Poetry Terms

Sonnet

A fixed verse form of italian origin consisting of 14 lines

Free Verse

A verse whose meter is irregular in some respect

Personification

Representation of a thing or abstraction as a person or by human form

Conceit

An elaborate metaphor that connects to very different things

Paradox

A person or thing having seemingly contradictory qualities or phrases

Stanza

A division of a poem consisting of a series of lines arranged usually in a recurring pattern

Connotation

Something suggested by a word or thing; implication

Volta

A rhetorical turning point or shift in thought, tone, and emotion

Imagery

Figurative language that appeals to the senses

Diction

Vocal expression

Juxtaposition

The act or instance of placing two or more things side by side to compare or contrast

Simile

Figure of speech comparing two unlike things often using like or as

Metaphor

Figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one kind of object or idea in place of another suggesting likeness

Alliteration

Repetition of usually the initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables

Assonance

Relatively close juxtaposition of similar sounds especially vowels

Consonance

Harmony or agreement among components

Allusion

An implied or indirect referance

Anaphora

Repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses

Catalog

List

Enjambment

The running over of a sentence from one verse or couplet into another so that closely related words fall in different lines

Lyrical Poem

Short, emotion poem that expresses the personal thoughts ad feeling of a single speaker