Poetry Terms

Accent

The rhythmically significant stress in the articulation of words

Analogy

An agreement or similarity in some particulars between things otherwise different

Assonance

The relatively close juxtaposition of the same or similar vowel sounds, but with different end consonants in a line or passage

Ballad

A short narrative poem with stanzas of two or four lines and usually a refrain

Couplet

Two successive lines of poetry, usually of equal length and rhythmic correspondence, with end-words that rhyme

Dirge

A poem of grief or lamentation, especially one intended to accompany funeral or memorial rites

Elegy

A poem of lament, praise, and consolation, usually formal and sustained, over the death of a particular person

End Rhyme

A rhyme occurring in the terminating word or syllable of one line of poetry with that of another line

Epic

An extended narrative poem, usually grand in scope, exalted in style, and heroic in theme

Euphemism

The substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression to replace one that might offend

Euphony

Harmony or beauty of sound which provides a pleasing effect to the ear

Extended Metaphor

A metaphor drawn-out beyond the usual word or phrase to extend throughout a stanza or an entire poem

Foot

A unit of rhythm or meter; the division in verse of a group of syllables

Form

The arrangement or method used to convey the content

Homonym

One of two or more words identical in pronunciation and spelling, but different in meaning

Internal Rhyme

A rhyme occurring within the line

Lyric Verse

One of the three main groups of poetry, characterized by subjective thoughts and feelings

Meter (metre)

A measure of rhythmic quantity in poetry

Modulation

The harmonious use of language relative to variations of stress and pitch

Octave

A stanza of eight lines, especially the first eight lines of an Italian or Petrarchan sonnet

Ode

A type of lyric or melic verse, usually irregular rather than uniform

Oxymoron

The conjunction of words that seem contradictory but express a truth or dramatic effect

Quatrain

A poem, unit, or stanza of four lines of verse

Refrain

A repeated stanza, line, or phrase throughout a poem

Rhythm

The regular or progressive pattern of recurrent accents in the flow of a poem

Sexain

A stanza of six lines, as in some fixed forms such as a sestina

Sonnet

A fixed form consisting of fourteen lines of 5-foot iambic verse

Stanza

A division of a poem made by arranging the lines into units separated by a space

Stich

A line or verse of poetry.