Glossary of Poetic Terminology

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering key poetic terms and concepts.

Scansion

Visual code for marking meter and rhyme scheme in a poem.

Metrical foot

One metrical unit, e.g., one iamb, one trochee.

Iambic

A meter with feet comprising alternating unstressed and stressed syllables.

Trochaic

A meter with feet comprising alternating stressed and unstressed syllables.

Anapestic

A meter with feet comprising two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable.

Dactylic

A meter with feet comprising a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables.

Catalexis

Metrically incomplete line of verse, missing a syllable(s) at the end.

Hypercatalexis

Line with an extra syllable(s) at the end.

Metrical violation

Deviation from an established meter in a poem.

Spondee

Two stressed syllables not part of a metrical pattern.

Pyrrhic

Two unstressed syllables not part of a metrical pattern.

Accentual-syllabic meter

A meter that relies on the sequence of both accents and syllables.

Accentual meter

A meter that attends only to the number of accents in a line.

Syllabic meter

A meter that attends only to the number of syllables in a line.

Free verse

Poetry that doesn’t follow a formal or regular pattern of meter or rhyme.

Enjambment

Continuation of a sentence across lines without a pause or break.

End stop

A definite ending at the end of a line, usually created by punctuation.

End rhyme

Poetry with rhyming words at the ends of lines.

Internal rhyme

Poetry with rhyming words in the middle of lines.

Perfect rhyme

Words that rhyme exactly.

Imperfect rhyme

Words that are similar but not exact rhymes.

Identical rhyme

Repetition of the same word to form a rhyme.

Eye rhyme

Rhyme involving two words that are spelled similarly but pronounced differently.

Mosaic rhyme

A rhyme in which one word rhymes with multiple words.

Heroic couplets

Paired lines in iambic pentameter with end rhyme.

Assonance

Repetition of the same vowel sounds in different words.

Consonance

Repetition of the same consonant sounds in different words.

Alliteration

Repetition of the same sounds at the beginnings of different words.

Couplet

Two paired lines of poetry.

Tercet

Three lines of poetry, often forming a stanza.

Quatrain

Four lines of poetry, or a stanza of four lines.

Quintain

Five lines of poetry, or a stanza of five lines.

Sestet

Six lines of poetry, or a stanza of six lines.

Septet

Seven lines of poetry, or a stanza of seven lines.

Octave

Eight lines of poetry, or a stanza of eight lines.

Italian sonnet

14-line poem in iambic pentameter with a specific rhyme scheme.

English sonnet

14-line poem in iambic pentameter with a different rhyme scheme.

Volta

The location in a poem where there’s a shift of thought, argument, or emotion.

Feminine ending

A poetic line with an unstressed syllable at the end.

Masculine ending

A poetic line with a stressed syllable at the end.

Feminine rhyme

Rhymes that end on unaccented syllables.

Masculine rhyme

Rhymes that end on accented syllables.

Ballad

Poem or song written in quatrains with alternating lines.

Common meter

Form that Protestant hymns take, same as ballad.

Blues

Song/poem written in tercets with repeating lines.

Villanelle

A 19-line poem with specific repeat rules and rhyme scheme.

Haiku

A syllabic poem with three lines and a specific syllable count.

Caesura

Rhythmic pause in a poetic line.

Pantoum

A poem comprised of quatrains with repeating lines.

Ghazal

A poem comprised of couplets, traditionally 5-12, with volta.

Concrete poem

A poem that forms a visual picture on the page.

Prose poem

A poem blurring boundaries between poetry and prose.

Sound poem

A poem meant for oral performance, can include music.

Found poetry

Poetry found or looks like it has been found.

Twitter poem

A poem limited to 140 characters.

Anagrammatic poem

A poem made by rearranging letters in a chosen word.

Acrostic poem

A poem where first letters of lines spell out a word.

Blackout poem

A poem created by blacking out text to form new poetry.

Rhythm vs. Meter

Difference between reciting poetry and internal stresses.