Poetry Glossary

Scansion

visual code for marking meter and rhyme scheme in a poem

Metrical foot

one metrical unit (e.g., one iamb, one trochee, etc)

Iambic (iamb)

A meter with feet comprised of alternating UNstressed and stressed syllables (ie. such breathy, breathy moth)

Trochaic (trochee)

a meter with feet comprised of alternating stressed and UNstressed syllables (ie., Tyger! Tyger! burning bright)

Anapestic (anapest)

a meter with feet comprised of two UNstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable (ex. Is not owing to nature, to fear, or to shame)

Dactylic (dactyl)

A meter with feet comprised of a stressed syllable followed by TWO UNstressed syllables. (ex. This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks")

Spondee

two stressed syllables that are not a part of a metrical pattern.

Pyrrhic

Two UNstressed syllables that are not part of a metrical pattern

Catalexis (catalectic)

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

Hypercatalexis (hypercataletic)

line with an extra syllable(s) at the end

Metrical violation (metrical variation or substitution)

deviation from an established meter in a poem

Monometer

poetic lines with 1 accent or foot

Dimeter

poetic lines with 2 accents or feet

Trimeter

poetic lines with 3 accents or feet

Tetrameter

poetic lines with 4 accents or feet

Pentameter

poetic lines with 5 accents or feet

Hexameter

poetic lines with 6 accents or feet

Heptameter

poetic lines with 7 accents or feet

Octameter

poetic lines with 8 accents or feet

Accentual-syllabic meter

a type of meter that relies on the sequence of both accents and syllables. Lines have accents and syllables in a regular pattern. Examples include iambic pentameter, trochaic tetrameter

Accentual meter

A type of meter that attends only to the number of accents in a line. While the number of syllables may vary between lines, and while the pattern of unaccented and accented syllables may vary, lines have a consistent number of accents

Syllabic Meter

A type of meter that only attends to the syllables in a line. Lines will have consistent amounts of syllables, but a differing amount of words

Free verse

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

Enjambment

the continuation of a sentence across lines, without a pause or break from a comma, period, semi-colon, etc

End stop

a definite ending at the end of a line, usually created by punctuation such as a period, colon, semi-colon, comma, etc. Encouraging a pause at the end of the line. The opposite of this is enjambment

End rhyme

poetry with rhyming words at the ends of lines

Internal rhyme

poetry with rhyming words in the middle of the lines. The rhymes can occur in the same line (ie. first and burst)

Perfect rhyme

Words that rhyme exactly, like “cheer” and “fear”

Imperfect rhyme (half rhyme, slant rhyme)

Words that are similar but not exact rhymes, like “slant” and “mint”

Identical rhyme

Repetition of the same word to form a rhyme

Eye rhyme

A rhyme involving two words that are spelled in a similar way but pronounced differently, like “love” and “move”

Alliteration

Repetition of the same sounds at the beginnings of different words, “sight” “season”, “sound”

Consonance

Repetition of the same consonant sounds in different words, as in “hack”, “trick”, and “meek”

Assonance

repetition of the same vowel sounds in different words, like “game”, “rage”, and “bait”

Heroic couplets

paired lines in iambic pentameter with end rhyme

Couplet

two paired lines of poetry (as in final rhyme of an english sonnet)

Tercet

THREE lines of poetry, often forming a stanza (a haiku is this!)

Quatrain

FOUR lines of poetry, or a stanza of four lines (ballads are this!)

Quintain/quintet/cinquain

FIVE lines of poetry, or a stanza of five lines, or a five-line poem (a limerick is a quatrain)

Sestet/sextet

Six lines of poetry, or a stanza of six lines, or a six line poem (the final six lines of a sonnet complete this)

Septet

Seven lines of poetry, or a stanza of seven lines, or a seven-line poem

Octave/oclet

Eight lines of poetry, or a stanza of eight lines, or an eight-line poem

Volta

the Italian word for turn; it’s the location in a poem where there’s a shift of thought, argument, or emotion

Ballad

poem or song written in quatrains with alternating iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter lines and a rhyme scheme of ABCD DEFE

Common meter

The form that Protestant hymns take, which is the same form as the ballad (quatrains with alternating iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter lines), although the rhyme scheme is more often ABAB CDCD

Feminine ending

A poetic line with an UNstressed syllable at the end

Masculine ending

A poetic line with a STRESSED syllable at the end

Caesura

A rhymtic pause in a poetic line, usually created by punctuation. Can occur near the beginning of the line, the middle, or the end (usually only for haikus.)

Prose poem

A poem that blurs the boundaries between poetry and prose. It is typically written in prose form, but contains poetic elements.

Blank verse

verse written in iambic pentameter with no end rhyme

Conceit

an extended, complex metaphor or elaborate comparison between two disimilar things

Anaphora

repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive lines

Epistrophe

repetition of a word or phrase at the ends of successive lines

Persona

The narrator of the poem

Blazon

A head to toe description of their physical attributes. Usually came from patrarchs and sonnets

Anti-blazon

Something like the Shakespeare sonnet, “my mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun”.

Apostrophe

A literary device where the speaker addresses a person who is absent or dead as if it were alive.

Juvenalian satire

Depicts threats to society (perceived), like folly and vice

Horatian satire

playfully criticizes human behaviour through gentle and light-hearted humor

Scatological Poems

A poem that is most aligned with obscenity

Augustianism

From the era of Augustus, which defends the orthodox view of Christianity, exalts the glory of God, stresses original sin, and asserts the necessity of divine, interventional grace

Elegy

A formal poem of lament or consolation on the death of an individual, or a mediation on death in general. See a lot in the animal poems.

Enlightenment

Also known as the age of reason. A philosophical movement that celebrated the scientific method, humans ability to perfect themselves and their society. They opposed intolerance, restraint, spiritual authority, and revealed religion.

Epic

A long narrative poem which celebrates a hero. An example of this poem is Paradise Lost, Beowulf, Dante’s Divine Comedy

Linneaus Taxonomy

A scientists way at categorizing animals. Linked to the Great Chain of Being. This had an effect on the amount of interest people put into non-human animals.

Heroic Couplet

iambic pentameter lines rhymed in pairs. usually used in epic poetry

Manippean satire

A form of satire that deals with mental attitudes rather than fully realized characters. Uses the plot loosely. An example is Gulliver’s Travels.

Pastoral poem

A work of literature that idealizes the peaceful life of rural life and country people

Anti-pastoral

A work of literature that shows the hardships of rural life or country people

Sublime

Characterized by nobility and grandeur, focused on the exalted, and raised above ordinary human qualities. An example is Aaron Hill.