indicates the personal emotion of
the author about the situation presented
in the octave

Sestet—situation Octave—emotion
 Sestet—problem Octave--solution

Shakespearean (English) Sonnet
a sonnet form used by Shakespeare and
having the rhyme scheme abab, cdcd,
efef, gg.
easily recognized by fourteen lines of
iambic pentameter. There are three four
line verses with their own rhyme scheme
ending with a two line rhyming couplet or
conclusion.
simile
a figure of speech in which two unlike
things are explicitly compared, as in “she
is like a rose.”
sonnet
a poem, properly expressive of a single,
complete thought, idea, or sentiment, of
14 lines with rhymes arranged according
to one of certain definite schemes.
Speakers
The voice that talks to the
reader
Stanza
A group of lines in a
poem.
Point of view

The perspective from which a story is
told.
theme

Central Ideas explored by a literary work