Poetry terms

Two lines called what?

Couplet

Three lines called what?

Tercet

Four lines called what?

quatrain

five lines called what?

cinquain

six lines called what?

sestet

seven lines called what?

septet

eight lines called what?

octave

meter

is the repetition of accented or UNaccented syllables in an intentional pattern.

ex.) He WENT to the STORE

ex.) toDAY

Foot

the basic measurement of meter. Made up of 2 or 3 syllables.

scansion

marking poetry's feet and stress

one number of feet?

monometer

two number of feet?

dimeter

three number of feet?

trimeter

four number of feet?

tetrameter

five number of feet?

pentameter

six number of feet?

hexameter?

seven number of feet?

heptameter?

eight number of feet?

octameter?

fixed form? exs. haiku, limerick, sonnet,villanelle, sestina

Poetry with strict rules about meter, rhyme, ordering, etc. is called fixed form poetry.

Why the sonnet?

Poets typically examine the nature and implications of two CONTRASTING ideas, emotions, states of mind, beliefs, actions, images, etc.

Through juxtaposition, the writer might resolve these contrasts or simply explore them.

Enligh sonnet criteria

14 lines, Iambic tetrameter,

Three quatrains ( 3x4 ) - presents an argument or develops a situation

A couplet a conclusion, amplification, or refutation of the previous 12 lines

Italian sonnet features

14 lines

Iambic pentameter

OCTAVE (8):

presents an argument, observation, or question

SESTET (6):

counterargument, clarification, or answer

What is the volta in a sonnet?

the volta is the shift in ideas or tone.

In Italian sonnets, this occurs between the octave and sestet

in English sonnets, it occurs near the final couplet

villanelle features

19 lines, 5 tercets and 1 quatrain, 2 repeating rhymes and 2 refrains.

Uses capital letters for the refrains and lowercase letters for the rhymes

Why the villanelle?

The villanelle relies heavily on repetition and emphasis to make a point.

Blank Verse

Poetry that has meter but no rhyme is called blank verse (typically iambic pentameter).

Open Verse/ Free verse

Poetry that does not have meter or rhyme

Lyric poetry

is a short poem expressing the personal thoughts or feelings of a first-person speaker.

ode

used to meditate on or address a single object or condition. Could be serious or silly, odes announce themselves in the title and should have a positive outlook.

Ballads

are narratives and are typically written in four line stanzas, alternating 8/6 syllables per line. Lines 2 and 4 usually rhyme.

elegy

is a mournful lyric poem written to commemorate someone who is dead. It often ends with a consolation.

Epic poems

are long narrative poems, told in a formal, elevated style. They focus on a serious subject and chronicle heroic deeds and important events to a culture or nation.

prose poem

essentially appears as prose, but reads like poetry.

Rhyme

the repetition of the accented vowel sound and any succeeding consonant sounds.

ex.) Cat and Hat are exact rhymes

end rhymes

rhyming words are at the end of lines.

ex.)

In the end

My dear sweet friend,

internal rhyme:

one or more words within the line rhyme.

I was dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,

slant rhyme:

words with a sound similarity, but not an exact rhyme

masculine rhymes

rhymes made up of one syllable

ex.)

In silence and tears,

To sever for years

Feminine rhymes

rhymes made up of two or more syllables

ex.)

When we two parted

Half broken-hearted

alliteration

repetition of the same initial consonant sounds in a sequence of words or syllables

ex.) Which, weakly bandied, cannot back rebound.

consonance

identical final consonant sounds in nearby words follow different vowel sounds

ex.)

Let the boy try along this bayonet-blade

How cold steel is, and keen with hunger of blood;Blue with all malice, like a madman's flash;And thinly drawn with famishing for flesh.

assonance

repetition of vowel sounds in a sequence of words

ex.)

That church so lone, the log-built one,That echoed to many a parting groan

onomatopoeia

words that refer to sounds and whose pronunciations mimic those sounds

end- stopped line:

concludes with punctuation that marks a pause —OR— the the line can be understood on its own.

run-on line/ enjambment:

one line ends without a pause and must continue to the next line to complete its meaning.

Iambic

Unstressed - Stressed

ex.) to-DAY

Trochaic

Stressed - Unstressed

ex.) DEN-tal or BEAT it

Spondaic ( spondee )

Stressed- Stressed

MAY-DAY

will never be the dominant meter in poetry

Pyrrhic

Unstressed-Unstressed

ex.) To a | green thought | in a | green way

Dactylic

Stressed- unstressed- unstressed

ex.) CARE-ful-ly

Anapestic

unstressed-unstressed-stressed

ex.) in-ter-RUPT