Poetic Devices Reference Glossary

Comprehensive glossary flashcards covering sound and rhythm, imagery and figurative language, structure and form, and voice, meaning, and argument from the G.T.C Tutoring Poetic Devices Reference guide.

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds in nearby words.

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words.

Consonance

Repetition of consonant sounds, often within or at the ends of words.

Sibilance

Repeated hissing or shushing sounds, especially s, sh and z.

Onomatopoeia

Words that imitate sounds, such as buzz or clang.

Euphony

Pleasant, smooth combinations of sounds.

Cacophony

Harsh, discordant combinations of sounds.

Rhyme

Matching or similar sounds, often at the ends of lines.

End rhyme

Rhyme between the final words of lines.

Internal rhyme

Rhyme within a line or between a word inside a line and its end.

Slant rhyme (half rhyme)

Words with similar but not identical ending sounds.

Eye rhyme

Words that look as though they rhyme but are pronounced differently.

Rhyme scheme

The pattern of end rhymes, labelled ABAB, AABB, etc.

Rhythm

The patterned movement of stressed and unstressed syllables.

Metre

A regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.

Iamb

A two-syllable foot with unstressed then stressed beats.

Trochee

A two-syllable foot with stressed then unstressed beats.

Anapaest

A three-syllable foot with two unstressed then one stressed beat.

Dactyl

A three-syllable foot with one stressed then two unstressed beats.

Spondee

A foot consisting of two stressed syllables.

Iambic pentameter

A line typically containing five iambic feet.

Caesura

A pause within a line, often marked by punctuation.

Enjambment

A sentence or phrase runs beyond a line break without a stopping pause.

End-stopped line

A line that ends with a grammatical pause or complete thought.

Refrain

A line or phrase repeated at intervals, often between stanzas.

Repetition

Deliberate reuse of sounds, words, phrases or structures.

Anaphora

Repetition at the beginnings of successive clauses or lines.

Epistrophe

Repetition at the ends of successive clauses or lines.

Parallelism

Repeated grammatical structures that link or emphasise ideas.

Imagery

Descriptive language that appeals to the senses.

Visual imagery

Details that evoke sight.

Auditory imagery

Details that evoke sound.

Tactile imagery

Details that evoke touch or texture.

Olfactory imagery

Details that evoke smell.

Gustatory imagery

Details that evoke taste.

Kinaesthetic imagery

Details that evoke movement or bodily action.

Organic imagery

Details of internal feelings, such as hunger or exhaustion.

Simile

Comparison using like or as.

Metaphor

Describes one thing as another to suggest a shared quality.

Extended metaphor

A comparison developed across multiple lines or a whole poem.

Personification

Gives human actions or qualities to non-human things.

Anthropomorphism

Presents non-human beings as having human behaviour or identities.

Apostrophe

Direct address to an absent person, abstract idea or non-human thing.

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration for emphasis.

Understatement

Deliberately presents something as less significant than it is.

Litotes

Understatement made by denying the opposite, such as not bad.

Symbolism

An object, action or image represents a larger idea.

Motif

A recurring image, detail or idea that develops meaning.

Conceit

An elaborate, surprising or intellectually complex comparison.

Metonymy

Refers to something by naming a closely associated thing.

Synecdoche

Uses a part to represent a whole, or a whole for a part.

Pathetic fallacy

Attributes human feelings to nature, especially weather or landscape.

Synesthesia

Blends sensory descriptions, such as a loud colour.

Allusion

A brief reference to another text, person, event or tradition.

Allegory

An extended narrative or description with a second symbolic meaning.

Juxtaposition

Places contrasting elements close together to highlight differences.

Oxymoron

Combines contradictory words, such as deafening silence.

Paradox

An apparent contradiction that reveals a possible truth.

Irony

A contrast between appearance, expectation and reality.

Verbal irony

Words convey a meaning different from, often opposite to, their literal sense.

Satire

Uses humour, irony or exaggeration to criticise human behaviour or institutions.

Line

A single row of words in a poem.

Stanza

A grouped set of poetic lines, similar to a paragraph.

Couplet

Two successive lines, often linked by rhyme or meaning.

Tercet

A three-line stanza.

Quatrain

A four-line stanza.

Sestet

A six-line stanza or section.

Octave

An eight-line stanza or section.

Volta

A turn or significant shift in thought, tone or argument.

Free verse

Poetry without a fixed metre or rhyme scheme.

Blank verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter.

Sonnet

A 14-line poem often exploring a developing argument or feeling.

Shakespearean sonnet

A sonnet typically with three quatrains and a closing couplet.

Petrarchan sonnet

A sonnet commonly organised into an octave and sestet.

Ballad

A narrative poem, often with regular rhythm and recurring rhyme.

Elegy

A poem reflecting on loss, grief or death.

Ode

A lyric poem of praise or serious reflection.

Dramatic monologue

A poem spoken by a character whose words reveal their situation or personality.

Lyric poetry

Poetry focused on a speaker’s feelings, thoughts or perceptions.

Narrative poetry

Poetry that tells a story.

Prose poem

Poetic language arranged in prose rather than separate verse lines.

Concrete poetry

Poetry whose visual arrangement contributes to meaning.

Acrostic

Initial letters of lines spell a word or message.

Haiku

A brief Japanese-derived form often using nature or seasonal imagery.

Villanelle

A 19-line poem with repeating refrains and a fixed rhyme pattern.

Sestina

A 39-line form that repeats six end-words in a set pattern.

Terza rima

Interlocking three-line rhyme pattern, typically ABA BCB CDC.

In medias res

Beginning a narrative in the midst of action.

Circular structure

An ending that returns to an earlier image, situation or idea.

Fragment

An intentionally incomplete sentence or clause.

White space

Unprinted space used to shape pacing, emphasis or visual effect.

Typography

Choices of lettering, capitals, italics or visual presentation.

Speaker / persona

The voice speaking in a poem; not automatically the poet.

Tone

The speaker’s attitude towards the subject or audience.

Mood / atmosphere

The feeling or emotional environment created for the reader.

Diction

The writer’s word choices and their effects.

Connotation

Feelings or associations suggested by a word beyond its literal meaning.

Denotation

The direct, literal definition of a word.

Semantic field

A group of words connected by a shared topic or association.

Register

The level or style of language, such as formal or conversational.