1. Poetry Unit Vocabulary
8th Grade Literature
Bethany Howard, Ed.S.

2. Textbook Page 670
Rhythm: the repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables
Elegy: a poem for someone who has died
Meter: a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables
Rhyme: the repetition of accented vowel sounds and all sounds following them in words that are close together
end rhymes: rhymes at the end of lines
Couplet: when two rhyming line are consecutive

3. Textbook page 670 (continued)
internal rhymes: rhymes that occur within lines
exact rhymes: rhymes which end in the exact same sound
approximate rhymes: sounds that are similar but not exactly the same
Alliteration: the repetition of consonant sounds in several words that are close together
Assonance: repeated vowel sounds
Onomatopoeia: the use of words that imitate sounds or suggest their meaning

4. Textbook Page 672 Imagery: language that appeals to our senses
Symbol: something that has meaning in itself and also stands for something else
figures of speech: words or phrases that describe one thing in terms of another and are not meant literally
Similes: compare two unlike things using words such as like, as, than, and resembles
Metaphor: makes a comparison without using a connecting word
Extended Metaphor: when poets carry a metaphor over several lines
Personification: a nonhuman thing or inanimate thing is described as if it had human or lifelike qualities

5. Textbook Page 673 Lines: used in poetry instead of sentences
Stanzas: used in poetry instead of paragraphs
Narrative Poem: poems that tell stories
Ballad: is a song or songlike poem that tells stories
Epics: long narrative poems, originally passed down by word of mouth, that tell about heroes who embody the values of the culture recounting the tale
Lyric Poems: usually do not tell a story instead they express personal thoughts and feelings of the poet or the speaker (poem’s narrator)
Sonnet: a specific type of lyric poem that is always 14 lines long and usually has a specific type of meter
Odes: long, lyric poems that were traditionally written to celebrate a famous person or lofty idea
Free-Verse Poems: do not follow regular meter or rhyme scheme, but they do include other elements of poetry such as rhythm, figures of speech, and alliteration