Sonnet
lyric poem of fourteen lines
Verse
line of poetry
Meter
when the rhythm is regular, eeach verse is made up of a number of metrical feet
Foot
basis of meter, the regular unit of rhythm which makes up a verse
Blank Verse
technical name for unrhymed iambic petameter
Free Verse
fixed metrical foot, often no fixed number of feet per verse
Stanza
unified group of lines in poetry
Octave
unit or group of eight lines of verse
Volta
the shift in thought, or the turn of events in a sonnet, often occurring on the 9th line of the sonnet
Sestet
unit or group of six lines of verse
Quatrain
unit or group of four lines of verse
Couplet
verse form, rhyming aa bb cc dd.
Enjambment
the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza
Alliteration
repetition of initial sounds in the neighboring words, or repetition of the same letter or sound at the beginning of words following each other immediately or at short intervals.
Assonance
repetition of vowel sounds but not consonant sounds as in consonance
Consonance
repetition of consonant sounds, but not vowels
Internal Rhyme
rhyming within a line
Onomatopoeia
word that imitates the sound that it represents, also called imitative harmony
Anaphora
deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verses, clauses, or paragraphs
Epistrophe
repetition of the same word or words at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences
Repetition
the recurrence of the same words or phrases to make an idea clearer and more memorable
Homonym
refers to two or more words having the same spelling or pronunciation but different meanings
Imagery
language that evokes one of or all the five senses
Symbolism
using an object or action to represent or mean something other than its literal meaning
Motif
recurrent thematic element in an artistic or literary work
Apostrophe
when an absent person, an abstract concept, or an important object is directly addressed
Hyperbole
exaggeration or overstatement for emphasis of a point
Understatement
presentation of something as being smaller or less good or important than it really is
Synesthesia
figure of speech in which one sense is described using terms from another
Juxtaposition
presentation of two things with contrasting effect
Similie
comparison of two unlike things using like or as
Metaphor
figure of speech in which a word or phrase for one thing, is used to refer to another thing in order to show or suggest that they are similar. Comparison without using like or as.
Personification
occurs when human qualities are given to animals or objects
Allusion
brief reference to a person, event, or place, real or fictitious, r to a work of art, a famous historical or literary figure or event.
Paradox
reveals a kind of truth which at first seems contradictory
Oxymoron
phrase in which two contradictory words are put together
Irony
implied discrepancy between what is said and what is meant
Mood
emotional atmosphere the author creates in his subject
Tone
the attitude a writer takes towards a subject or character
Diction
verbal description; choice of words especially with regard to correctness, clearness, or effectiveness