poetry terms

repetition

A sound, word, or phrase that is repeated for emphasis and unity.

alliteration

The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words near enough for the echo to be discernible.

consonance

The recurrence of sounds, especially consonant sounds, anywhere in a word near enough for the echo to be discernible.

assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds near enough for the echo to be discernible.

rhyme

The occurrence of similar or identical sounds.

end rhyme

Rhyme that occurs at the end of lines.

internal rhyme

Rhyme that occurs within one line.

half or slant rhyme

End rhyme that is not exact but approximate.

rhyme scheme

A regular pattern of end rhyme.

rhythm/meter

The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in spoken or written language.

couplet

A rhymed pair of lines of the same length and meter.

metaphor

A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things that are basically unlike but have something in common.

extended metaphor

A figure of speech that compares two essentially unlike things at some length and in several ways.

simile

A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things, using the words like or as.

personification

A figure of speech in which human qualities are given to an animal, object, or idea.

hyperbole

A figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated for emphasis or humorous effect.

onomatopoeia

A word that phonetically imitates the sound it describes.

allusion

An implied or indirect reference to something else.

figurative language

Language that communicates meanings beyond the literal meanings of words.

imagery

Words and phrases that employ one or more of the five senses.

free verse

Poetry that does not contain a regular pattern of rhythm or rhyme.

stanza

A group of two or more lines that form a unit in a poem.

quatrain

A four-line stanza.

concrete poetry

A poem whose lines create recognizable shapes to create a picture related to the poem’s subject.

speaker

The poem’s voice.

symbol

Something that stands for or represents something else and derives its meaning from the context in which it appears.