Poetry Terms
- Haiku- three line, seventeen syllable poem about nature.
An old silent pond...
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again.
By Basho Matsuo
- Limerick-five line poem with a couplet and one triplet; rhyme scheme A, A, B, B, A; usually humorous
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- Ballad- a song-like narrative poem; usually has rhyme, rhythm, and refrain.
Example:
- Free verse- poetry without rules, rhythm or rhyme.
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- Lyric- a short poem expressing emotion; words for a song.
Example:
- Figurative language- uses comparison to create vivid word pictures
Example: simile, metaphor, hyperbole, idiom, alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, personification
- Sensory words- words relating to the five senses
Example: velvety, sticky, musty, salty, metallic, gurgling
- Simile- a comparison using like or as.
Example: She swims like a fish.
- Hyperbole- extreme exaggeration
Example: It took forever to get there.
- Metaphor- states one thing is something else, but does NOT use like or as.
Example: She is a fish in the water.
- Idiom- words or phrases that cannot be taken literally
Example: It’s raining cats and dogs.
- Rhyme-repetition of sounds at the end of words.
- Internal rhyme-occurs within a line when two words have similar sounds.
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- End rhyme- repetition of similar sounds that comes at the end of lines of poetry.
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- Rhythm-a sound pattern (a beat) created by stressed and unstressed syllables.
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- Repetition- repeated use of sounds, words, or ideas for effect or emphasis.
Example: Best Kinds
©Alex
The best kinds of people are warm and kind,
They are always there and they never mind.
The best kinds of people smile and embrace,
They support you with strength and grace.
The best kinds of people love and cherish,
They lift you up when you're near to perish.
The best kinds of people share your joy,
To laugh with you, to joke and enjoy.
The best kinds of people stand up tall,
No matter how hard they fall.
The best kinds of people are honest and true
The best kind of person, my dear, is you.
Source:
Family Friend Poems
- Alliteration- repetition of the same beginning consonant sound
Example: sweet-scented simmering sauce
- Onomatopoeia- words such as: hiss, rumble and pop; the word suggest its meaning
- Personification- gives human quality to non-human things, such as objects or animals
Example: the wind whispered in my ear
- Symbolism- symbolic meaning or character, what it is and more
Example:
- Couplet- a twolined poem that rhymes
Example: When I go to the football game *Another example!
People yell like they’re insane.
- Quatrain- a four line poem
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- Imagery- a description, rich in sensory words, to create a picture in the reader’s mind
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- Stanza- lines grouped together in a poem
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- Mood- the emotions/feelings a piece of writing evokes/causes