Poetry and Nonfiction Review of Terms

Poetry Terms Physical parts of a poem: Stanza -- a group of lines separated by a space. Notice whether the poem is divided into stanzas and if so, number them! Line numbers -- every 5th line marked with the number to the side (5, 10, 15, etc.) to help you locate a specific line or set of lines by counting up or down.

Italics / italicized words: Italics / italicized words: words written in italics are italicized for a reason. For example, a poet may want to put emphasis on a word (I told you he was a thief!) or the poet wants the words/lines/phrases in italics to stand out for some reason. For example: Or does it explode? (from “Harlem”) “I never thought about how he felt.”

Poet: writer of a poem Speaker: narrator of a poem; the person or thing speaking the words of the poem. Figurative Language: not intended to be taken literally. For example, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, personification. Figurative language is intentional. Think about why the poet or author chose to use that figure of speech.

Simile: compares two unlike things using like or as Metaphor: compares two unlike things; associates the qualities of one thing with another Hyperbole: an extreme exaggeration for effect Personification: Giving human qualities to something non-human. Idiom: a popular saying or expression ,often written in quotation marks “”

Useful vocabulary terms: convey contrast distinguish illustrate message conclude present organize

Nonfiction Text Structures Compare/Contrast Sequential (Process) Problem/Solution Cause/Effect Topical/Descriptive Chronological