Poetic Terms (1)

Metaphor

A comparison between two unlikely things.

Simile

A comparison between two unlikely things using the words like or as.

Personification

The giving of human qualities to an animal, object or abstract idea

Hyperbole

An obvious and deliberate exaggeration to emphasize an idea or make a point.

Euphemism

A softer, more inoffensive word or phrase used as a substitute for one considered too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole or the whole for the part.

Paradox

A statement that seems to contradict or oppose itself, yet actually makes sense or reveals some truth.

Alliteration

The repetition of a consonant sound or the same letter at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds within stressed syllables of neighboring words.

Onomatopoeia

Words that imitate or actually sound like the objects or actions to which they refer

Oxymoron

When two incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side.

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.

Allusion

a brief or indirect reference to a well-known person, place, thing, story, or idea (often a historical, cultural, literary, Biblical, or mythological reference); it is left to the reader to make the connection.

Pun

A play on words; can be on different meanings of the same word or on the similar sense or sound of different words.

Irony

the expression of one's meaning by using words that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect; the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning

Tone

the general attitude of a piece of writing; the emotional quality of the words that the author has chosen. It is also the author's attitude and point of view toward a subject; it reflects the feelings of the writer, and can affect the emotional response of the reader to the piece. It can be nostalgic, sentimental, moralizing, humorous or serious, personal or impersonal, subjective or objective, casual or passionate, and more.

Symbol

a concrete object that stands in for an abstract idea or concept

Speaker

the "narrator" of the poem, not necessarily the poet

Figurative Language

words or phrases that express a deeper meaning than the literal, everyday meaning of the those words; used to create vivid images

Consonance

The repetition of consonant sounds, not vowels, in a portion of text