Unseen Poetry

Blank verse

A poem written in iambic pentameter without rhyme

Caesura

A natural pause or break in a line of poetry, usually near the middle

Enjambment

No punctuation at the line's end, meaning the reading continues

Free verse

A poem lacking regular rhythm or rhyme scheme

Iambic pentameter

5 pairs of 'de dum' beats in a line of poetry

Metre

The rhythmic arrangement of syllables in poetry

Narrative persona

The invented voice presenting a narrative

Refrain

A repeated phrase, line, or group of lines in a poem

Rhyme

Similar sounds at the end of words in a poem

Rhyme Structure

The pattern that is made by the rhyme within each stanza or verse. Eg abab, aabb.

Rhyming Couplets

In a poem, a pair of lines that are the same length and (usually) rhyme and form a complete thought. Shakespearean sonnets usually end in a couplet.

Rhythm

The pattern of pulsed beats within a line or stanza of poetry

Stanza

A division of a poem into chunks of lines

Quatrain: 4 line stanza

Sestet: 6 line stanza

Octave: 8 line stanza

Cinquain: 5 line stanza

Ballade

A poem with three stanzas ending with the same line (refrain)

Elegy

A mournful poem, often a funeral song

Form

Poems are grouped into categories or types, such as acrostics, sonnets, haiku, limericks etc. Form is the generic term for the organising principle of a literary work. In poetry, form is described in terms of elements like rhyme, meter, and stanzaic pattern

Ode

A poem praising a person, animal, or thing

Pastoral

A poem which deals with the simplicity and beauty of rural country life

Sonnet

A 14-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme

Limmerick

is a kind of a witty, humorous, or nonsense poem, especially one in five-line strict rhyme scheme (AABBA), which is sometimes obscene with humorous intent

Haiku

A Japanese poem of seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five

Accent

The way words are pronounced, often denoting the poet comes from another country. When written down, accent is often spelt phonetically (see Zephaniah and Agard’s poetry)

Alliteration

Repetition of consonant sounds, often at the start of words

Adjective

A word that describes the noun (thing.) Answers the question “what was it like?”

The quick, brown, fox.

Adverb

A word that describes the verb (doing word.) Answers the question “how did it do it?”

He ran quickly.

Anthropomorphism

Where an animal is given human qualities

Apostrophe

A figure of speech in which someone absent or dead or something nonhuman is addressed as if it were alive and present and could reply

Assonance

The repetition or a pattern of (the same) vowel sounds, as in the tongue twister:

"Moses supposes his toeses are roses."

Asyndeton

Where connectives are left out of a sentence or line of poetry, often creating a list-like style

Connotation

The suggested meaning beyond a word's definition

Dialect

Linking to accent, but these are specific words used by people from a certain area

Ellipsis

Use of '...' to create tension and anticipation

Envoy

The shorter final stanza of a poem

Euphemism

Euphemism is the use of a soft indirect expression instead of one that is harsh or unpleasantly direct. For example 'pass away' as opposed to 'die'

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration for emphasis

Imagery

The use of pictures, figures of speech and description to evoke ideas feelings, objects actions, states of mind etc.

Irony

Expressing something by using words that mean the opposite (humorous or sarcastic)

Juxtaposition

A stark contrast between two ideas, words or phrases which don’t seem to fit together (iron teacups – as iron has connotations of strength, whereas teacups are meant to be delicate)

Litotes

An understatement (opposite to hyperbole)

Metaphor

Comparison without 'like' or 'as'

Metonymy

using the name of an object to represent a bigger idea which it’s related to, such as “crown” for “monarchy,”or “count heads” for “count people.”

Mood

A distinctive emotion or feeling displayed by a poem. Links to tone.

Motif

A recurring symbol (where a word or phrase represents something else)

Abstract Noun

A thing that we cannot touch or feel, usually emotions. Eg, love, hate, fear.

Concrete Noun

A thing/place that we can see. Eg, river, Paris, Simon.

Onomatopoeia

Words imitating sounds

Oxymoron

Two complete opposites put together (iced fire) to create a contrast

Personification

Giving human attributes to nonhuman things

Polysyndeton

An over use of the same connective (for example, using ‘and’ in between every item in a long list) Opposite of asyndeton.

Preposition

A word category which explains where something is (on, under, in) etc

Pronoun

A word category which explains ‘who’ without using their name (she, us, I) etc

Reification

To give something alive qualities of a inanimate object

Repetition

Repeating something for emphasis

Rhetorical Question

A question where the writer doesn’t want you to answer. This technique is used so that you think about what is being said

Rule of Three

This technique is often used to get a point across to the reader – 3 adjectives in a list

Simile

Comparison using 'like' or 'as'

Symbol

Word, phrase, or image representing an idea

Theme

Dominant idea running through a poem

Theriomorphism/ Zoomorphism

Where a human is given animal qualities

Tone

The attitude or feeling conveyed in writing

Verb

A doing word like sings, runs, dances

Viewpoint

The perspective from which events are considered