Vocabulary, Types and Examples
Language in Poetry
 Two Types:
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Figurative – language used to create a special effect in feeling;
characterized by figures of speech or language that compares,
exaggerates, or words that mean something other than its
literal meaning.
Literal – The exact primary meaning of a word or words.
DICTION
 Diction – an author’s choice of words based on their
correctness, clarity (clear), or effectiveness.
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Some words are purposely chosen to represent ideas, not to
come right out and say them.
IMAGERY
 Imagery – words or phrases a writer selects to create a
certain picture in the mind; based on sensory detail.
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Imagery uses descriptive words to evoke the five senses.
METER AND RHYTHM
 Meter and rhythm describe patterned repetition of
stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.
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The meter and rhythm of a poem creates a beat.
VERSE AND REFRAIN
 Verse – metric line of poetry names according to the
kind and number of feet composing it.
 Refrain – repetition of a line or phrase of a poem at
regular intervals, especially at the end of a stanza
(chorus).
STANZA
 Stanza – a division of poetry named for the number of
lines it contains.
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When you see a space between lines in a poem, that means a
new stanza is beginning.
RHYME
 Rhyme – similarity or likeness of sound existing between
two words.
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T op = St op
C at= M at
END RHYME
 End Rhyme – rhyming words that appear at the ends of
two or more lines of poetry.
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I do not like green eggs and ham.
I do not like them Sam I am.
INTERNAL RHYME
 Internal Rhyme – occurs when rhyming words appear in
the same line of poetry.
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The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.
RHYME SCHEME
 Rhyme Scheme – the pattern or sequence in which
rhyme sounds occur in a stanza or poem.

To label a rhyme scheme, a similar letter is assigned to each
pair of rhyming sounds in a stanza.
LABELING RHYME SCHEME
 Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? A
Though are more lovely and temperate: B
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, A
And summer’s lease hath all to short a date. B
Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines C
And often is his gold complexion dimmed; D
And every fair from fair sometimes declines C
By chance or nature changing course untrimmed. D

The rhyme scheme is ABAB CDCD
ALLITERATION
 Alliteration – repetition of initial consonant sounds in
words.

She sells sea shells down by the seashore.
ASSONANCE
 Assonance – repetition of vowel sounds without the
repetition of consonant sounds.

How now brown cow.
SIMILE
 Simile – comparison of two unlike things using the
words “like” or “as.”

He acts like an animal when he eats!
METAPHOR
 Metaphor – comparison of two unlike things NOT using
“like” or “as.”
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He is an animal when he eats!
PERSONIFICATION
 Personification – giving human qualities to non-human
objects.
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The wind whispered through the trees.
The sun smiled down on the earth.
The flag waved at us.
The statue stared at us.
ONOMATOPOEIA
 Onomatopoeia – the use of a word whose sound suggests
its meaning.
HYPERBOLE
 Hyperbole – The use of exaggeration for a heightened
effect.
ALLUSION
 Allusion – an indirect reference to art, literature, history,
etc. that the author expects the reader to recognize.
SYMBOLISM/SYMBOL
 Symbolism – the use of a person, place, or thing or an
event used to represent something else. Symbol – the
use of a concrete object to represent something
abstract.
PARADOX
 Paradox – an apparent contradiction which is somehow
true.
OXYMORON
 Oxymoron – a paradox where two successive words (side by
side) seemingly contradict each other.
METONYMY
 Metonymy – the substitution of a term naming an object
closely associated with the word in mind for the word itself.
 Saying “The White House decided..” to indicate what the
President did.
SAMPLE CINQUAIN
 CINQUAIN (“sin-kane) – five line poem with definite
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requirements for each line.
Line 1: One word – what the poem is about (noun).
Line 2: Two words – words that describe the word in line 1
(adjectives).
Line 3: Three words – actions associated with the word in line 1;
what it does (verbs in the same form)
Line 4: Four Words – Words that express thought or feeling
about the word in line 1; words that make a statement about the
word in line 1 (NOT A COMPLETE SENTENCE)
Line 5: One word – Another word for the word in line 1; or a
word that tells how you feel about the word in line 1 (noun)
SAMPLE CINQUAIN
Mice
Little, quiet
Running, crawling, jumping
Eat holes in furniture
Demons
DIAMANTE (DIAMOND)
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Diamante – seven-line poem with definite requirements.
Line 1: One word (noun that has an opposite)
Line 2: Two words (two adjectives describing the noun)
Line 3: Three words (three participles – words ending in –ing or –
ed)
Line 4: Four words (two nouns related to the word in line 1 and
two nouns that are opposite of the first two)
Line 5: Three words (three participles indicating change or
development of the subject ending in –ing or –ed)
Line 6: Two words (two adjectives carrying on the idea of change
or development)
Line 7: One word (noun that is opposite of line 1)
SAMPLE DIAMANTE
Fire
Red, hot
Burning, scalding, blistering
Heat, flames – frost, freezer
Cooling, soothing, refreshing
Cold, chilly
Ice
 Notice the diamond shape of the poem.
BALLAD
 Ballad-Simple narrative poem. Presents a single dramatic
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episode.
Story told through action and dialogue.
Deals with subjects such as adventure, love, jealousy,
heroism, disaster, or revenge.
Four-line stanzas. Usually meant to be sung.
Usually ABCB rhyme scheme.
Usually has a refrain – ending of a stanza or separate stanza
that is repeated.
HAIKU
 Haiku – traditional form of Japanese poetry composed
of three lines. Haiku is used to capture a moment,
express a feeling, and/or celebrate some phase or
element of nature.
 1 Line – 5 syllables
 2 Line – 7 syllables
 3 Line – 5 syllables
 These lines can be in any order.
SAMPLE HAIKU
Aroma so sweet,
Whoppers sitting on a plate,
The thrill of eating.