thank god i am done with ralph

Romanticism

A literary and artistic movement of the 18th and 19th centuries that placed value on emotion or imagination over reason, the individual over society, and freedom over authority.

stanza

In poetry, a grouped set of lines within a poem, usually set off from other stanzas by a blank line or indentation.

elaboration

A writing technique in which a subject is introduced and then expanded on by means of repetition with slight changes or addition of details.

catalogue

A list of people or things, often used by Walt Whitman to develop or amplify a theme.

diction

Refers to the author’s choice of words.

rhyme scheme

A pattern of end rhymes, or rhymes at the ends of lines of verse.

couplet

Two lines of verse that rhyme, one following the other.

free verse

Poetry that does not use regular rhyme, meter, or stanza division.

blank verse

Unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter.

aphorism

A short saying that makes an often witty observation about life.

iambic foot

An unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

iambic pentameter

A line of poetry having five iambic feet.

metric feet

Stressed and unstressed syllables divided into rhythmical units.

meter

A regular rhythmic pattern in poetry determined by the number of beats or stresses in each line.

analogy

Comparison of two different things that are similar in some way.

apostrophe

When the speaker addresses someone or something that isn’t in the poem (e.g., an abstract concept, a dead person, or a thing).

heroic couplet

A pair of rhyming lines written in iambic pentameter.

rhetorical question

A question asked for effect but not meant to be answered because the answer is clear from context.

mood

The emotion created in the reader by a literary work, expressed by diction, details, and symbols.

tone

The emotional attitude toward the reader or subject implied by a literary work (e.g., ironic, serious, sincere).

personification

A type of figurative language in which an animal, force of nature, or idea is described as if it were human.

slant rhyme

Rhyme wherein the sounds are similar but not identical (e.g., bear and bore).

simile

A figure of speech that makes a comparison using "like" or "as."

metaphor

An implicit or hidden comparison between two unrelated things that share some characteristics.

synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole (e.g., "all hands on deck").

onomatopoeia

The use of words or phrases that sound like the things to which they refer.

alliteration

The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.

consonance

Repetition of similar consonant sounds in stressed syllables, preceded by uncommon vowel sounds.

assonance

The repetition of rhyming vowel sounds within lines of poetry.

symbol

Anything that stands for or represents both itself and something else.

enjambment

The continuation of a sentence from one line of a poem to the next; a run

allusion

A reference to a well

open vowel

Vowel sound made with the tongue positioned far away from the roof of the mouth.

long vowel

Vowel sound pronounced the same way as the name of the letter itself.

didactic

Intended to teach something, particularly having moral instruction as a motive.

lyric poetry

A formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically in the first person.

idyll

A poem or prose work describing peaceful country life or an idealized happy scene.

coin

To invent or devise a new word or phrase.

prose

Ordinary language used in speaking or writing, distinguished from poetry by its irregularity of rhythm.

irony

The difference between appearance and reality.

verbal irony

When a writer or character says one thing but means another.

situational irony

When an event occurs that violates the expectations of the characters or audience.

dramatic irony

When something is known by the reader but unknown to the characters.

rhyme

The repetition of sounds at the ends of words.

occasion

In rhetoric, the situation that gives rise to the need or opportunity for persuasion.

Walt Whitman

"Preface to Leaves of Grass", Leaves of Grass, "I Hear America Singing", "Song of Myself", "By the Bivouac’s Fitful Flame", "Beat! Beat! Drums!"

Emily Dickinson

"Much Madness is Divinest Sense—", "I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—", "Because I could not stop for Death—", "This is my letter to the World"

Edwin Arlington Robinson

"Richard Cory", "Miniver Cheevy"

Robert Frost

"Birches", "Mending Wall"