Poetic Terms Test — Definitions & Meter

Poetry

A patterned form of verbal or written expression of ideas in concentrated, imaginative, and rhythmical terms; it often contains rhyme and a specific meter, but not necessarily.

Meter

The pattern of stressed (/) and unstressed (U) syllables established in a line of poetry.

Foot

A unit of meter, usually containing one stressed syllable and one or more unstressed syllables.

Types of metrical feet

The six basic feet are iambic, trochaic, anapestic, dactylic, spondaic, and pyrrhic.

Iamb

A two-syllable foot with stress on the second syllable: U /.

Trochee

A two-syllable foot with a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable: / U.

Anapest

A three-syllable foot with stress on the last syllable: U U /.

Dactyl

A three-syllable foot with stress on the first syllable: / U U.

Spondee

A two-syllable foot in which both syllables are stressed: / /.

Pyrrhic

A two-syllable foot in which both syllables are unstressed: U U; rare and usually mixed with other feet.

Kinds of metrical lines

Lines are named by their number of feet: monometer through octameter.

Monometer

A line containing one metrical foot.

Dimeter

A line containing two metrical feet.

Trimeter

A line containing three metrical feet.

Tetrameter

A line containing four metrical feet.

Pentameter

A line containing five metrical feet.

Hexameter

A line containing six metrical feet; iambic hexameter may be called an alexandrine.

Heptameter

A line containing seven metrical feet.

Octameter

A line containing eight metrical feet.

Verse forms

The three forms based on meter and rhyme are rhymed verse, blank verse, and free verse.

Rhymed verse

Verse with end rhyme and usually a regular meter.

Blank verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter: regular iambic pentameter without end rhyme.

Free verse

Verse without a regular meter and without rhyme.

Rhyme

Similarity of sound between words; a true rhyme has identical stressed ending sounds but different preceding sounds.

Position of rhyme

Rhyme may be end rhyme or internal rhyme.

End rhyme

Similarity of sound occurring at the ends of two or more lines.

Internal rhyme

Similarity of sound between two or more words within the same line of verse.

Kinds of rhyme

Based on how many syllables rhyme: masculine, feminine/double, or triple.

Masculine rhyme

Rhyme involving one syllable of each word or line ending.

Feminine (double) rhyme

Rhyme involving the final two syllables of each word or line ending.

Triple rhyme

Rhyme involving the final three syllables of each word or line ending.

Rhyme scheme

The pattern or sequence of end rhymes, labeled with letters such as ABAB; each new sound gets a new letter.

Alliteration

Repetition of the initial letter or sound in two or more words in a line of verse.

Onomatopoeia

Use of a word that represents or imitates a natural sound.

Assonance

Similarity or repetition of vowel sounds in two or more words; sometimes called partial or near rhyme.

Consonance

Repetition of consonant sounds within a line; unlike alliteration, the repeated sound need not be at the beginning of a word.

Refrain

Repetition of one or more phrases or lines at intervals in a poem, usually at the end of a stanza; often like a chorus.

Repetition

Reiterating a word or phrase within a poem.

Volta

The shift or turn in a poem's thought; often marked by words such as but, yet, or and yet. In a Petrarchan sonnet it occurs between octave and sestet.