Elements and Forms of Poetry
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Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the elements of poetry, stanza lengths, poetic forms, types of rhythm, sound devices, figurative language, and types of irony from the English poetry lecture handouts.
45 Terms
Poetry
A form of literature that uses language, sound, and rhythm to stir the reader's imagination and emotion (Nemerov, 2026).
Line
A set of words that form a line/row in a poem.
Stanza
A group of lines in a poem.
Monastic
A stanza with 1 line.
Couplet
A stanza with 2 lines.
Tercet
A stanza with 3 lines.
Quatrain
A stanza with 4 lines.
Quintet
A stanza with 5 lines.
Sestet
A stanza with 6 lines.
Septet
A stanza with 7 lines.
Octave
A stanza with 8 lines.
Nonet (Spenserian)
A stanza with 9 lines.
Dizain
A stanza with 10 lines.
Rhyme
Repetition of similar sounds, usually at the ends of lines in a poem.
Rhyme Scheme
Pattern of rhymes in a poem, usually represented by letters (e.g., ABAB or ABBA).
Ode
A kind of poem that expresses praise or admiration for a person, thing, or concept.
Elegy
A kind of poem that expresses sorrow, specifically for someone who has died.
Ballad
A kind of poem that expresses a story through a simple, musical style.
Sonnet
A kind of poem composed of 14 lines, usually about love.
Villanelle
A kind of poem composed on 19 lines with a challenging poetic form — 5 ABA and ABAA, and repeats the first and third lines of the first stanza.
Haiku
A kind of poem composed of 3 lines with a 5-7-5 syllable structure; usually about nature.
Limerick
A kind of poem composed of 5 lines that aims to humor the audience, following an AABBA rhyme scheme, and usually begins with "There was once a…".
Free Form
A kind of poem that does not follow a strict rhyme, rhythm, or line pattern.
Rhythm
A pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem that creates a musical flow.
Iambic
A rhythm pattern consisting of unstressed + stressed syllables.
Trochaic
A rhythm pattern consisting of stressed + unstressed syllables.
Anapestic
A rhythm pattern consisting of unstressed + unstressed + stressed syllables.
Dactyl
A rhythm pattern consisting of stressed + stressed + unstressed syllables.
Spondee
A rhythm pattern consisting of stressed + stressed syllables.
Pyrrhic
A rhythm pattern consisting of unstressed + unstressed syllables (usually observed in phrases).
Alliteration
Repetition of the same initial consonant sounds in nearby words.
Assonance
Repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words.
Consonance
Repetition of consonant sounds within or at the end of words.
Onomatopoeia
A word that mimics a natural sound.
Simile
Comparing two unlike things using "as" or "like".
Metaphor
Comparing two unlike things without using "as" or "like".
Personification
Giving human characteristics to non-human things.
Allusion
A brief reference to a well-known person, place, situation, or idea.
Apostrophe
Addressing someone dead/absent or something non-human as if they/it could respond.
Synecdoche
Using a part to represent the whole.
Oxymoron
A combination of contradicting words.
Irony
A contrast between what is expected and what actually happens.
Verbal Irony
Saying something but means the opposite, often for emphasis and humor.
Situational Irony
When the actual situation is different from what is expected to happen.
Dramatic Irony
When the audience knows something that the characters do not.