Vocabulary List 3 ELA POETRY TERMS

Denotation Noun The literal meaning of a word; a dictionary definition.

Connotation Noun Adding an additional meaning to a word or phrase, apart from its definition. Often this added meaning is symbolic in nature.

Words What words did you find?

Words I Found: Play Blow Break Split Run Fly Fall Light Space

Shades of Meaning Plural Noun Slight differences in the meanings of words and phrases. Examples: cool → cold → icy → frigid wondered → heard → suspected → believed → knew Choosing the precise word is EXTREMELY important!

Nuance Noun A subtle difference in or shade of meaning, expression, or sound.

Diction Noun The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing; the linguistic style, the vocabulary, and the metaphors used by the poet.

Figure of Speech Noun A figure of speech is a word or phrase that has a meaning something different than its literal meaning. It can be a metaphor or simile that is designed to further explain a concept. Or, it can be a different way of pronouncing a word or phrase such as with alliteration to give further meaning or a different sound.

Literal Meaning Noun Taking words in their usual or most basic sense without metaphor or allegory, using denotation.

Nonliteral (Figurative) Meaning Noun Not using or taking words in their usual or most basic sense, using connotation or figures of speech.

Symbol Noun A thing that represents or stands for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract.

Idiom Noun An expression whose meaning is not predictable from its literal meanings.

Irony Noun The use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning. Three types: Verbal Dramatic Situational

Mock Verb Tease or laugh at in a scornful or contemptuous manner; ridicule.

Mood Noun The feeling a piece of literature arouses in the reader.

Tone Noun The writer's attitude toward the audience or subject matter.

Sensory Language Noun The use of words and details that appeal to a reader's physical senses (sight, touch, taste, hearing, smell) to add color and depth to the writing.

Theme Noun The controlling idea of a poem is the idea continuously developed throughout the poem by sets of key words that identify the poet's subject and his attitude or feeling about it. It may also be suggested by the title of a poem or by segment of the poem.

Subject Noun The subject of a poem is the topic, or what the poem is literally about. Theme is what the author is trying to tell us by using the subject.

Internal Rhyme Noun A rhyme created by two or more words in the same line of verse.

End Rhyme Noun Rhyme of the final syllables of lines of poetry.

Enjambed Line (Enjambment) Noun The meaning of the line runs-over from one poetic line to the next, without end mark punctuation.