Poetry Unit Test Study Guide Terms

ALLITERATION Repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning of words. Many tongue twisters have alliteration. Example: slippery slope frantic frenzy

ALLUSION Referring to a well know story, historical event, work of art or other well know topic.

ASSONANCE Repetition of a vowel sound anywhere in the word. Example: close, home, alone, erode

CONSONANCE Repetition of a consonant sound anywhere but the beginning of the word. Example: sand, wind, defend

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE Text that means something other than the words written. SimileMetaphor PersonificationSymbol HyperboleAllusion

Hyperbole Over exaggeration to make a point. Often used for humor. Example: I have told you a million times to clean your room.

METAPHOR Describes one thing as if it were another. It is a comparison, but it does NOT use “like” or “as” to make the comparison. Example: The moon was a ghostly galleon.

MOOD How the text makes ME feel. Five things that affect mood: Events Setting Word choice Illustrations Poetic Devices

ONOMATOPOEIA Use of words that imitate sounds. Example: whisper, stomp

PERSONIFICATION Gives human qualities to something that is not human. Example: The stars winked at us from above.

Poet A person who writes poetry.

REPETITION Repeated use of a sound, word, phrase, or sentence. The items being repeated do not have to be next to each other in the poem. Example: The highwayman came riding, riding, riding.

RHYME Repetition of a sound at the end of words. Example: hope, rope night, fright

RHYME SCHEME The pattern of rhyme in a stanza. Rhyme scheme is identified with the letters of the alphabet. Example: A,A,B,B,A

SIMILE A comparison using “like” or “as”. Example: He was as angry as a hornet.

SOUND DEVICES Poetic devices that change the way a poem sounds. Sound devices are sometimes called “musical language.” ConsonanceAssonance AlliterationRhyme OnomatopoeiaRepetition

STANZA A group of lines in a poem. Stanzas are separated by lines or indentations.

Symbol Uses one thing to stand for something else. Examples: Sleep is sometimes a symbol for death. Red is a symbol of strong emotion. (love, anger, etc)

TONE The attitude the author inTends to create. Examples of tone could be cheerful sarcastic happy angry

FORMS OF POETRY

LYRIC POETRY Expresses the poet’s thoughts and feelings about a single image or idea using musical language. Examples: “Maestro” and “Bailando”

NARRATIVE Tells a story. Contains the elements of a story. character setting plot conflict

HAIKU A traditional Japanese form of poetry. Three lines Seventeen syllables – 5, 7, 5 Usually about nature Example: haiku by Buson

CONCRETE The shape of the poem creates a visual image that suggests the poem’s subject. Example: “Seal”

Deep in a windless Wood, not one leaf dares to move. Something is afraid.