POETRY TERMS MRS. BOLGER 2014
A. TYPES OF POEMS
1. FREE VERSE Poetry that does not rhyme or follow a predictable pattern
2. PERSONA POEM Poet becomes someone/something else
3. APOSTROPHE POEM Speaker of poem addresses something not living
4. NARRATIVE/BALLAD POEM Poem tells a story
5. IMAGIST POEM A snapshot of a moment in time
6. LYRIC POEM Poem expresses strong emotions
7. DRAMATIC POEM Characters talk
8. CONCRETE POEM A poem that takes the shape of the subject
9. ODE Poetic form in which one describes how/why someone/something is to be revered (loved)
10. CLERIHEW Poetic form of 4 lines with an AABB rhyme scheme about a famous person, often humorous
11. LIMERICK Poetic form of 5 lines with an AABBA rhyme scheme that is often humorous
12. HAIKU Japanese style poem of 3 lines and 17 syllables (5-7-5) usually about nature
B. FORM
13. LINE A horizontal group of words in a poem, like a sentence
14. STANZA A vertical group of lines of a poem, like a paragraph
15. LINE BREAK Where a line ends
C. DICTION (WORD CHOICE)
16. SPEAKER The person/thing in a poem who is expressing an idea
17. MOOD The feeling associated with a poem, such as happy, angry, hopeful, etc.
18. POETIC LICENSE Creating new words, sometimes by combining existing words
19. INVERSION Changing the usual order of words
20. IMAGERY Creating a picture with words through sensory details
21. CONNOTATION Emotional associations of words
22. DENOTATION The literal meaning of words (dictionary definition)
23. SIMILE Comparing 2 unlike things with like or as
24. METAPHOR Comparing 2 unlike things without like or as
25. PERSONIFICATION Something nonhuman is given human qualities
D. SOUND EFFECTS
26. ONOMATOPOEIA Words that make the sound of their action/definition
27. ALLITERATION Repeating initial consonant sound
28. REFRAIN Repeating line/phrase at same place in each stanza
29. RHYME/RHYME SCHEME Repeating the same sound in 2+ words (boy/toy); a set pattern of rhyme throughout a poem
30. RHYTHM A pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem
31. REPETITION Repeating a word or phrase for emphasis