Emily Dickinson: Literary Terms Matching

Vocabulary flashcards matching literary terms and their definitions from the Emily Dickinson poetry lecture notes.

Theme

Underlying message of a poem

Meter

The repetition of a rhythmic unit.

Subject

What the poem is about.

Personification

Giving human qualities to an object, animal, idea, or abstract concept

Imagery

Words that appeal to the senses.

Metaphor

Comparison of two like things that have something in common.

Smilie

Comparison using "like" "as"

Extended Metaphor

An idea developed over multiple lines, or through multiple examples.

Stanza

Lines grouped together to form "paragraphs" within a poem.

Paradox

A statement that seems to contradict itself

Repetition

The use of a sound, word, or phrase over and over again.

Line Breaks

A visual pause within a stanza that can signify interruption in thought or shift in thinking.

Rhyme Scheme

Occurrence of identical or similar sounds at the ends of words.

Rhythm

The repeated pattern formed by meter that brings out musical quality in the poem.

Em Dash

Punctuation used to show an interruption or abrupt shift in thought; used to give emphasis or express uncertainty.