Poetry Vocabulary Flashcards

Meter

Poetry's rhythm or the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.

Scansion

The process of marking the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem to determine its meter.

Iamb

A metric foot consisting of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable.

Troche

A metric foot consisting of one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable.

Spondee

A metric foot consisting of two stressed syllables.

Anapest

A metric foot consisting of two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable.

Dactyl

A metric foot consisting of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables.

Monometer

A line of verse with one metrical foot.

Dimeter

A line of verse with two metrical feet.

Trimeter

A line of verse with three metrical feet.

Tetrameter

A line of verse with four metrical feet.

Pentameter

A line of verse with five metrical feet.

Hexameter

A line of verse with six metrical feet.

Heptameter

A line of verse with seven metrical feet.

Octometer

A line of verse with eight metrical feet.

Caesura

A pause in the meter or rhythm of a line.

Enjambment

A run-on line that continues into the next line without a grammatical break.

Assonance

The repetition of two or more vowel sounds within a line.

Consonance

The repetition of consonant sounds within a line.

Alliteration

The repetition of two or more initial sounds in words within a line.

Onomatopoeia

The technique of using a word whose sound suggests its meaning.

Euphony

The use of compatible, harmonious sounds to produce a pleasing effect.

Cacophony

The use of inharmonious sounds in close conjunction for effect.

End Rhyme

Rhyme occurring at the end of a verse line.

Internal Rhyme

Rhyme contained within a line of verse.

Rhyme Scheme

The pattern of rhymes within a unit of verse, represented by letters.

Masculine Rhyme

Rhyme where only the last, accented syllable of the rhyming words correspond in sound.

Feminine Rhyme

Rhyme where two consecutive syllables of the rhyme-words correspond, with the first syllable accented.

Half Rhyme (Slant Rhyme)

An imperfect, approximate rhyme.

Free Verse

Poetry without a specific rhythm or rhyme scheme.

Blank Verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter.

Lyric Poetry

Subjective, reflective poetry that reveals the poet's thoughts and feelings.

Ode

A formal, often ceremonious lyric poem that addresses a person, place, thing, or idea.

Elegy

A mournful, melancholic poem, often written in remembrance of someone who has died.

Epigram

A brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement.

Redonilla

A Spanish verse form consisting of quatrains with a trochaic tetrameter and an abab or abba rhyme scheme.

Decima

A Spanish verse form with 10 line stanzas, regular rhyme, and octosyllabic lines.

Ballad

A simple, narrative verse usually written in ballad stanzas with quatrains and an abcb rhyme scheme.

Sonnet

A 14-line poem written in iambic pentameter with a regular rhyme scheme.

Shakespearean Sonnet

A sonnet consisting of three quatrains and a rhyming couplet.

Petrarchan Sonnet

A sonnet consisting of an octave and a sestet, usually marked by a volta in the ninth line.