Poetic Terms - LC English

Symbolism

Object represents an idea (flag - freedom)

imagery

appeal to the 5 senses

Denotation

dictionary meaning of a word

Connotation

associations brought up by word beyond dictionary meaning

Theme

the central message of a work of literature

Mood

The emotional feeling of a work for literature

tone

the attitude of the writer toward a subject or audience

figurative language

language not meant to be taken literally

simile

comparing two unlike things with like or as

metaphor

comparing two unlike thing without like or as

personification

giving human characteristics to something inhuman

hyperbole

exaggeration

dialogue

conversation

setting

where story takes place

irony

difference between when is expected and what actually happens

alliteration

when 2 or more words in a line of poetry begin with the same word

Assonance

when 2 or more words have the same vowel

consonance

when 2 or more words in a sentence have the same consonant sound

POV

perspective of what the is told through

stanza

division of poetry named for the number of lines it contains

rhyme

repetition of similar sounds

internal rhyme

when there rhyming words occur in the same line

end rhyme

the rhyming of words that appear at the end two or more lines of poetry

antithesis

opposite or contrast of an ideas (the best and worst of times)

refrain

the repetition of a line or phrase at regular intervals (ex: the chorus of a song)

ballad

a poem in verse that tells a story

elegy

a poem that laments the dead

free verse

poetry without a regular pattern of rhyme

Onomatopoeia

word that describes a sound

Enjambment

The running-over of a sentence or phrase from one poetic like to the next without terminal punctuation

Juxtaposition

Two things together contrasting each other