Poetry Terms 06/11/2025

Free Verse

No regular pattern or rhythm, rhyme or rhyme length

Narrative

Tells a story, may or may not rhyme but almost always follow the plot of a short story

Alliteration

Repeating sounds at beginning of words. EX: Sandy sells seashells by the seashore

Onomatopoeia

Words that sound like sounds. EX: Buzz, hiss, splash, boom

Metaphor

Direct comparative between two things that aren’t similar, NO “like” or “as”. EX: He is a snake

Personification

Giving human-like qualities to items. EX: The guitar sings a jolly tune

Simile

Comparison between two different things using “like” or “as”

Hyperbole

A dramatic statement. EX: I am hungry enough to eat a fridge

Image/Imagery

Mental image from reading a poem

Mood

Emotion given to a poem. EX: “Rain dances”= happy, “Rain weeps”= sad

Oxymoron

Contradicting words put together. EX: Jumbo shrimp, Cold fire

Repetition

Purposefully repeated words, sounds, phrases or stanzas.