POETRY TERMS
- Alliteration: the repetition of the same or similar sounds at the beginning of words.
- Apostrophe: words that are spoken to a person who is absent or imaginary, or to an object or abstract idea.
- Ballad: a type of poem, usually with 3 stanzas of 7, 8, or 10 lines and a shorter final stanza of 4 or 5 lines.
- Blank Verse: poetry that is written in unrhymed iambic pentameter.
- Couplet: In a poem, a pair of lines that are the same length and usually rhyme and form a complete thought.
- Epic: a long, serious poem that tells the story of a heroic figure.
- Figure of Speech: a verbal expression in which words are arranged in a certain way to achieve a certain effect.
- Free Verse Poetry: composed of either rhymed or unrhymed lines that have no set meter.
- Hyperbole: a figure of speech in which deliberate exaggeration is used for emphasis.
- Iambic Pentameter: a type of meter (rhythmic units) in poetry, in which there are five “beats” to a line.
- Lyric: a poem, such as a sonnet or an ode, that expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet.
- Meter: the arrangement of a line of poetry by the number of syllables and the rhythm of stressed syllables.
- Narrative: a type of poem that tells a story.
- Ode: a lyric poem that is serious and thoughtful in tone and has a very precise, formal structure.
- Onomatopoeia: a figure of speech in which words are used to imitate sounds.
- Personification: a figure of speech in which nonhuman things or abstract ideas are given human attributes.
- Rhyme: the occurrence of the same or similar sounds at the end of two or more words.
- Simile: a figure of speech in which two things are compared using the word "like" or "as.”
- Sonnet: a lyric poem that is 14 lines long, with a rhyme scheme of abab cdcd efef gg.
- Stanza: two or more lines of poetry that together form one of the divisions of a poem.
21. Allusion: reference to a real person, place, event, or literary work.
22. Tone: author’s or speaker’s attitude toward the poem’s subject or characters
23. Oxymoron: Paired words that create a contradictory relationship (joyful sorrow)
24. Theme: central message or insight into life revealed by the poem
25. Speaker: the voice of the poem
26. Symbol: anything that stands for or represents something else
27. Rhythm: pattern created by stressed & unstressed syllables
28. Rhyme Scheme: a pattern of the rhyme at the ends of lines marked alphabetically (abba)
29. Purpose: the reason for the words or ideas included by the author
30. Paradox: a statement that appears to be contradictory but actually presents a truth
31. Sensory: imagery details related to sight, sound, taste, touch, smell, and movement
32. Irony: contrast between what is stated and what is meant or between what is expected and what actually happens
33. Eye rhyme: words that look like they rhyme but do not
34. Internal rhyme: rhyme within a line
35. Assonance: repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words
36. Extended metaphor: called a conceit; exists when a metaphor is carried throughout a poem
37. Dialect: a form of language spoken by people in a particular region or group
38. Line length: determines whether the poem has a flowing or short, choppy, sound
Name: ______
Period: ______
Alliteration Apostrophe Ballad Blank Verse Couplet
Epic Figure Of Speech Free Verse Hyperbole Lyric
Iambic Pentameter Ode Meter Narrative Onomatopoeia
Personification Rhyme Simile Sonnet Stanza
Allusion Oxymoron Tone Theme Speaker
Symbol Rhythm Purpose Rhyme scheme Paradox
Irony Sensory imagery Eye rhyme Internal rhyme Assonance
Extended metaphor Dialect Line length
______pattern created by stressed & unstressed syllables
______a pattern of the rhyme at the ends of lines marked alphabetically (abba)
______the reason for the words or ideas included by the author
______a statement that appears to be contradictory but actually presents a truth
______details related to sight, sound, taste, touch, smell, and movement
______contrast between what is stated and what is meant or between what is expected and what actually happens
______words that look like they rhyme but do not rhyme within a line
______repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words
______called a conceit; exists when a metaphor is carried throughout a poem
______a form of language spoken by people in a particular region or group
______determines whether the poem has a flowing or short, choppy, sound
______the repetition of the same or similar sounds at the beginning of words.
______words that are spoken to a person who is absent or imaginary, or to an object or abstract idea.
______a type of poem, usually with 3 stanzas of 7, 8, or 10 lines and a shorter final stanza of 4 or 5 lines.
Poetry that is written in unrhymed iambic pentameter.
In a poem, a pair of lines that are the same length and usually rhyme and form a complete thought.
A long, serious poem that tells the story of a heroic figure.
A verbal expression in which words are arranged in a certain way to achieve a certain effect.
Poetry composed of either rhymed or unrhymed lines that have no set meter.
A figure of speech in which deliberate exaggeration is used for emphasis.
A type of meter (rhythmic units) in poetry, in which there are five “beats” to a line.
A poem, such as a sonnet or an ode, that expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet.
The arrangement of a line of poetry by the number of syllables and the rhythm of stressed syllables.
A type of poem that tells a story.
A lyric poem that is serious and thoughtful in tone and has a very precise, formal structure.
A figure of speech in which words are used to imitate sounds.
A figure of speech in which nonhuman things or abstract ideas are given human attributes.
The occurrence of the same or similar sounds at the end of two or more words.
A figure of speech in which two things are compared using the word "like" or "as.”
A lyric poem that is 14 lines long, with a rhyme scheme of abab cdcd efef gg.
Two or more lines of poetry that together form one of the divisions of a poem.
Reference to a real person, place, event, or literary work.
author’s or speaker’s attitude toward the poem’s subject or characters
Paired words that create a contradictory relationship (joyful sorrow)
central message or insight into life revealed by the poem
the voice of the poem
anything that stands for or represents something else