Unit 2: Poetry Terms

alliteration

the repetition of identical similar consonant sounds normally at the beginning of word

ex. Clarence closed his cluttered clothes closet.

allusion

a reference in a work of literature to something outside the work, especially to a well-known historical event, person, or work.

ex. To my dog, our neighborhood park is the Garden of Eden.

antithesis

a figure of speech characterized by strongly contrasting words, clauses, sentences or ideas.

ex. Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.

apostrophe

occurs when a speaker directly addresses a person or thing that is not present or cannot respond.

ex. Death, be not proud, though some have called thee.

assonance

the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds

ex. No pain, no gain.

ballad meter

a four line stanza rhymed abcb with four accented syllables in lines 1 and 3 and three in lines 2 and 4.

ex. Mother dear, may I go downtown Instead of out to play, And march the streets of Birmingham In a Freedom March today?

blank verse

unrhymed iambic pentameter; poetry written in unrhymed but metered lines, usually with a rhythmic pattern of writing that uses five metrical feet, in each line of verse.

ex. It is not nor it cannot come to good, But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue.

cacophony

a harsh, unpleasant combination of sounds or tones.

ex. Dishes crashing on the floor, or horns blaring and people yelling in a traffic accident.

caesura

a pause, usually near the middle of a line of verse, normally indicated by the sense of the line, and often greater than a normal pause.

ex. And begin to pay tribute. That was one good king.

conceit

a sustained metaphor that goes to a great length using different techniques to create an unlikely, unusual, and different comparison that, sometimes, seems far-fetched.

ex. If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.

consonance

the repetition of similar consonant sounds in a group of words, usually referring to words where the ending consonants are the same but the vowels that precede them are different.

ex. The buzz-saw snarled and rattled in the yard.

couplet

a two-line stanza, especially two lines that rhyme with each other and are the same length.

ex. The wind blew very strong As we scurried along

devices of sound

techniques of deploying the sound of words, especially in poetry; they are used to create a general effect of pleasant or discordant sounds, to imitate imitate other sounds, or to reflect a meaning.

ex. rhyme, alliteration, consonance, and onomatopoeia.

diction

the use of words in a literary work, and can be described as formal, informal colloquial, or slang.

ex. The professor relishes erudite conversations with his pupils.

didactic poem

a poem which is intended primarily to teach a lesson.

ex. In the poem, Paradise Lost by John Milton, he discusses freewill vs. predestination.

dramatic poem

a poem that uses a dramatics form or some elements of dramatic techniques as a mean of achieving a poetic end.

ex. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare is an example of dramatic poetry because it employs poetic elements such as rhyming.

elegy

a sustained and formal poem setting forth the poet’s mediations upon death or another solemn theme.

ex. O Captain my Captain! by Walt Whitman mourns the death of a ship’s captain.

end-stopped

a line with a pause at the end such as a period, comma, colon, semi-colon, exclamation point, or question mark.

ex. Then say not man's imperfect, Heav'n in fault; Say rather, man's as perfect as he ought.

enjambment

the continuation of the sense and grammatical construction from one line of poetry to the next.

ex. April is the cruelest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing. Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain

extended metaphor

an implied analogy, or comparison, which is carried throughout a stanza or an entire poem.

ex. Hope is the Thing with Feathers by Emily Dickinson uses an extended metaphor to compare the feeling of hope to a small bird.

stanza

a group of lines (a verse) of poetry.

meter

rhythmic structure of a verse; such as how many lines there are in a verse or how many syllables there are in a line; the overall rhythmic structure of a poem.

rhyme

the repetition of same (or similar) sounds, typically at the end of a line.

ex. the fat cat ran and chased the rat.