Matt Stephenson, Jillian Millard

SOUND

Alliteration: the repetition of usually initialconsonantsounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables
--An alliteration can be identified when there are multiple words with the same consonant within the same sentence or a line in poetry. The words with the same consonant will be next to each other. The similar vowel is always the first letter in the words.

Examples:

Mike’s microphone made much music
Tim’s took tons of tools to make toys for tots.
Fred’s friends fried Fritos for Friday’s food.

Poetry Example

“Dewdrops Dancing Down Daisies”
By Paul Mc Cann
Don't delay dawns disarming display .
Dusk demands daylight .
Dewdrops dwell delicately
drawing dazzling delight .
Dewdrops dilute daisies domain.
Distinguished debutantes . Diamonds defray delivered
daylights distilled daisy dance .

Assonance: resemblance of sound in words or syllables
--An assonance is usually a vowel and does not have to be the beginning letters of the words like an alliteration. It can be two vowels that produce the similar sound.

Examples

“Try to light the fire”
“I lie down by the side of my bride”
“Fleet feet sweep by sleeping geese”

“Early Moon” by Carl Sanburg

“Poetry is old, ancient, goes back far. It is among the oldest of living things. So old it is that no man knows how and why the first poems came.”

Consonance: correspondence or recurrence of sounds especially in words:recurrence or repetition ofconsonantsespecially at the end of stressed syllables without the similar correspondence of vowels
--Consonances contain similar consonant sounds but not similar vowels following the consonants.

Examples

I dropped the locket in the thick mud.

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”
Robert Frost (1874-1963)

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

Onomatopoeia: the naming of a thing or action by a vocalimitationof the sound associated with it
--Simply, the word makes the noise that it is describing.

Cock-a-doodle-do, crowed the rooster.
The clock goes ticktock.
The cow says moo all day long.
The duck quacked at the bird.
Zip up your pants.

“The Pit Bull”

D. Alsup

The pit bull yelped,

As the police took him away,

Never to growl again,

At us kids in play,

The shriek, squeal, and scream of the English bulldog…

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FORM 1

Catherine Falcone & Pete Frank

Sonnet- noun. a poem, properly expressive of a single, complete thought, idea, or sentiment, of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter, with rhymes arranged according to one of certain definite schemes, being in the strict or Italian form divided into a major group of 8 lines (the octave) followed by a minor group of 6 lines (the sestet), and in a common English form into 3 quatrains followed by a couplet.

A poem with one complete thought, consisting of 14 lines and rhyme schemes or pattern.

Ex. Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare- one complete thought, 14 lines, rhyming pattern.

Ode- noun. A lyric poem typically of elaborate or irregular metrical form and expresses of exalted or enthusiastic emotion.

A poem intended to be sung, with expression of exalted or enthusiastic emotion.

Ex. “An Ode to Joy” by Friedrich von Schiller- A lyric poem that emphasizes joyous emotions.

dramatic monologue- noun. A poetic form in which a single character, addressing a silent auditor at a critical moment, reveals himself or herself and the dramatic situation.

A single character talks alone, reflecting on themselves and the dramatic situation.

Ex. “Porphyria's Lover" by Robert Browning

This highly disturbing and violent poem is spoken from the point of view of a murderer. When his ladylove, Prophyria, confesses her love, the narrator strangles her with her own hair in order to preserve their “happiest moment.” Sick, twisted, and diabolically eloquent!

“I listened with heart fit to break.
When glided in Porphyria; straight
She shut the cold out and the storm,
And kneeled and made the cheerless grate
Blaze up, and all the cottage warm;”

"Dramatic Monologue - Porphyria's Lover by Robert Browning." Plays / Drama. The New York Times Company, 2011. Web. 09 Nov. 2011. <

Elegy- noun. A mournful, melancholy, or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.

A sad and dull poem, used for mourning or a funeral song.

Ex. "O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman- A poem about a recently deceased person; Son talking to his deceased father. (excerpt):

"Here Captain! dear father!

This arm beneath your head;

It is some dream that on deck,

You've fallen cold and dead.”

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Form 2

Daniel Dougherty

Enjambment: the running on of the thought from one line, couplet, or stanza to the next without a syntactical break.

the continuation of poem that repeats a basic thought or object in each line
“I think that I shall never see / A poem as lovely as a tree” (J. Kilmer)

blank verse: unrhymed verse, especially the unrhymed iambic pentameter most frequently used in English dramatic, epic, and reflective verse.

a blank verse has no rhythm that continues for line to line, and that can be viewed a conversation between two people
“Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, / Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, / To the last syllable of recorded time;” (WS)

Apostrophe: Term is a figure of speech in which someone absent or dead or something nonhuman is addressed as if it were alive and present and was able to reply.

an example of the is speaking to a corpse at a funeral in sorrow
“"Oh, Death, be not proud” (J. Donne)

Personification: the attribution of a personal nature or character to inanimate objects or abstract notions, especially as a rhetorical figure.

To relate personal traits to inanimate objects which have to emotions or human tendencies
“The wind stood up and gave a shout.” (J. Stephens)

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METER

Stephen Hemmig and Kyle Valentino

Meter: Rhythmic element as measured by division into parts of equal time value. Units of measurement, in terms of number of beats adopted for a given piece of music.

Metrical Unit called a foot
4 basic patterns of stress

Iamb (Unstressed) ˘
Iambic foot (Unstressed) ˘
Trochee (Stressed) ‘
Trochaic Foot (Stressed)’

Lines classified to the number of Metrical feet

My mis/ tress’ eyes/ are no/ thing like/ the sun
Tell me/ not in/mourn ful/ num bers

-Pg. 502 in Literature and the Writing Process

Rhyme Scheme: Pattern of Rhymes used in a poem, usually marked by letters to symbolize correspondences, as rhyme royal.

Ex. He was found by the Bureau of Statistics to be (a)

One against whom there was no official complaint (b)

And all the reports on his conduct agree (a)

That, in the modern sense of an old- fashioned word, he was a saint (b)

For in everything he did he served the greater community (a)

Except for the war till the day he retired (c)

He worked in a factory and never got fired (c)

-“The Unknown Citizen” by Edmund Waller

Quatrain: a stanza or poem of four lines, usually with alternate rhymes.

Ex. “O’Melia, my dear, this does everything crown!

Who could have supposed I should meet you in Town?

And whence such fair garments, such prosperity?”

“O’ didn’t you know I’d be ruined?” Said she.

-“The Ruined Maid” by Thomas Hardy

Couplet: A pair of successive lines of verse, especially a pair that rhymes and is of the same length.

Ex “For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings,

That then I scorn to change my state with Kings.”

-William Shakespeare

Ex “He was found by the Bureau of Statistics to be,

One against whom there was no official complaint.”

-“The Unknown Citizen” by Edmund Waller

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Figurative Language

Samuel Forst

Similes:

Dictionary Definition:

noun

1. a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared, as in “she is like a rose.” Compare metaphor.

2. an instance of such a figure of speech or a use of words exemplifying it.

Simple Definition:

A Simile is a comparison between two unlike things using the words “like” or “as”

-They have to be two unlike things because it’s not really a simile if you’re comparing, for example, some sand to some more sand.

-A comparison between two unlike things without the words “like” or “as” is no longer a simile, but more of a metaphor.

Example:

“Twinkle, twinkle little star, How I wonder what you are, Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky.”

(The famous example above is comparing the “little star” to a “diamond” using the word “like”.)

Metaphors:

Dictionary Definition:

noun

1.afigure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to somethingto which it isnot literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance,as in “A mighty fortress is our God.” Comparemixed metaphor, simile(def. 1).

2. somethingused,orregardedasbeingused,to represent something else; emblem;symbol.

Simple Definition:

A metaphor is a comparison of two unlike things without using the words “like” or “as”.

Example:

“Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.”

(This is from a sonnet by Shakespeare and compares someone to a summer’s day in great length.

Symbolism:

Dictionary Definition:

noun

1.thepracticeof representing things by symbols, or of investingthingswithasymbolicmeaningor character.

2. a set or systemofsymbols.

3. symbolicmeaningorcharacter.

Simple Definition:

In Literature, symbolism occurs when one character or object is representing something else. This can be used to manifest intangible concepts as physical objects and more.

Example
In the epic poem “Beowulf”, Meade Halls are where the town’s warriors would celebrate their victories, a happy Meade Hall is symbolic for a successful, protected and happy town.

Allusion:

Dictionary Definition:

noun

1.apassing or casual reference; an incidental mention of something,either directly or by implication: an allusion to Shakespeare.

2. the actofalluding.

Simple Definition:

An allusion is an indirect reference to a story, event, thing or place.

Example:

In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”, there is a bust of Pallas Athena. This is an allusion to the Goddess of Wisdom.

speaker:

narrator, persona
Although poetry is, by nature, quite subjective and emotional, readers must realize that the poet speaks through a created (fictional) character --
NOT necessarily the author
not his/her gender, race, age
not automatically his thoughts, views, opinions, beliefs, attitudes
Disclaimer: “Please understand that the opinions, views, and comments that appear in the poem will not necessarily reflect the views held by ….”
Point-of-View (POV)

diction:

word choice
link to meaning; appeals to emotion, reason, & character; (language = situation)
connotation vs. denotation:
connotation: implied meaning & attitude, suggestions & associations, emotional connections
positively or negatively charged
feelings or values; influenced by historical or cultural context
“terrorist” in post-9/11 America
“mother”
denotation: dictionary definition
dictionary:
look up words you do not know
look up definitions of key words (different definitions = different meanings)
types of diction:
formal: no slang or clichés; no contractions; proper punctuation, style, grammar; for an educated reader—sophisticated, erudite vocabulary; keeps a “formal distance” from the reader (does not directly address the reader—no “you”)
informal: much slang, many pat expressions/clichés; used amongst friends
colloquial: informal; used in personal, everyday speech (clichés); not as many clichés as informal (“pricey” instead of “expensive”; “flick” for “movie”)
to what kind of audience would it be used
in what kind of situations would it be used
Britannica Online illustrates the differences between the levels like this:
“Children” or “youths”(formal), “kids,” “youngsters,” and “brats” (informal, colloquial, slang)

FREE VERSE: Poetry without regular rhythm, rhyme, form

SONNET: A 14-line poem with 10-syllable lines (pentameter).

SHAKESPEAREAN SONNET (English Sonnet):
3 quatrains + 1 couplet;
abab, cdcd, efef, gg; 7 rhymes.
PETRACHAN SONNET (Italian Sonnet):
octave + sestet (8+6);
abba, abba, cdecde (sestet rhyme scheme varies);
5 rhymes.