ENGL125 - UMD Midterm 1 Bertram

Falling action/meter

when a word goes from stressed to unstressed

rising action/meter

when a word goes from unstressed to stressed

scansion

scanning a line for stressed or unstressed syllables

metrical foot

the basic repeating rhythm of a poem often between pairs of stressed and unstressed syllables

iamb

the founding beat of english consisting of a pair of stressed syllables where the first syllable is unstressed and the second is stressed

EX: com-PARE

conceit

an elaborate metaphor or simile that spins out over the course of the poem

allegory

when an entire work of art takes second place to its meaning or when abstract concepts in an artwork are themselves personified

poem venn diagram (what makes it up)

mood

speaker

syntax

diction

voice

speaker

narrator/pov/voice, doesn’t have to be the author

syntax

deliberate arrangement of words, phrases, and clauses to create rhythm, meaning, and emotional impact

diction

word and phrasing choice

voice

a combo of speaker, syntax, and diction for style

mood

the poems experience, everything combines to form this. what about the poem makes you feel the emotion that the poem evokes?

figurative language

words and phrases that are meaningful but not literal

zoomorphism

giving animal qualities to something else like an object

personification

assigning human qualities to inanimate objects

pathetic fallacy

a type of personification that assigns human qualities to inanimate things in nature

simile

a comparison using like or as

metaphor (definition and elements)

a comparison of one thing to another
metaphor = tenor+vehicle+ground

enjambment

lines where the author chooses to move on to the next line before the grammatical end of the sentence (usually without punctuation)

EX: i think that i bloom like

flowers in a sunny field

line break

where a poet chooses to end a line

endstopped

lines ending with punctuation

aposiopesis

figurative speech where you deliberately leave your thought unfinished

hyperbole

an exaggeration

cliche

a statement/phrase, figure of speech, etc. that is so overused it becomes unoriginal

tenor

the literal object or thing being talked about in the metaphor

vehicle

what the tenor is being compared to/what is being talked about in the metaphor

ground

the shared features between the tenor and vehicle/why the metaphor works and makes sense

direct comparison

something directly IS something else

authorial choice

how an author uses craft and metaphor to contribute to their style and to shape the experience of the reader

dead metaphor

when a metaphor becomes used so much that it becomes a label

anaphora

repetition of a word at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, etc. to create a sonic effect

sonnet

14 line poem of iambic pentameter following a particular rhyme scheme

shakespearean sonnet

3 quatrains (stanzas of 4 lines) and a couplet (2 lines) following a rhyme scheme of ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG

petrarchan sonnet

8 line octave with a problem, 6 line sestet resolving it, with a volta (turn) occurring between sections as a shift following a rhyme scheme of ABBA ABBA, CDECDE or CDCDCD

American sonnet

14 line poem with no rhyme, meaning, etc.

rhetorical scheme

where the opening lines set a problem and a solution is offered with a change in the rhyme scheme

Assonance

repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words

ex: the rain in spain stays mainly in the plain

denotation

when the meaning is indicated or pointed to

connotation

when the meaning is suggested/implied

natural speech stress

where the accent of a word falls

rhetorical stress

where the accent of a word falls because of emphasis and situation

alliteration

similar sounds at the beginning of words

parallelism

consecutive sentences or phrases have identical grammatical constructions

ex: i like dancING, singING, and kayakING

litotes

a deliberate understatement used for effect

blason

a poem of praise that describes different parts of the body by comparison (typically done by men about females)

erasure poetry

deliberately deleting words from a poem

paloncest

a form of erasure poetry that leaves some words faded

abstraction/abstract

free form representational ideas, deals with ideas not specifics, thought expressed without a concrete image. exists on a continuum with concreteness

poetic image

broader than a visual image because it includes the 5 senses

imagism

concrete language and images that are precise

allusion

a reference to something outside the poem

epigraph

a short quote or saying at the beginning of a book/chapter/poem intended to show it’s theme
Helps lead to understanding

paralipsis

when the writer or speaker draws attention to some important matter by pretending to pass over it.
ex: “not to mention…”

lyric time

circular time in a poem that haunts the narrative. it allows you to jump to any place you need and allows past present and future to exist simultaneously

palinode

a poem that retracts, recants, or apologizes for a sentiment expressed in a previous work

corrigendum

a thing to be corrected, typically a printing error in a printed book

image complex

intellectual and emotional complex in an instant of time connecting through mood tone or association rather than through logic

associative leaps

a poem jumping through images based on emotion, not logic, where every image complex seems unrelated to the previous one

stanza break

white space in between regular or irregular groups of lines that suggest a shift emotionally, rhythmically, or temporarily

collage poetry

any composition that includes words, phrases, or sections of outside source material in juxtaposition

language poetry

emphasizes the readers role in bringing meaning out of work, blurs the boundary between observer and art

metapoetical function of white space

blank spaces can represent the poet’s inability to put things into words, language’s presence is emphasized through blank space

caesura

a stop or pause in a metrical line, often marked by punctuation or space

iconic function of white space

a poem whose typeface and spatial arrangement of the words on a page reflect the poem’s meaning

Liminal function of white space

white space acts as a buffer between the poem and the rest of the world

temporal function of white space

using white space to stop time and indicate a pause

prose

the ordinary language people use in speaking or writing

prose poem

a poem that doesn’t use line breaks but maintains a poetic quality and uses poetic properties

exphrasis

the use of vivid language to describe or respond to a work of visual art

parataxis

short and simple sentences placed side by side without conjunctions
ex: i came, i saw, i conquered

translation

transforming language from one form to another

rhythmic freedom

emotional restraint through image rather than through explanation

source language

the original language the poet is writing in

target language

the language that the poet is translating the poem into

literal translation

a method of translation that translates each word or phrase directly from the source language into the target language, preserving the original word order, syntax, and structure as closely as possible

comparative translation

the analysis or creation of multiple translations of the same poem to examine how different choices in language, rhythm, form, and styel affect its meaning, tone, and artistic value