poetry terms

Shakespearean (English) sonnet

3 quatrains + couplet; abab cdcd efef gg or abba cddc effe gg

Spenserian: abab bcbc cdcd ee

Italian (Petrarchan) sonnet

octave and sestet, between which a break in thought occurs

abba abba cde cde (or cdcdcd)

blank verse

unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter

"To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer"

elegy

a poem of lament meditating on the death of an individual

3 parts:

1. lament - raw emotion

2. praise - honor

3. consolation

villanelle

simple and spontaneous verse form,5 tercets and a final quatrain

aba aba aba aba aba abaa

iambic

unstressed STRESSED

trochaic

STRESSED unstressed

anapestic

unstressed unstressed STRESSED

dactyllic

STRESSED unstressed unstressed

spondaic

STRESSED STRESSED

monometer

1 metric foot (1 unit of meter)

dimeter

2 metric feet

trimeter

3 metric feet

tetrameter

4 metric feet

pentameter

5 metric feet

hexameter

6 metric feet

heptameter

7 metric feet

octometer

8 metric feet

caesura

a pause in the meter or rhythm of a line

enjambement

a run-on line, continuing into the next without a grammatical break

end rhyme

rhyme occurs at the end of the verse line

"I was angry with my friend,

I told my wrath, my wrath did end"

internal rhyme

rhyme is within the same line

"The splendour falls on castle walls"

masculine rhyme

the last, accented syllable of rhyming words correspond exactly in sound

feminine rhyme

2 consecutive syllables of the rhyme words correspond

half/slant rhyme

imperfect, approximate rhyme

assonance

repetition of two or more vowel sounds within a line

"the fire of thine eyes"

consonance

repetition of two or more consonant sounds within a line

"hickory, dickory, dock"

alliteration

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

"Bright black-eyed creature, brushed with brown"

onomatopoeia

a word whose sound suggests its meaning

"The buzz saw snarled and rattled in the yard"

euphony

the use of compatible, harmonious sounds to produce a pleasing, melodious effect

steady rhythm

"M", "N", "W", "R" sounds

cacophony

the use of inharmonious sounds in close conjunction for chaotic effect

repetition, combination of consonants in words, harsh consonants, hissing sounds

conceit

an extended metaphor comparing two unlike objects with powerful effect

"death kindly stopped for me"

apostrophe

addressing a person or personified object not present

metonymy

substitution of a word naming something for a related, associated word

"the serpent that did sting thy father's life"

"Which waves in every raven tress"

synecdoche

figure of speech in which a part represents the whole object or idea (microcosmic) or a whole represents a part (macrocosmic)

"I should have been a pair of ragged claws/Scuttling across the floors of silent seas"

hyperbole

gross exaggeration for effect

litotes

a form of understatement in which the negative of an antonym is used to achieve emphasis and identity

"He accused himself, at bottom and not unveraciously"

verbal irony

meaning one thing and saying another

dramatic irony

when the audience knows something the characters do not

situational irony

when the reality of a situation differs from the anticipated effect

paradox

a statement that appears self-contradictory, but underlines a basis of truth

"I close my eyes, and I can see"

oxymoron

contradictory terms brought together to express a paradox for strong effect

"Beautiful tyrant! Fiend angelical!"

lyric

subjective, reflective poetry with regular rhyme scheme and meter which reveals poet's thoughts and feelings to create a single, unique impression

narrative

non-dramatic, objective verse with regular rhyme scheme and meter which relates a story

ode

elaborate lyric verse which deals seriously with a dignified theme

free verse

unrhymed lines without regular rhythm

epic

a long, dignified narrative poem which gives the account of a hero important to his nation or race

dramatic monologue

a lyric poem in which the speaker addresses himself to persons around him; his speech deals with a dramatic moment in his life and manifests his character

ballad

simple, narrative verse which tells a story to be sung or recited; the folk ballad is anonymously handed down, while the literary ballad has a single author

idyll

lyric poetry describing the life of the shepherd in pastoral, idealistic terms

light verse

general category of poetry written to entertain, such as lyric poetry, epigrams, and limericks. It can also have a serious side, as in parody or satire

haiku

Japanese verse in three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables, often depicting a delicate image

limerick

humorous nonsense-verse in five anapestic lines rhyming aabba, a-lines being trimeter and b-lines dimeter

amphibrach

a foot with unstressed, STRESSED, unstressed syllables (like Chicago)

anacrusis

an extra unaccented syllable at the beginning of a line before the regular meter begins

amphimacer

a foot with STRESSED, unstressed, STRESSED syllables (like attitude)

catalexis

an extra unaccented syllable at the ending of a line after the regular meter ends (opposite of anacrusis)