Poetry terminology

“Speaker” definition

The voice used by a poet to speak a poem. The speaker is often a created identity (a made up self) and should not automatically be equated with the author. The speaker is not the same as the author—poets and storytellers make things up (fiction). The speaker does not necessarily reflect the author’s personal voice; however, authors sometimes use speakers as masks to protect themselves when they are writing about controversial ideas and/or criticizing politics or religion.

What type of poem is “Ballad”

A long poem that tells a story, usually a folk tale or legend, in rhyme. Often set to music, the traditional ballad typically has a refrain or chorus, which adds to its musical qualities.

What type of poem is “Concrete”

Concrete poetry experiments with the very materials of the poem itself: words, letters, format. The final product does what it says in that its words, letters, and format demonstrate the poem’s meaning. Concrete poems rely heavily on the visual or phonetic to get across their meaning.

What type of poem is “Epic”

This is a very, very long poem that tells a story. Epic poems are narrative poems that are long enough to be in a book of their own, rather than an anthology.

What type of poem is “Epitaph”

Epitaphs are poems about the dead that are written to be on a tombstone; this means they are usually very short

What type of poem is “Epigram”

These are very short, witty poems that make a pithy pronouncement about something. Usually they are written as a couplet.

What type of poem is “Free Verse”

Modern poetry that has no regular pattern of rhythm, rhyme or line length. Free verse poems experiment with words to create images for the reader.

What type of poem is “Lyric”

Shorter poems of intense feeling and emotion. Some are modern free verse poems and others are more “old-fashioned” poems that have rhythm and rhyme. Types: sonnet, ode, and elegy.

What type of poem is “Narrative”

A poem that tells a story. Narratives may or may not rhyme, but they almost always follow the plot structure of a short story.

What type of poem is “Parody”

A parody is a mockery of another piece of literature; it copies the style and voice, and sometimes language of the original for comedic effect. Parodies can exist in any genre, not just poetry.

What type of poem is “Sonnet”

A fourteen-line lyric written in iambic pentameter. Sonnets follow a rigid rhyme scheme. Typical rhyme schemes for sonnets are the Shakespearian or English sonnet (abab cdcd efef gg) or the Italian or Petrarchan sonnet (abba abba cdc cdc OR abba abba cde cde). For more information about iambic pentameter and rhyme scheme, see “Rhythm and Rhyme” below.

What type of poetic device is “Alliteration”

“sound”

Repeated consonant sounds at the beginning of a series of words. This device uses sound to catch the reader’s attention. I kicked cold coffee coloured puddles is an alliteration because of the repeating “ck” sound.

What type of poetic device is “Assonance”

“sound”

Repeating vowel sounds in the middle of words. This device also uses sound to catch the reader’s attention. This is a subtle device for which you have to listen carefully. Twinkle, twinkle little star is an example of assonance because of the repeating short “i” sound.

What type of poetic device is “Cacophony”

“sound”

Sounds that are unpleasant and harsh to the ear. Usually, cacophony is achieved through repeating “s”, “c”, “k” or other, similarly harsh-sounding sounds.

For example: “and squared and stuck their squares of soft white chalk.” The opposite of euphony.

What type of poetic device is “Consonance”

“sound”

Repeating consonant sounds in the middle of words. This device also uses sound to catch the reader’s attention. This is a subtle device, although it is less subtle than assonance. If elephants laugh carefully, it is because they are afraid is an example of consonance with the repeating “f” sound. Notice that the ‘ph’, ‘gh’ and ‘f’ letter patterns all make the “f” sound.

What type of poetic device is “Euphony”

“sound”

Sounds that are very pleasant to the ear. The opposite of cacophony.

What type of poetic device is “Onomatopoeia”

“sound”

Words that sound like what they mean are called onomatopoeia. “Buzz”, “hiss”, “splash” are typical examples of this sound device. Onomatopoeia is also known as imitative harmony.

What type of poetic device is “Extended Metaphor”

“comparison”

If a metaphor is a direct comparison between two dissimilar items (see below), an extended metaphor is a longer version of the same thing. In an extended metaphor, the comparison is stretched through an entire stanza or poem, often by multiple comparisons of unlike objects or ideas.

What type of poetic device is “Metaphor”

“comparison”

A direct comparison between two dissimilar items. She is a monster is a metaphor comparing a girl to a monster.

What type of poetic device is “Personification”

“comparison”

A comparison between a non-human item and a human so that the non-human item is given human characteristics. The trees stretched their arms to the sky is a personification because the trees are described as if they are people stretching.

What type of poetic device is “Simile”

“comparison”

A comparison between two dissimilar items using “like” or “as” to make the comparison. The stars are like diamonds in the sky is a simile, comparing stars to diamonds.

What type of poetic device is “Allusion”

“wordplay”

A reference in one piece of literature to something from another piece of literature. Allusions can also be references to person/events/places in history, religion, or myth. Allusions are frequently made in poetry, but they can/do occur in other genres as well.

What type of poetic device is “Apostrophe”

“wordplay”

A rhetorical figure in which the speaker addresses a dead or absent person, or an abstraction or inanimate object. For example, the speaker in John Donne’s “Holy Sonnet X” speaks to death as if it were a person. “O Death!”

What type of poetic device is “Cliché”

“wordplay”

A phrase, line or expression that has been so overused, it is boring and commonplace, such as “it was a dark and stormy night” or “red with anger.”

What type of poetic device is “Connotation”

“wordplay”

The unspoken, unwritten series of associations made with a particular word. For example, the word “dog,” depending on how it is used, might connote faithfulness, loyalty, and devotion. On the other hand, the word “dog” could connote viciousness.

What type of poetic device is “Denotation”

“wordplay”

The literal meaning of the word that a person would find in the dictionary.

What type of poetic device is “Figurative Language”

“wordplay”

The imaginative language that makes a poem rich to a reader. Figurative language often relies on comparison devices like simile, metaphor, and personification to make the point. Figurative language is the opposite of literal language.

What type of poetic device is “Hyperbole”

“wordplay”

A deliberate exaggeration to make a point. I am hungry enough to eat the fridge is a hyperbole

What type of poetic device is “Image”

“wordplay”

A single mental picture that the poem creates in the reader’s mind.

What type of poetic device is “Imagery”

“wordplay”

Poets create pictures in the reader’s mind that appeal to the sense of sight; they also create descriptions to appeal to the other four senses. This collection of appeals to the five senses is called the imagery of the poem. Also: the collection and/or pattern of images in a poem.

What type of poetic device is “Literal language”

“wordplay”

The literal meaning of the poem, which ignores imagery, symbolism, figurative language and any imagination on the part of the poet or the reader. Literal language is the opposite of figurative language.

What type of poetic device is “Mood”

“wordplay”

The emotion of the poem. The atmosphere. The predominant feeling created by or in the poem, usually through word choice or description. The feelings created by the poem in the reader; mood is best discovered through careful consideration of the images presented by the poem, and thinking about what feelings those images prompt. For example: if the “rain weeps,” the mood is sad; and if the “rain dances”, the mood is happy. Mood and tone are not the same.

What type of poetic device is “Oxymoron”

“wordplay”

An oxymoron is a pair of single word opposites placed side by side for dramatic effect. A contradiction in terms. For example, “cold fire” or “sick health” or “jumbo shrimp”.

What type of poetic device is “Paradox”

“wordplay”

A large oxymoron. An apparently contradictory statement that, despite the contradiction, has an element of truth in it. Wordsworth’s “the child is the father of the man” is a paradoxical statement.

What type of poetic device is “Repetition”

“wordplay”

Deliberately repeated words, sounds, phrases, or whole stanzas. Repetition is used to make a point in the poem.

What type of poetic device is “Symbol”

“wordplay”

Something that represents something else. For example, a dove often represents the concept of peace.

What type of poetic device is “Syntax”

“wordplay”

Word order—the way words are put together to form phrases, clauses or sentences in a poem. Sometimes poets play with syntax to increase the richness of their figurative language or to make a line of poetry work into a particular rhythm.

What type of poetic device is “Tone”

“wordplay”

The narrator’s attitude toward the subject of the poem and, sometimes, toward the reader of the poem. Tone is NOT THE SAME AS MOOD, although the two can overlap.

What type of poetic device is “Understatement”

“wordplay”

The opposite of hyperbole. Understatement achieves its effect through stating less than what is necessary. For example, a person might say to a hospitalized car crash victim, “I bet that hurt.”