1. Poetry Vocabulary

2. Speaker
The narrator of a poem; not to be confused with the author.

3. Rhyme Scheme
The occurrence of the same or similar sounds at the end of two or more words or at the end of two or more lines of poetry

4. Rhyme Scheme There once was a man from Peru (A)
Who dreamed he was eating his shoe. (A)
He woke in the night (B)
With a terrible fright (B)
And found out that it was quite true! (A)

5. Rhyme Scheme Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall (_____)
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall (_____)
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men (_____)
Couldn’t put Humpty together again (_____)

6. Meter
The arrangement of a line of poetry by the number of syllables and the rhythm of stressed syllables

7. Rhythm
The pattern or flow of sound in a poem

8. Stanza
Two or more lines of poetry that together form one of the divisions of a poem. The stanzas of a poem are usually of the same length and follow the same pattern of meter and rhyme and are used like paragraphs in a story.

9. Mood
The overall feeling of a poem; the emotion a poet is trying to convey
Mood can be sad, humorous, silly, dramatic, romantic, lighthearted, nostalgic, etc..

10. Simile The comparison of two things using the words “like” or “as”
Examples:
Your room looks like a pig pen!
This room is as dirty as a pig pen.

11. Metaphor
The comparison of two things without using the words “like” or “as”
Examples:
Your room is a pig pen! Your friends are animals.

12. Personification
A figure of speech in which nonhuman things or abstract ideas are given human attributes
Example: The leaves danced in the wind.

13. Alliteration
The repetition of the same starting sound in several words.
Examples: Parkside Panthers
She sells sea shells by the sea shore.

14. Assonance The repetition of the same vowel sound in several words.
Examples: The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plains.

15. Theme
The abstract concept explored in a literary work; the poet’s message to his/her reader

16. Hyperbole
Exaggeration. It may be used for serious or for comic effect.
Example: “I had so much homework, I needed a pickup truck to haul my books home!”

17. Lyric Poem
A poem that expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet. A lyric poem may resemble a song in form or style.
Note: This is NOT the same as song LYRICS.

18. Narrative Poem A poem that tells a story.
Ballads and Epics are two types of narrative poems.

19. Epic Poem
A long, serious poem that tells the story of a heroic figure.
The Odyssey is an example of an epic poem.

20. Ballad
A poem that tells a story similar to a folk tale or legend and often has a repeated refrain

21. Refrain
A line or group of lines that is repeated throughout a poem, usually after every stanza.

22. Haiku
A Japanese poem composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables. Haiku often reflect on some aspect of nature.

23. Limerick
A humorous poem of five lines. Usually has the rhyme scheme AABBA

24. Free Verse
Poetry written in rhymed or unrhymed lines that have no set meter.

25. Iambic Pentameter
A strict form of poetry with 10 syllables per line with a meter of stressed syllable, unstressed syllable
“But soft!/ What light/ through yon/der win/dow breaks?” (From Romeo & Juliet)

26. Blank Verse Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter
Shakespeare’s plays were written in blank verse.

27. Sonnet
A lyric poem that is 14 lines long, with a specific rhyme scheme and meter. English sonnets are written in iambic pentameter and have the rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg .

28. Couplet Two lines of poetry that rhyme Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

29. Ode
A lyric poem written to a specific person or thing, usually in praise. It has a rhyme scheme, but that is usually left up to the poet.
Some odes are meant to be sung.

30. Onomatopoeia
A word that imitates or suggests the source of the sound it makes.
Examples: Buzz, Beep, Hiccup, Boom, Zap