Poetry and Sound Devices

Poetry

Arranged in lines and stanzas, with a regular rhythm and often a definite rhyme scheme.

Prose

Writing arranged in sentences and paragraphs.

Stanza

A grouped set of lines in a poem (Step 2)

Couplet

2 rhyming lines

Tercet/Triplit

3 rhyming lines

Quatrain

4 rhyming lines

Quintet/Cinquain

5 rhyming lines

Sestet

6 rhyming lines

Septet

7 rhyming liness

Octave

8 rhyming lines

Rhyme

Repetition of identical vowel sounds in the stressed syllables of two or more words, as well as of all similar sounds after it. (Step 3)

Rhyme Scheme

The pattern of rhyme in a poem (Step 3)

Rhythm

The arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables into a pattern. (Step 5)

Meter

The more or less regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry. (Step 5)

Foot

A rhythmic unit, usually consists of one stressed syllable and one or two unstressed syllables. (Step 5)

Iamb

unstressed, stressed

Trochee

stressed, unstressed

Anapest

unstressed, unstressed, stressed

Dactyl

stressed, unstressed, unstressed

Irregular "lame" Feet

Spondee, Pyrrhic, Amphibrach, Amphimacer

Spondee

stressed, stressed

Pyrrhic

unstressed, unstressed

Amphibrach

unstressed, stressed, unstressed

Amphimacer

stressed, unstressed, stressed

Scansion

Measurement of feet. (Step 5)

Dimeter

Two feet per line

Trimeter

Three feet per line

Tetrameter

Four feet per line

Pentameter

Five feet per line

Hexameter

Six feet per line

Heptameter

Seven feet per line

Octameter

Eight feet per line

Alliteration

The repetition of initial consonant sounds in a sequence of words. (Step 5)

Assonance

The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, usually in stressed syllables, followed by different consonant sounds in proximate words. (Step 6)

Consonance

The repetition of a final consonant sound or sounds following different vowel sounds in proximate words. (Step 6)

Inversion

A reversal of the usual order of words to achieve some kind of emphasis. (Step 4)

Onomatopoeia

A word whose sound suggests its meaning. (Step 6)

End Rhyme

Words at the end of lines rhyme. (Step 3)

Internal Rhyme

Words in middle of line rhyme with words at end of line. (Step 3)

End Stop Line

Punctuation or rhythm indicate a stop at end of line (Step 2)

Enjambment

Reading from one line of poem to the next, pausing only at punctuation. (Step 2)

Caesura

Intentional pause in middle of line of poetry. (Often marked with dash) (Step)

Elision

Marking a word into a contraction to fit the meter. (Over=O'er)(Never=Ne'er)(Open=Ope) (Step)

Blank Verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter. (Step 2)

Free Verse

Poetry that varies in length, lacking rhythm and rhyme. (Step 2)

Shift

Change or transition; could be in mood, tone, etc. (Step 10)

Epigram

Short poem with sardonic or satiric tone.

Lyric

Brief, melodic, imaginative poem expressing a speaker's fervent emotions and thoughts.

Sonnet

14 lines of iambic pentameter with a set rhyme scheme.

Ode

Long, formal lyric poem with a serious theme.

Elegy

Poem of lament and praise for the dead.

Dirge

Funeral hymn.