mr peen vocab

Sonnet

A form of poetry with a specific rhyme scheme and fourteen lines.

Rhyme Scheme

A way of using letters to represent the rhyming pattern in a poem.

Shakespearean Sonnet

Poems that consist of three quatrains and a couplet, with an ABABCDCDEFEFGG rhyme scheme.

Couplet

Two lines that rhyme, often used at the end of Shakespearean Sonnets to summarize or twist the poem.

Volta

A shift or turn in the poem, often included in couplets or after the octave in Petrarchan Sonnets.

Quatrain

Four lines of rhyming poetry, often representing units of thought in Shakespeare’s Sonnets.

Meter

The pattern between stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry.

Iambic Pentameter

The dominant meter in English poetry, consisting of five iambs or ten syllables total.

Metaphysical Poets

Poets from the 17th century known for intellectual ideas, conceits, irony, and flexible meter.

Petrarchan Sonnet

A type of sonnet divided into an octave and a sestet, often with a different rhyme scheme than Shakespearean sonnets.

Romanticism

A philosophy from the late 18th and early 19th century emphasizing nature, emotion, and individualism.

Iamb

An unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one.

Ballad Meter

Alternates between iambic tetrameter (8 syllables) and iambic trimeter (6 syllables).

Paradox

An idea that is true though it seems contradictory.

Trochee

An emphasized syllable followed by an unemphasized syllable.

Lament

An expression of sadness and disappointment.

Ode

A poem that celebrates something.

Mood

The sensations and emotions experienced by the reader interacting with the artwork.

Antimetabole

One statement followed by another in reversed word order.

Oxymoron

Two words that seem contradictory when put together.

Modernism

A literary period marked by an experimental and abstract style from the early twentieth century.

Light Verse

Verse written to amuse and entertain, characterized by wit and elegance.

Caesura

A rest or pause in the middle of a line of poetry.

Persona Poem

A poem where a speaker assumes a voice or character, as in a monologue.

Avant-garde

Experimental or unconventional artwork.

Imagism

Short poetry focused on visual images rather than figurative language.

Refrain

A phrase repeated throughout a poem.

Understatement

When something significant is downplayed or unremarked.

Terza Rima

Stanzas of three lines with a repeating middle rhyme (ABA, BCB, CDC).

Extended metaphor

A comparison that continues for more than one line or sentence.

Second Person

Using words like "you" or "your" to directly address the audience.

Satire

The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize follies or vices.

Alliteration

Repetition of consonant sounds, especially on emphasized syllables.

Confessional Poetry

Poetry emphasizing personal experiences, often covering risky or taboo subjects.

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds.

Feminism

The belief in the equality of men and women, highlighting instances of injustice against women.

Audience

The person the speaker in the poem is addressing.

Internal Rhyme

Rhyme that occurs within a single line.

Anadiplosis

A phrase that ends one line is repeated at the beginning of the next.

Juxtaposition

Placing items side by side for comparison or contrast.

Invocation of the Muse

A prayer at the beginning of an epic inviting help from a muse.

Epic

A long narrative literary work in verse about a hero or a significant journey.

Myth

A narrative featuring supernatural explanations of the world, often oral.

Antihero

A protagonist with both favorable and unfavorable characteristics.

Epic Simile

An extended comparison using "like" or "as" between two unalike things.

Apostrophe

When a speaker addresses something that cannot respond, often beginning with "O".

Climax

The point of highest intensity in a story where conflict peaks.

Neoclassicalism

A movement inspired by ancient Roman and Greek literature in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Blank Verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter.

Allusion

A reference to an older literary work or historical event, leveraging the audience's prior knowledge.

Transcendentalism

An American form of Romanticism emphasizing conscience and paradox.

Gothic Romanticism

A genre filled with dark imagery emphasizing fear and the human experience.

Free Verse

Poetry that does not conform to traditional forms, lacking rhyme or meter.

Cataloguing

A poetic technique of listing items.

Elegy

A poem written in memory of someone who has died.

Interjection

An incomplete phrase that interrupts a sentence or clause.

Anapest

A metrical foot with two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed one.

Imagery

Sensory details that help create a visual representation in poetry.

Ballad

A rhyming poem that tells a story through quatrains.

Slant Rhyme

When words have a partially matching sound, not a perfect rhyme.

Spondee

A metrical foot comprised of two consecutive stressed syllables.

Lyric Poem

A personal poem written in first person about emotions and feelings.

Blues Structure

A poetic pattern where an idea is stated twice, followed by a response.

Anaphora

A phrase repeated at the beginning of each line.

Dialect

Colloquial speech or informal language representing a specific group.

African Diaspora

The global spread of individuals descended from Africa.

Asyndeton

Omission of a conjunction in a series.

Epistrophe

A phrase repeated at the end of a series of clauses or lines.

Imperative

A command or order.

Vignette

A brief description or portrait.

End-Stopped Line

A line of poetry that forms a complete sentence.

Onomatopoeia

A word that imitates the sound it describes.

Postmodernism

A literary movement in the late 20th century marked by experimental styles and breaking of norms.

Antithesis

Opposites presented with similar syntax.

Euphony

Pleasant-sounding words created by rhyme and alliteration.

Metonymy

Defining something by another closely associated term.

Synecdoche

A type of metonymy where a part represents the whole or vice versa.

Rhetorical Question

A question implying an unstated answer, prompting contemplation.

Personification

Attributing human characteristics to non-human things.

Cacophony

Harsh or unpleasant sounds.