1. Poetry Terms
English 12

2. Couplet Two lines of poetry which rhyme Little Bow Peep
Has lost her sheep

3. Alliteration The repetition of consonant sounds in a line of poetry
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers

4. Assonance The repetition of vowel sounds in a line of poetry
Like a diamond in sky

5. Oxymoron When two words which mean the opposite are put together
Jumbo shrimp
The sound of silence
Loving hate
Blinding sight

6. Simile A comparison of two things which uses “like”, “as”, or “than”
She swims like a fish
He’s faster than a speeding bullet
She as sly as a fox

7. Hyperbole A huge exaggeration for effect (not meant to deceive)
I’m so hungry I could eat a horse
I must have cried a zillion tears
I have a ton of homework

8. Personification
When human qualities are given to an inanimate (non-living) object
The sun smiled down on us
The trees danced in the wind

9. Metaphor
A direct comparison between two things (does not use a comparison word)
Love is a rose.
The garden hose is a snake in the grass.

10. Onomatopoeia Sound words Ouch Ah choo Biff, boom, bam
Baaa, moo, cheep cheep

11. Meter The beat or rhythm of a line of poetry
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day”

12. Imagery
Using the five senses (sight, sound, taste, touch, smell) to fully describe something
The aroma of rotten eggs wafting up from the corner of the room where a pair of damp sweat socks lay forgotten, brought the acrid taste of bile into his mother’s mouth.

13. Analogy Using something simple to explain something complex
The heart works like a pump

14. Anachronism A person, place or object out of its natural order in time
An automobile in a story about ancient Rome
Shakespeare’s use of dollars in Macbeth, in a time where money did not exist

15. Antithesis Sharply opposing ideas place in parallel syntax
More light and light it grows
More dark and dark my woes

16. Allusion
Making reference to a famous person, place or thing from mythology, the Bible, history, or Shakespeare
He strode across the room, a modern Napoleon
He was the Jordan of the basketball court

17. Consonance Differing vowel sounds between repeating consonant sounds
Short shirt
Leave love
The repetition of consonant sounds at the ends of words only
East – west
Hid - bed

18. Connotation
The associations we make with words (as opposed to their literal meanings)
A house
An estate
An abode
A mansion
A shack

19. Denotation The dictionary definition of a word
House, mansion, estate, abode, etc: a residence; a place to live

20. Cacophony
Harsh or jarring sounds

21. Dissonance
Another word for cacophony

22. Euphony
Pleasant, or pleasing sounds
Silence
smooth

23. Stanza A group of lines of poetry (like a paragraph)
Whose woods these are I think I know
His house is in the village though
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his wood fill up with snow

24. Quatrain
A four line stanza that may or may not rhyme

25. Archetype A commonly used symbol in literature
A dove or an olive branch represent peace

26. Octave & Sestet Octave: Sestet: Eight lines of poetry
The first 8 lines of a Petrarchan sonnet
Sestet:
Six lines of poetry
The last six lines of a Petrarchan sonnet

27. Pathetic Fallacy When nature reflects the mood
When there is a storm during a battle scene in Macbeth

28. Paradox
A statement which at first appears contradictory, but which is actually true
Parental punishment is an expression of love

29. Apostrophe
A type of personification, where an inanimate object or idea is addressed as though present
Death be not proud, though some have called thee mighty and dreadful, thou art not so.

30. Conceit Also called an extended metaphor
The fog creeps in on little cat feet
Sits looking over harbour and city
And then moves on

31. juxtaposition Placing words / ideas side by side for effect
My name is Ozymandias, King of kings,
Look on my works ye Mighty and despair.”
And round the decay of that colossal wreck
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
By placing the bragging words of Ozymandias next to the description of the broken statue in the desert, the poet creates irony

32. Diction The choice of words Ie. Slang, jargon, legalese
Ie. Curley: “By Christ, he’s gonna talk when he’s spoke to. What the hell are you getting’ into it for?”

33. Literal Language
Language that is straight-forward where meaning is clear.
The man angrily yelled at his son to close the car door.

34. Figurative Language
Fanciful language used to describe where interpretation is necessary
Analogy, simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, etc. are examples
Ie. The man waspishly asked his son, “Did you grow up in a barn?” as they exited the car.

35. Iambic Pentameter
A line of poetry which contains five iambic (an unstressed followed by a stressed syllable) feet.
Shall I – compare – thee to – a sum - mer’s day?

36. Internal rhyme
When a word in the middle of the line rhymes with a word at the end of the line.
Once upon a midnight DREARY, while I pondered weak and WEARY"
"While I nodded, nearly NAPPING, suddenly there came a TAPPING”

37. Parallelism When items are listed in parallel structure
Ie. Peter drives quickly and aggressively.
Ie. I love skiing, hiking, and biking.

38. Pathos When an author purposely arouses feelings of pity in the reader
Ie. "Hillary Clinton used a moment of brilliantly staged emotion to win the New Hampshire Democratic primary As she answered questions in a diner on the morning before the election, Mrs. Clinton's voice began to waver and crack when she said: 'It's not easy This is very personal for me.'

39. Refrain A chorus that is repeated throughout the poem
Ie. Rage rage against the dying of the light

40. Rhyme scheme A pattern of rhymes with a poem
Ie. A Shakespearean sonnet has an abab cdcd efef gg rhyme scheme

41. Stream of consciousness
When a poem is a series of thoughts and phrases directly out of the author’s head
may not appear to have coherent structure or cohesion
plot lines weave in and out of time and place to incorporate lives & thoughts of other characters from other times
Ie. The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock

42. Tone The speaker’s attitude toward a subject in the poem
Communicated by word choice
Ie. Happy, bittersweet, depressed, pensive, etc.

43. Voice The persona created by the poet Made by tone and audience
Ie. The passionate shepherd is a lonely shepherd lad who just wants a girl to love him and come live with him