Poetry Vocabulary and Poetic Feet

This set of flashcards covers essential vocabulary and concepts related to poetry, including definitions of key terms and poetic forms.

end-stopped line

A line containing a complete phrase or sentence, or a line of poetry ending with punctuation.

enjambment

The continuation of a sentence or clause across one poetic line break.

foot

A repeating rhythmic unit that consists of some combination of stressed and unstressed syllables.

form

The structure of a poem, including its line lengths, line breaks, meter, stanza lengths, and rhyme scheme.

line

The fundamental unit of poetry, carrying meaning both horizontally and vertically.

meter

The measured pattern of rhythmic accents in a line of verse.

refrain

A phrase or set of lines, usually at the end of a stanza, repeated at intervals.

repetition

Making use of the same word or phrase multiple times within a poem.

rhyme scheme

The pattern of rhymes falling at the end of a poem's lines.

scansion

The process of determining the meter of a poem or a line in a poem.

speaker

The voice of the poem, similar to a narrator in fiction.

stanza

A set of lines arranged to form a distinct group within a poem.

stress

Describes when a greater amount of force is used to pronounce one syllable over another.

syllable

A unit of pronunciation in speech.

anapest

A three-syllable foot, the first two of which are unstressed and the last stressed.

dactyl

A three-syllable foot, the first of which is stressed and the last two unstressed.

iamb

A two-syllable foot, the first of which is unstressed and the second stressed.

trochee

A two-syllable foot, the first of which is stressed and the second unstressed.

couplet

A two-line stanza or unit of two lines of verse, rhymed or unrhymed.

tercet

A three-line stanza or unit of three lines of verse, rhymed or unrhymed.

quatrain

A four-line stanza or unit of four lines of verse, rhymed or unrhymed.

quintain

A five-line stanza or unit of five lines of verse, rhymed or unrhymed.