English 30-1 Poetry Terminology and Literary Devices

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering figurative language, poetic types and structures, and rhythm and rhyme definitions for English 30-1.

Allegory

A story with a deeper level of meaning than the literal one (e.g., the novel Animal Farm is an allegory for communism).

Alliteration

Repetition of initial sound in one line of poetry (e.g., 'The furrow followed free.').

Allusion

A brief reference to a famous person, place, event, or another literary work (e.g., 'She had a Cinderella wedding.').

Apostrophe

Addressing someone absent as though present (e.g., 'Oh Shakespeare, if only you were here.' or 'Peace, where do you live?').

Archetype

Universal and commonly used symbols (e.g., Circle = wholeness or perfection or eternity).

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds (e.g., 'Glimmering in the tranquil bay.', 'rough and brother' for the 'uh' sound, or 'see, be, team' for the 'ee' sound).

Consonance

The repetition of final consonant sounds (e.g., 'tap, quip, top, cape').

Hyperbole

Obvious and deliberate exaggeration (e.g., 'I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.').

Imagery

The forming of mental images through an appeal to the five senses: sight, sound, taste, touch, smell (e.g., 'The sticky caramel oozed out of the freshly baked chocolate cake.').

Verbal Irony

A form of irony where you mean the opposite of what you say.

Situational Irony

A form of irony where the opposite happens than was expected.

Dramatic Irony

A form of irony where the reader is aware of something the character is not.

Litotes

An understatement expressing a thought by denying its opposite (e.g., 'The puppy’s grin was not unappealing.').

Metaphor

Two unlike things are compared without using the words 'like', 'as' or 'than' (e.g., 'He is a lion in battle').

Metonymy

Substituting of a term naming an object closely associated with the word itself (e.g., 'the crown', an object closely associated with kingship, stands in for the word 'king').

Onomatopoeia

A word whose sound seems to resemble the sound it denotes (e.g., 'hiss', 'buzz', 'rattle', 'bang').

Oxymoron

Two contradictory words or phrases are combined (e.g., 'terribly nice', 'awfully good', 'jumbo shrimp', 'living death').

Paradox

An apparent contradiction that is actually true (e.g., 'living is dying').

Personification

Inanimate objects are given human characteristics (e.g., 'The sky is crying').

Pun

A play on words (e.g., 'The fireman ran into the house holding a wrench, yelling: ‘It’s not a drill!’').

Sarcasm

Bitter and cutting speech, intended to hurt (e.g., saying 'Good job! Well done!' when someone does something wrong).

Satire

Ridicule intended to bring change or reform.

Simile

A comparison of two unlike things using the words 'like', 'as', or 'than' (e.g., 'He fought like a lion.').

Symbol

Anything which signifies something else (e.g., 'A circle is a symbol of eternity.' or 'A beaver is a symbol of Canada.').

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa (e.g., 'All hands on deck.' or 'Canada won gold.').

Couplet

A pair of lines in a poem (usually that rhyme).

Dramatic Poetry

Poetry that is meant to be read aloud as a monologue or acted out.

Free Verse

A poem that has no regular meter or line length.

Light Verse

Poetry designed to entertain or amuse.

Lyric

Song-like poem focusing on emotions.

Prose

The language people use to speak or write (mostly novels, articles, textbooks, etc.).

Narrative

A poem that tells a story.

Quatrain

A stanza or a complete poem that has 4 lines.

Sonnet

A poem of fourteen lines (e.g., Shakespeare is known for his sonnets).

Stanza

The arrangement of lines of verse in a pattern; somewhat like a paragraph.

Connotation

The suggestions and associations which go beyond the dictionary definition (e.g., 'The man strutted across the field.' versus 'The man trudged across the field.').

Denotation

The dictionary definition of a word (e.g., 'The man walked across the field.').

Iambic Pentameter

5 sets of soft then strong beats in one line of poetry (e.g., 'The time is out of joint. O cursed spite, / That ever I was born to set it right.').

Blank Verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter (e.g., 'Who set this ancient quarrel new abroach? / Speak, nephew, were you by when it began?').

Rhyme

Similarity of sound in words (e.g., 'Twinkle, twinkle little star / How I wonder what you are').

Feminine Rhyme

Polysyllabic rhyme (e.g., 'mellow/yellow', 'spitefully/delightfully').

Masculine Rhyme

Monosyllabic rhyme (e.g., 'cat, hat, sat, fat, bat').

Internal Rhyme

Words that rhyme within one line of poetry (e.g., 'Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.').

End Rhyme

Both rhyming words are at the ends of lines (e.g., 'Tiger! Tiger! Burning bright / In the forests of the night').

Eye Rhyme

A rhyme where there are two similarly spelled words but have different pronunciation (e.g., 'love move', 'food good').

Slant Rhyme

An imperfect sounding rhyme (e.g., 'even heaven', 'close both').

Rhyme Scheme

The pattern of rhymes used in a poem, usually marked by letters (e.g., abab).

Rhythm

The beat of a poem.

Tone

The poet’s attitude or point of view.