Literary Terms Poetry

Diction

The poet's choice of particular words

Denotation

The dictionary definition of a word

Connotation

What the word brings to mind or makes one think of

Contrast

Closely arranged things with strikingly different characteristics

Imagery

Writing that stimulated the five senses (usually but not always visual)

Metaphor

Comparing one thing to another thing to which it bears no literal relation

Simile

Comparing one thing to another thing to which it bears no literal relation using "like" or "as"

Personification

The application of human or personal qualities to something nonhuman

Hyperbole

An exaggerated statement not meant literally

Anaphora

the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines

Juxtaposition

When two or more ideas, places, characters etc. are placed side-by-side

Tone

The author's attitude toward the subject matter

Mood

The feeling or vibe evoked in the reader by a piece of writing

Paradox

A statement in which a seeming contradiction may reveal an unexpected truth

Alliteration

Repetition of the same sound at the beginning of adjacent or close words

Assonance

Repetition of the same vowel sound in adjacent or close words

Consonance

Repetition of a consonant sound internally in adjacent or close words

Repetition

The purposeful re-use of words and phrases for an effect.

Rhyme

Repetition of sound in the final vowel of words

Slant Rhyme

A type of rhyme using words with similar, but not identical sounds

Eye Rhyme

Words that look like they rhyme but do not

Onomatopoeia

A word whose sound imitates the thing it describes

Meter

The pattern or rhythm formed by the arrangement of long and short (stressed/unstressed) syllables in a poem. The number and type of feet in a line determines the meter.

Foot

The unit of stressed and unstressed syllables

Form

The arrangement or method used to convey the content, such as free verse, ballad, haiku, etc. In other words, the "way-it-is-said."

Couplet

Two successive lines of verse that form a unit, usually joined by rhyme

Caesura

A break or pause within a line of poetry, indicated by either a comma, period, or other punctuation or more naturally by a rhythmic break

Enjambment

The running-over of a sentence or phrase from one line to another without terminal punctuation (period, comma, semi-colon, parenthesis)

End-stop

When a line of poetry ends with a definite stop indicated by a period or semi-colon

Stanza

A grouped set of lines in a poem, separated by spaces; a verse

Quatrain

Set of 4 lines of verse, common in Shakespearean sonnets

Octave

Set of 8 lines. In a Petrarchan sonnet, the octave generally poses a question

Sestet

Set of 6 lines. In a Petrarchan sonnet, the sestet responds to the question posed in the octave

Volta

Italian word for "turn." In a sonnet, the volta signals a shift or turn in the thought/argument.

Petrarchan sonnet

Consists of a rhymed octave (ABBAABBA) and a sestet (CDCDCD or CDECDE). Sometimes called an Italian sonnet

Shakespearean sonnet

Consists of three quatrains (ABABCDCDEFEF) and a final rhymed couplet (GG). Sometimes called an English sonnet