Poetic Terms Alliteration The repetition of the beginning sounds of words, as in “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,” “long-lived,” “short shrift,” and “the fickle finger of fate.” Allusion When a reference is made to something or somebody who is famous. Assonance The use of the same vowel sound with different consonants or the same consonant with different vowels in successive words or stressed syllables, as in a line of verse. Examples are time and light or mystery and mastery. Ballad A simple narrative poem of folk origin composed in short stanzas. May be a song. Blank Verse Unrhymed verse, especially the unrhymed iambic pentameter most frequently used in English dramatic, epic, and reflective verse. Cacophony The use of unharmonious or dissonant speech sounds in language Couplet A pair of successive lines of verse, especially a pair that rhyme and are of the same length. Figurative The meaning of the poem that is deeper than just the words on the page. Hyperbole obvious and intentional exaggeration. Imagery Figurative or descriptive language in a literary work Internal Rhyme A rhyme created by words within two or more lines of a verse. Literal The words mean exactly what they say, word for word Local Colour The characteristic features or atmosphere of a place or time. Metaphor A comparison of two things not using the words “like” or “as.” Meter Poetic measure; arrangement of words in regularly measured, patterned, or rhythmic lines or verses Onomatopoeia The formation of words whose sound is imitative of the sound of the noise or action designated, such as hiss, buzz, and bang Oxymoron A rhetorical device in which two seemingly contradictory words are used together for effect: “She is just a poor little rich girl Personification The attribution of human characteristics to things, abstract ideas, etc, as for literary or artistic effect Prose The ordinary form of spoken or written language, without metrical structure, as distinguished from poetry or verse. Rhyme A word agreeing with another in end sound: Find is a rhyme for mind and womankind Scansion The metrical analysis of verse. The usual marks for scansion are ˘ for a short or unaccented syllable, ¯ or · for a long or accented syllable, ^ for a rest. Simile A figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared using “like” or “as”, for example “she is like a rose.” Stanza An arrangement of a certain number of lines, usually four or more, sometimes having a fixed length, meter, or rhyme scheme, forming a division of a poem Symbol Something used for or regarded as representing something else; a material object representing something, often something immaterial; emblem, token, or sign. Theme A dominant message in the piece of writing Tone The overall mood or feeling