Poetry Vocab

alliteration

repetition of initial identical consonant sounds or any vowel sounds in successive or closely associated syllables

purpose of alliteration

used to accent the intensity of a statement and to imitate the sound of what is being talked about

anaphora

repetition of word/phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, lines

purpose of anaphora

creates a rhythm that can build to a crescendo, can raise emotional level of audience and make it easier to remember

apostrophe

figure of speech in which someone (usually absent), some abstract quality, or a nonexistent personage is directly addressed as though present

purpose of apostrophe

used to express deep emotions, speaker often challenges or pleads to something abstract and unchangeable or a higher power

assonance

same/similar vowel sounds in stressed syllables that end with different consonant sounds

purpose of assonance

adds to musical quality of the poem, accenting mood/meaning

caesura

strong pause within a line of verse (identifies by a long dash), can signify a pause in thought or a change in direction

chiasmus

a pattern in which second part is balance against the first but with the parts reversed

purpose of chiasmus

creates a memorable and understood clause, similar to antithesis , emphasize comparison between the 2 objects/ideas presented

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ex. “Flowers are lovely, love is flowerlike”

connotation

emotional implications/associations that words may carry s distinguished from their denotative meanings, depends on usage in a linguistic community/climate→ cannot be communicated but must be intelligible to others

denotation

basic meaning of a word, independent of its emotional colorations or associations, dictionary meaning

diction

means “word choice” refers to vocabulary and syntax, purpose varies by usage

emblem

complex symbol where every part contains significance, consisted of a motto expressing a moral idea and was accompanied by a picture/short poem, adds depth to poem

enjambment

run-on line of poetry were logical/grammatical sense carries over from one line to the next, differs from end-stopped line

end-stopped line

grammatical and logical sense is completed within the line

hyperbole

exaggeration, used to heighten effect or for humor

metaphor

analogy identifying 1 object with another and scribing to the 1st object 1+ qualities of the second, creates a stronger between objects being compared

metonymy

closely related term is substituted for an object/idea

ex: “the pen is mightier than the sword”

purpose of metonymy

may distance reader from a more specific/complete idea and draw attention to a different concept

onomatopoeia

use of words to imitate the sounds they describe refers to words and groups of words, overlaps with assonance and alliteration

oxymoron

self-contradictory combination of words, tend to emphasize duality that a person/object can feel/be 2 things at once

personification

figure that endows animals, ideas, abstractions, and inanimate objects with human for representing of imaginary creatures or thing with human emotion, allows writer to engage more directly with what they are talking about

rhyme

ending vowel + succeeding consonants of 2+ words sound the same, purpose: can emphasize a point meant to be compared/contrasted

rhyme scheme

pattern in which rhyme sounds occur in a stanza, every word that has the same rhyme receives the same letter, purpose: accent development of the poem

simile

directly expresses similarity between 2 objects using “like”, “as”, “than”, allows reader a frame of reference, choice of comparison object can be highly connotative and influential in reader’s perception

synecdoche

figure of speech in which a part is substituted for the whole, can place emphasis on particular detail to develop idea or them, my help establish theme or fragmentation

theromorphism/zoomorphism

taking animal descriptors and applying them to humans, these associations bring humans down to more primal aspects.actions, adding a rawness to character or scene and intensifying one

couplet

2 line stanza

tercet

3 line stanza

quatrain

4 line stanza