AlliterationIs a repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words; used for emphasis and to give a musical quality to the writing.
BalladIs a poem that tells a story and is meant to be sung or recited; usually depict ordinary people in the midst of tragic events or adventures of love and bravery.
FormIs its structure or organization; the arrangement of words and lines on the page. Some poems follow predictable patterns, with the same number of syllables in each line and the same number of lines in each stanza.
Free versePoetry without regular patterns of rhyme and rhythm is called . Some poets use this to capture the sounds and rhythms of ordinary speech.
HyperboleIs a figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated for emphasis or for humorous effect.
ImageryConsists of words and phrases that appeal to reader’s five senses; details to help readers imagine how things look, feel, smell, sound, and taste.
LinesA unit in the structure of a poem consisting of one or more metrical feet arranged as a rhythmical entity.
LyricPoetry that presents the thoughts and feelings of a single speaker; most poems are lyric (except narrative) and cover many subjects from love to death to everyday experiences.
MetaphorIs a comparison of two things that have some quality in common; does not contain words such as “like” or “as” to make a comparison.
MeterIs the regular pattern of accented (‘) and the unaccented ( ˘ ) syllables; all poems have rhythm although not all have . Each unit of is as a foot.
NarrativeTells a story; like fiction, it contains characters, setting, and plots. It might also contain such elements of poetry as rhyme, rhythm, imagery, and figurative language.
OnomatopoeiaIs the use of words whose sounds suggest their meaning; hiss, bang, thud, etc.
PersonificationThe giving of human qualities to an animal, object, or idea.
RhymeThe repetition of sounds at the ends of words; words when their accented vowels and all letters that follow have identical sounds.
Rhyme (external or end)The most common form of rhyme, in which the rhyming words are at the end of the lines.
Rhyme (internal)Rhyming that occurs within a line is called .
Rhyme repetitionIs a technique in which a sound, word, phrase, or line is repeated for effect or emphasis.
Rhyme schemeThe patterns of end rhyme; the pattern is charted by assigning a letter of the alphabet, beginning with the letter “a” to each line; lines that rhyme are given the same letter.
SimileIs a comparison of two things that have some quality in common; the comparison is expressed by means of a word such as “like, as,” or “resembles”.
StanzaIs a grouping of two or more lines; is comparable to a paragraph. May have the same number of lines or may vary.
SpeakerIs the voice that talks to the reader in poem.
Sound devicesMade up by alliteration, onomatopoeia, repetition, thyme, rhythm.
SymbolismIs a person, a place, an object, or an action that stands for something beyond itself.
ConnotationIs a word’s ideas or feelings.
DenotationIs a word’s dictionary meaning.
IdiomIs an expression whose meaning is different from the sum of the meaning of the individual words.
ImageryConsists of words and phrases that appeal to readers’ five senses.
PoetryIs a type of literature in which ideas and feelings are expressed in compact, imaginative, and often musical language.
allusionIs a reference to a famous person, place, event, or work of literature.
figurative languageConveys (states) a meaning beyond the ordinary, literal meaning.
