Poetry Lit Terms

free verse

poetry that does not follow a fixed, regular meter or rhyme scheme

stanza

grouped set of lines in a poem usually share a pattern/common theme

rhyme

correspondence of sound between words or the endings of words, especially when these are used at the ends of lines of poetry.

enjambment

run-on line, one line ends w/o pause and must continue into the next line to complete its meaning 

cadence

similar to rhythm, related to the rise and fall of the voice

speaker/persona

speaker is voice of poem, and is telling the story
persona is speaker that is distinctly created character/identity

alliteration

repetition of initial consonant sounds in a sequence of words

onomatopoeia

use of word that refers to a noise and the pronunciation mimics the noise

oxymoron

it’s a paradox that is made up of two seemingly contradictory words
ex: bittersweet, alone together

tonal shift

change in speaker’s attitude, emotion or mood in single poem

personification

gives human qualities, actions, or emotions to inanimate objects, animals, or abstract concepts

caesura

pause within a line of poetry (sometimes it’s punctuated and sometimes it’s not)

couplet

pair of consecutive lines of poetry that typically rhyme and have the same meter, forming a complete unit of thought

volta

the "turn" of thought or argument in a poem, representing a shift in tone, perspective, or emotion (uses yet or but usually)
ex: the “yet i gave her a lanyard” in lanyard poem

quatrain

four-line stanza
ex: aabb, abab