poetry terms

Alliteration

The repetition of initial consonant sounds in nearby words.

Allusion

A reference to a well-known person, place, event, or work of art.

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.

Antithesis

A contrast or opposition between two things, often expressed in parallel structure.

Apostrophe

Directly addressing an absent or imaginary person, or an abstract concept.

Archetype

A typical character, theme, or symbol that represents universal patterns in human nature.

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds within nearby words.

Blank Verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter.

Cacophony

A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds in language.

Cadence

The natural rhythm of language, often found in poetry.

Caesura

A pause in a line of poetry, typically marked by punctuation.

Catachresis

An exaggerated or strained metaphor.

Chiasmus

A rhetorical figure in which words or phrases are reversed.

Concrete

Tangible imagery that describes specific, physical details.

Connotation

The emotional or cultural associations of a word beyond its literal meaning.

Consonance

The repetition of consonant sounds within or at the end of words.

Controlling Image

A recurring metaphor or image throughout a work.

Couplet

Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme.

Dactyl

A metrical foot with one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables.

Dimeter

A line of poetry consisting of two metrical feet.

Dirge

A somber song expressing mourning or grief.

Dissonance

A clash of harsh or inharmonious sounds.

Double Entendre

A phrase that has two meanings, one often risqué or ironic.

Dramatic Monologue

A poem in which a single speaker addresses a silent listener, revealing personal thoughts.

Elegy

A poem of mourning, usually for someone who has died.

End Rhyme

Rhyme at the end of a line.

End-Stopped Line

A line of poetry that ends with punctuation, signaling a pause.

Enjambment

The continuation of a sentence or clause across a line break without a pause.

Epic

A long narrative poem detailing heroic deeds.

Epigram

A brief, witty, and often satirical statement or poem.

Euphemism

A mild or indirect term substituted for a harsh or blunt one.

Euphony

Pleasant, harmonious sound in language.

Exact Rhyme

Words that perfectly rhyme.

Explication

A detailed analysis of a text to interpret its meaning.

External Rhyme

Rhyme occurring at the end of separate lines.

Eye Rhyme

Words that look like they should rhyme but don’t.

Feminine Rhyme

A rhyme involving two syllables, the first stressed and the second unstressed.

Figurative Language

Language that uses figures of speech like metaphors or similes to create meaning.

Foot

The basic unit of measurement in poetry’s meter.

Free Verse

Poetry without a regular rhyme or meter.

Haiku

A three-line Japanese poem with a 5-7-5 syllable structure.

Heroic Couplet

Two rhyming lines of iambic pentameter.

Hyperbole

Exaggeration for emphasis or effect.

Iamb

A metrical foot with one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

Image

A vivid description that appeals to the senses.

Imagery

The use of descriptive language to create mental images.

In Media Res

Beginning a narrative in the middle of the action.

Internal Rhyme

Rhyme within a single line of poetry.

Limerick

A five-line humorous poem with a specific rhyme scheme (AABBA).

Litotes

A figure of speech using understatement.

Lyric

A short poem expressing personal emotions.

Masculine Rhyme

A rhyme of single-syllable words or stressed final syllables.

Measure

Another term for meter in poetry.

Meiosis

An intentional understatement for effect.

Metaphor

A comparison without using 'like' or 'as'.

Metaphysical

Poetry characterized by intellectual wit and complex imagery.

Meter

The rhythmic pattern of a line of poetry.

Metonymy

Substituting the name of one thing with something closely associated with it.

Narrative Ballad

A story told in poetic form, often with a refrain.

Near Rhyme

Words with similar but not exact rhymes.

Octave

An eight-line stanza, often the first part of a sonnet.

Ode

A formal, often ceremonious poem celebrating a subject.

Onomatopoeia

Words that mimic sounds.

Open Form

Poetry without a fixed structure or rhyme scheme.

Oxymoron

A combination of contradictory terms.

Paradox

A seemingly self-contradictory statement that reveals a truth.

Parallelism

Similar structure in phrases, clauses, or sentences.

Paronomasia

A pun or play on words.

Pentameter

A line with five metrical feet.

Persona

The voice or character speaking in a poem.

Personification

Attributing human qualities to inanimate objects.

Prosody

The study of meter, rhythm, and intonation in poetry.

Pyrrhic

A metrical foot with two unstressed syllables.

Quatrain

A four-line stanza.

Refrain

A repeated line or phrase in a poem.

Repetition

Repeated use of a word or phrase for emphasis.

Rhythm

The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.

Rhyme

Correspondence of sound between words.

Rhyme Scheme

The ordered pattern of rhymes in a poem.

Satire

The use of humor or irony to criticize or expose flaws.

Scansion

The analysis of a poem’s meter.

Sestet

A six-line stanza.

Simile

A comparison using 'like' or 'as'.

Spondee

A metrical foot with two stressed syllables.

Stanza

A grouped set of lines in a poem.

Stress

Emphasis on a syllable in speech.

Symbol

Something that represents something else.

Synecdoche

A part representing the whole.

Synesthesia

Mixing senses in description.

Tenor

The subject of a metaphor.

Tetrameter

A line of poetry with four metrical feet.

Tone

The attitude of the speaker or writer.

Trimeter

A line of poetry with three metrical feet.

Triple Rhyme

A rhyme involving three syllables.

Trochee

A metrical foot with one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable.

True Rhyme

Perfect rhyme.

Understatement

Intentionally downplaying a situation.

Villanelle

A 19-line poem with a specific rhyme and repetition pattern.

Virgule

A slash mark (/) used in poetry.

Volta

The shift or turn in a sonnet, often signifying a change in tone or argument.