ELA 111 Definitions

Sonnet

Single-stanza 14 line lyric poem written in iambic pentameter with a rhyme scheme

A love poem usually written by a male speaker

Iambic pentameter

Iambic pentameter is a rhythm in poetry where each line has ten syllables, following a pattern of soft-hard, soft-hard, soft-hard, soft-hard, soft-hard beats.

Conceit

A comparison between two very different things - an unexpected metaphor

Rhyme Scheme

A pattern of rhymes at the end of each line in poetry

Metre

is the pattern of syllabic stress in a poetic line

Shakespeare sonnet rhyme scheme

ABAB CDCD EFEF GG (three quatrains and a rhyming couplet)

Petrarchan sonnet rhyme scheme

ABBAABBA CDCCDC or CDECDE (an octave and a sestet)

Spondee Pentameter

Two syllable foot consisting of two STRESSED syllables

Trochee Pentameter

Two syllable foot consisting of a STRESSED and unstressed syllable (opposite of iamb)

Pyrrich Pentameter

Two syllable foot consisting of two UNSTRESSED syllables

Synalepha

Blending together of two syllables into one

Symbol

Something that represent itself but goes beyond this in suggesting other meanings

Anaphora

Repitition of a word or phrase at the beginning fo a successive clauses, sentences, or lines

Harbinger

Something that foretells/predicts