Poetry Terms

poetry A literary work in metrical form; verse The art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken

stanza This word means a group of lines in a poem. A poem might be made up of just a few, or many of these. Can come in many different forms depending on the type of poem

syllable The smallest part of a word, usually identified by the number of “beats” the word has A segment of speech Each contains at least one vowel Some words have only one of these, and some words have many: antidisestablishmentarianism has eleven! (in case you are wondering – that is a noun that means opposition to the withdrawal of state support or recognition from an established church, especially the Anglican Church in 19th-century England)

multi-syllabic When a word has several syllables, it is called a _______________ word. Examples: absolutely, regular, animation, vacation

meter In poetry, this is a recurring pattern of stressed (accented) and unstressed (unaccented) syllables in lines of a set length. The type and number of feet in a line determine the _______. Example: Notice the opening line from Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” has 10 syllables that follow a stressed/unstressed pattern. “Shall I com PARE thee TO a SUM mer’s DAY?”

rhythm This word is not just for use with music! The meter of the poem creates this. It also means beat, regular recurrence, cycle or round You can find this in poems, stories, films and tv shows Synonyms for this word are flow, pulse and cadence

rhyme Some examples are: ate great book shook cool tool When the ending sound of a word agrees with the ending sound of another word, we say these two words ______________.

rhyme scheme The pattern of rhyme between lines of a poem. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme. In other words, it is the pattern of end rhymes or lines Example Bid me to weep, and I will weep A While I have eyes to see; B And having none, and yet I will keep A

A A B C C B rhyme scheme example Try to identify the rhyme scheme of this nursery rhyme: Little Miss Muffet Sat on a tuffet, Eating her curds and whey; Along came a spider, Who sat down beside her And frightened Miss Muffet away. A A B C C B

speaker This is the voice that talks to the reader in a poem. It is similar to the narrator in a fictional text. It isn’t always the author who is talking to the reader! It is the ____________.

figurative language Any language that goes beyond the literal (real) definition of a word or phrase. Uses phrases, symbols, and ideas to create mental images. Writer uses this to “paint a picture” or emphasize (show importance) something to the reader. Examples: Imagery, simile, metaphor, alliteration, personification, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, idioms

figure of speech An expression that uses language in a nonliteral way in order to add beauty, emotion, or appeal to the reader’s senses This means that the words within a certain phrase may not literally mean what they say on the page. Some examples of these are: similes, metaphors, idioms, personification, hyperbole

idiom An expression that means something other than the literal meanings of its individual words. Examples: A chip on your shoulder. (having a bad attitude) A dime a dozen. (anything that is common and easy to get) A drop in the bucket. (a very small part of something big or whole)

simile This is a figure of speech that compares two things and it uses the words like or as. Examples: She was as pretty as a rose! John could run as fast as the wind! I’m as hungry as a horse!

metaphor A comparison of two things where it is stated one thing = another thing. Does not use like or as Examples: My life is a dream. Her eyes were a deep ocean I fell into. We would have had more pizza to eat if Tammy hadn’t been such a hog.

imagery Example: As Tracy walked to the bus stop, she could hear the satisfying crunching sound of the red, orange, and yellow leaves underneath her feet.

symbolism When something (usually an object or animal) stands for something beyond itself. You have to read between the lines and infer what it represents! Example: In the poem “The Raven”, the raven stood for death… “Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore - What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore Meant in croaking `Nevermore’.”

alliteration Repetition of initial (beginning) consonant sounds in two or more words of a phrase It is often used in poetry to emphasize a phrase Examples: Sally sold seashells by the seashore. Mad Mark’s Motors Happy Holidays! Freaky Friday

pun The humorous use of a word or phrase so as to emphasize or suggest its different meanings or applications. A “play on words” that are alike or the same in sound. I met a girl at an internet cafe, but we didn't click. Elevators may bring you down, but to me they're very uplifting. Did you hear about the pilot who always had work? He was great at landing a job. Benny was sure that he could master Braille once he got a feel for it.

literary devices/elements These are the individual characteristics or techniques that make up a work of literature. They add the interest to any writing. Examples: foreshadowing, conflict, theme, oxymoron, voice, irony, imagery, similes, metaphors, personification, alliteration etc.

allusion A brief reference to a famous person, place, thing, event, or work of literature Example: "Christy didn't like to spend money. She was no Scrooge, but she seldom purchased anything except the bare necessities.” Did you spot the allusion to Scrooge? That name should bring to mind an image of someone who 'pinches pennies’. But the allusion only works if the reader is familiar with Charles Dickens' story A Christmas Carol.

allusion The Bible, works by Shakespeare, and Greek Mythology are the most commonly alluded pieces of literature.

allusion example Another literary allusion example: “He was a real Romeo with the ladies.” In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Romeo was a romantic lover.

allusion example “Chocolate was her Achilles’ heel.” This means that her weakness was her love of chocolate. Achilles is a character in Greek mythology who was invincible. His mother dipped him in magical water when he was a baby, and she held him by the heel. The magic protected him all over, except for his heel, so his heel was his weakness.

Extended Poetry Terms

assonance Repetition of vowel sounds within a line of poetry. (This is not the same as a rhyme!) Examples: “On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before…” -from “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe “I might drive by later…”

consonance Repetition of consonants or a consonant pattern within a poem, especially at the end of words. Like an alliteration, but the sounds are repeated at the end of the words instead of the beginning. Remember it sounds like CONSONANTS! Examples: He struck a streak of bad luck. “When the sun and moon were in quadrature, When the garden had become a wilderness. . . “ -from “Undone Song at Neap Tide” by K. Starbuck

form The physical structure of the poem: the length of the lines, their rhythms, their system of rhymes and repetition. The pattern of the stanzas help you identify this. Examples: Sonnets, Haikus, Limerick poems (The form of a haiku is three lines following the pattern of 5/7/5 syllables- see image to the right. Haiku will be on the common assessment!)

free verse A type of poetry in which the stanzas are composed of variable, usually unrhymed lines without a metrical pattern or structure. Does not follow a known form of poetry Example: “Connotation”from by Katherine Foreman Friends Means sharing, bittersweet A brand name of love. It is a tie for all time, Longer than the shadows we forget Yet shorter and better than life, or for some longer, Stronger. It balances you, with a pole in One hand and a rope in the other, you choose what to use it for. It is forever.

tone Set through the poet’s word choice and attitude towards the subjects/topics in the poem. Shapes the work as a whole and how the piece should be read. ex: loving, ironic, bitter, pitying, fanciful, etc. Example: “Does it matter?-losing your legs? For people will always be kind, And you need not show that you mind When others come in after hunting To gobble their muffins and eggs. Does it matter?-losing your sight? There’s such splendid work for the blind; And people will always be kind, As you sit on the terrace remembering And turning your face to the light. Do they matter-those dreams in the pit? You can drink and forget and be glad, And people won't say that you’re mad; For they know that you've fought for your country, And no one will worry a bit.” “Does it matter" by Siegfried Sassoon (above) conveys an attitude of bitterness about war and society’s view of injured veteran soldiers, which signals to the reader that the tone is bitter and sarcastic.

voice How an author lets their personality shine through by writing in the same manner/style they talk. Shows the author’s inner thoughts and feelings. Examples: sarcastic, witty, amusing, or straight-forward voice

sonnet A fourteen-line poem in iambic pentameter with a carefully patterned rhyme scheme. A Shakespearean _________ consists of 14 lines, each line containing 10 syllables and written in iambic pentameter. The rhyme scheme in a Shakespearean ________ is A-B-A-B, C-D-C-D, E-F-E-F, G-G; the last two lines are a rhyming couplet.

Notice: It is written in iambic pentameter! D C D E F E F G Notice: It ends in a COUPLET G

limerick A short, usually humorous poem consisting of five lines. Lines 1, 2, and 5 have the same rhyme and rhythm. Lines 3 and 4 have the same rhythm. Examples:

Advanced Poetry Terms

symbolize(s) When something in a poem (object, animal, etc.) serves as symbol (represents something else) Example: "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost “I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” The “roads” symbolize the choices and decisions people make

syntax The sentence structure (order in which you place words within a sentence) used to make the sentence sound right or to convey a certain meaning. Examples: "To your house we are going" would be an example of awkward syntax. (If you rearrange the syntax of a sentence, you can change the meaning) The young man carries the lady. The lady carries the young man. vs.

metric feet Meter refers to the repeating pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in the lines of a poem. A metrical foot is a set of syllables, usually two or three, with only one receiving a strong stress. The meter of a verse can be described as a sequence of “feet”, each foot being a specific sequence of syllable types — such as unstressed/stressed Example: The unstressed syllables are in blue and the stressed syllables in red.   Remember: each pair of unstressed and stressed syllables makes up a unit called a foot. This line “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” contains five feet in all: ----1----- -----2----- -----3------ -----4----- -----5------ Shall I | comPARE | thee TO | a SUM | mer’s DAY?

iambic pentameter An unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable is “iambic”. The da-DUM of a human heartbeat is the most common example of this rhythm. When there are five of these iambic “feet” in a poetic line it is called ___________ ________________ (from the Greek root ‘pent’ meaning five) Each line is made up of five iambic “feet” (10 syllables total) Example: (In the example below, an ictus ( ‘ ) is used to mark a strong stress, and a breve ( ˘ ) is used to mark weaker stress.)

synecdoche A figure of speech in which part of something is used to represent the whole OR the whole thing is used to refer to a part of something. Example of when a part is used for a whole: "Twenty sails came into the harbor." (Meaning twenty ships came into the harbor) Example of when a whole is used as the part: "The world treated him badly." (The whole world did not treat him badly- only a part.)

synecdoche examples In each of these examples, a part represents a whole. I should have been a pair of ragged claws Scuttling across the floors of silent seas. From "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot "Friends, Romans, countrymen: lend me your ears From Julius Caesar by Shakespeare “Tell that its sculptor well those passions read Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things, The hand that mocked them.” From "Ozymandias" by Shelley

parallelism Refers to the repetition of sentence structure or word order to achieve a rhythmical effect. The thoughts the first and second parts express are either repeated or contrasted.. Effect is that their relationship is emphasized.

parallelism examples The children love their teacher, and the teachers love their children. The birds are in their nests and in their nests they sing. Each morning we sing, each morning we dance, and each morning we play. Note: The ideas expressed are nearly synonymous in meaning and are of equal force. The expressions in parallel have the same tone, i.e., they are either both negative or positive. The order of the words, or structure of the sentence parts is similar This in essence is how parallelism in poetry occurs. Not only do the sentence parts ‘rhyme’, but the thoughts expressed in them also ‘rhyme’. Sometimes, for stronger effect, or for emphasis, the ideas expressed are contrasted: I am lost in a sea of trouble; yet, in this sea a treasure I've found.

scansion A way to mark the metrical patterns of a line of poetry. These are placed over long and short syllables. This helps identify and interpret the rhythm of a poem An ictus ( ‘ ) is used to mark a strong stress, and a breve ( ˘ ) or slash (/) is used to mark weaker stress over syllables. Example:

metonymy A word that is associated with another word. Used to refer to something. Examples: The "crown" as representing the British monarchy because it is "associated" with it The "White House" standing for the executive branch of the American system of government The "Big Apple" for New York, etc. The "oval office" stands for the Presidency. "The pen is mightier than the sword" is said to consist of two because the "pen" really is associated with "print journalism" or "writing" while the "sword" stands for "military might." If we say, “Here come the suits to audit my taxes," the word "suit" is standing for the IRS.

enjambment A free verse poem where the author’s thoughts run from one line or stanza to the next without a break. Also called run-on because the thoughts do not stop at the end of a line or stanza. This type of poem could have 100 stanzas without a single break in thought! Example: “The Waste Land” by T.S. Eliot (below): April is the cruelest month breeding lilacs out of the dead land mixing memory and desire stirring dull roots with spring rain

end-stop When a line in poetry ends with a punctuation mark- such as a comma dash, colon, a semicolon, or a period. If a line contains a complete phrase without any punctuation marks, it is also considered this. The end of each phrase corresponds with the end of each line.   Example: “Spring Wind” By Kevin McKinney In spring, a breeze blows from the west; A breath as gentle as a sigh; And with it, soft tears from the sky Relief at passing winter's test.