Terminology for analysing poetry

metre

measured arrangement of accents and syllables in poetry

rhythm

speed at which a poem is to be read; can be determined by the length of syllables

end-stopped lines

lines where a sentence comes to close at the end of the line; creates a pause which prompts the reader to dwell on words

enjambment

sentences carries over to a new line; diminishes pauses thus speeds up rhythm

caesura

when punctuation is used to create a pause within a line

vowel length

supports a slower rhythm

consonant clusters

supports a faster rhythm

full rhyme

words begin with a different consonant sound, then have the same vowel sound, and end with the same consonant sound (night/delight).

half rhyme

only single consonant or vowel sounds are the same

end-rhyme

rhyme at the end of the line

internal rhyme

rhyme within a line

rhyme patterns

continuous (aaaa bbbb)

rhyming couplets (aa bb cc)

plosive sounds

b, p, d, t sounds (sharp, abrupt)

liquid sounds

‘l’ sounds (quick light movement)

fricative sounds

f, v, th sounds (airy effect)

stanza

separation of lines (paragraphs)

couplet

stanza; two lines

tercet

stanza; three lines

quatrain

stanza; four lines

quintet

stanza; five lines

sestet

stanza; six lines

octet

stanza; eight lines

refrain

phrase, line, or group of lines repeated throughout the poem

sensory imagery

language and description that invokes the senses (visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, gustatory, kinaesthetic)

synaesthesia

invocation of one sense invokes another

sonnet

usually a single stanza of fourteen lines or an octet followed by a sestet; written in iambic pentameter and deals with loft subject matter

ballad

song that tells a story (usually quatrains)

lyric

short, non-narrative poem where a single speaker shows a state of mind or emotional state

free verse

verse that doesn’t rhyme; lines of varying lengths