Poetry Terminology

Asyndeton

Omission of conjunctions like 'and' or ',', e.g. 'I expect my dog to chew my pillows, my cat to claw my furniture'.

Polysyndeton

Conjunctions used several times in close succession, e.g. 'We ate roast beef and squash and biscuits and potatoes and corn and cheese and cherry pie.'

Chiasmus

Where the grammar of one phrase is inverted in the following phrase, e.g. 'She has all my love; my heart belongs to her'.

Climax

Arrangement of successive words, phrases, clauses, or sentences in ascending order of importance, e.g. 'Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman!'.

Volta

Emotive shift in the poem.

End-Stopped Line

Line of poetry in which a sentence or phrase comes to a conclusion at the end of the line.

Line Break

Termination of one line of poetry, and the beginning of a new line.

Enjambment

Continuation of a sentence or clause across a line break.

Aposiopesis

Enjambment for emotional effect, suddenly breaking off in speech.

Parallelism

Where two or more elements of a sentence have the same grammatical structure, e.g. 'Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.'.

Parataxis

Where words, phrases, clauses, or sentences are set next to each other so that each element is equally important, e.g. 'I came, I saw, I conquered.'.

Refrain

Line or group of lines that regularly repeat, usually at the end of a stanza.

Epistrophe

The repetition of a word/phrase at the end of successive lines/clauses.

Fragmented syntax

Sentence structure is broken/erratic.

Disjointed syntax

Sentence is all over the place, e.g. 'Running. Out of breath. Can't stop.'.

Stanza

Group of lines forming a smaller unit within a poem.

Caesura

Pause within a line of poetry marked by punctuation.

Repetition

Where a word or phrase is repeated two or more times.

Epizeuxis

Where a word or phrase is repeated in immediate succession, e.g. 'Words, words, words.'.

Anaphora

Words repeat at the beginning of successive sentences, e.g. 'Life is short, life is fragile, life is precious.'.

Antanaclasis

Where a word is repeated in a sentence, meaning a different thing each time.

Antimetabole

Where a phrase is repeated but the order of words is reversed, e.g. 'Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.'.

Rhyme

Repetition of similar sounds in two or more words.

Slant Rhyme

Rhymes that are similar but not identical in sound.

Allegory

Work that conveys a hidden meaning through the use of symbolic characters and events.

Acrostic

Set of letters that spells out a word or phrase with special significance.

Allusion

Unexplained reference to something outside the text.

Anachronism

Something placed in the wrong time period.

Antithesis

Juxtaposing two contrasting ideas within parallel grammatical structures.

Aphorismus

Questioning the way a word is used.

Analogy

Comparison that explains an idea by likening it to something else.

Aphorism

Saying that concisely expresses a moral principle.

Catharsis

Process of releasing strong or pent-up emotions through art.

Cliché

Overused phrase lacking in substance and originality.

Diction

Writer's unique style of expression, especially choice and arrangement of words.

Elegy

Poem of serious reflection, especially one mourning loss.

Motif

Element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature.

Satire

Use of humor, irony, sarcasm, or ridicule to criticize something.

Tone

General character or attitude of a piece of writing.

Tone of voice

How the speaker sounds in terms of emotion/pace.

Confessional poetry

Sense of sharing a personal secret.

Ekphrasis

Basing a poem on art/music/literature for narrative.

Aporia

Expressing uncertainty or doubt to prove a point.

Apostrophe

Directly addressing something that is not present.

Colloquialism

Use of informal words or phrases.

Connotation

Emotions and ideas suggested by a word, beyond its definition.

Hyperbole

Exaggeration for emphasis.

Idiom

Phrase conveying a figurative meaning that may not be literal.

Imagery

Descriptive language engaging human senses.

Irony

Difference between appearance and reality.

Juxtaposition

Placing two things side by side to highlight differences.

Metonymy

Referring to something by its associated name.

Oxymoron

Pairing contradictory terms or ideas.

Paradox

Statement that contradicts itself but may contain truth.

Polyptoton

Repetition of words derived from the same root.

Synecdoche

Referring to a part of something to represent the whole.

Lexical field

Pattern of related topics.

Semantic field

Patterns in meaning or mood.

Semantic shifts

Shifts in semantic field or mood.

Polysemy

Word with multiple meanings.

Personal pronouns

Words like I, you, she, it.

Possessive pronouns

Words like mine, yours, hers, his.

Collective pronouns

Words like we, ours, them.

Adverbs

Words that describe verbs.

Modal verbs

Instructive or suggesting verbs.

Static verbs

Abstract state of being verbs.

Dynamic verbs

Powerful action verbs.

Stative verbs

Complex feelings or actions verbs.

Abstract nouns

Nouns representing complex feelings.

Superlatives

Exaggerated or hyperbolic adjectives.

Comparative adjectives

Adjectives comparing two or more things.

Positive/negative adjectives

Adjectives expressing good or bad qualities.

Extended Metaphor

Metaphor that unfolds across multiple lines.

Zeugma

Metaphorical and literal meanings simultaneously.

Metaphor

Comparison saying one thing is another.

Conceit

Highly elaborate or strained metaphor.

Simile

Comparison using 'like' or 'as'.

Personification

Giving human qualities to objects or animals.

Anthropomorphism

Making animals human-like.

Zoomorphism

Making humans seem like animals.

Pathetic fallacy

Attribution of human feelings to nature.

Symbolism

Using a physical object to represent something abstract.

Pun

Play on words with multiple meanings.

Rhetorical Question

Question asked for a reason other than to get an answer.

Verbal Irony

Literal meaning differs from the intended meaning.

Litotes

Understatement expressed by negating its contrary.

Imagism

Sharp and precise detail of imagery.

Parataxis

Unclear or seemingly irrelevant ideas.

Synaesthesia

Merging the senses in an abstract manner.

Alliteration

Repetition of the same sound in a group of words.

Assonance

Repetition of the same vowel sound within a group of words.

Consonance

Repetition of the same consonant sound within a group of words.

Onomatopoeia

Words evoking the actual sound of the thing they refer to.

Euphony

Combining words that sound pleasant together.

Cacophony

Combining words that sound harsh together.

Plosives

Consonant sound made by stopping then releasing air flow.

Fricatives

Fricative consonant sounds.

Sibilance

Creation of a hissing sound through repetition of 's' sounds.

Dissonance

The overall sound effect to the reader.