Key Terms in Poetry and Poetic Devices

Dramatic monologue

A type of poem in which a single speaker addresses a silent listener, often revealing their thoughts and feelings.

Enjambment

The continuation of a sentence or clause across a line break in poetry.

Speaker/persona

The voice or persona that narrates the poem, distinct from the poet.

Ekphrastic

A type of writing that vividly describes a work of art.

Metaphysical poetry (conceit)

A style of poetry characterized by intricate metaphors and philosophical themes.

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or lines.

Caesura

A pause in a line of poetry, often occurring in the middle of a line.

Petrarchan sonnet

A sonnet consisting of an octave and a sestet, typically following the rhyme scheme ABBAABBA for the octave.

Elizabethan sonnet

A sonnet form popularized by Shakespeare, consisting of three quatrains followed by a couplet, with a rhyme scheme of ABABCDCDEFEFGG.

Apostrophe

A figure of speech in which the speaker addresses an absent person, an abstract idea, or a thing.

Paradox

A statement that contradicts itself but may reveal a deeper truth.

Polysyndeton

The use of several conjunctions in close succession, often slowing the rhythm of the prose.

Terza rima

A three-line stanza with an interlocking rhyme scheme (ABA BCB CDC, etc.).

Ode

A formal, often ceremonious lyric poem that addresses and celebrates a person, place, thing, or idea.

Allusion

An indirect reference to a person, place, event, or literary work.

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated.

Octave

An eight-line stanza or poem, often used in sonnets.

Sestet

A six-line stanza or poem, often following an octave in a sonnet.

Volta

The turn or shift in thought or argument in a poem, particularly in sonnets.

personification

A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

juxtaposition

Placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts

Enjambment

A run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next.

Metaphor

A comparison without using like or as

Romanticism

19th century artistic movement that appealed to emotion rather than reason; celebrated nature and turned away from industrialization

sensory imagery

imagery that has to do with something you can see, hear, taste, smell, or feel

simile

A comparison using "like" or "as"