poetry devices

Exact rhyme

Identical sounds (cat/hat)

Slant rhyme

Similar but not identical counts (rain/pain)

Internal rhyme

Occur within a single line rather than at the end (breeze between the trees)

Scansion

Dividing lines into feet, then each foot into stresses to reveal rhythmic pattern

Stresses

Syllable sounds

Line

Has scansion and metrical choices influence pacing and rhythm of a line

Meter

Rhythmic structure of a poem based on the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables

Iambic pentameter

5 pairs of syllables per line, unstressed followed by a stressed syllable

Trochaic meter

Has stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable

Anapestic meter

Consists of two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable

Enjambment

Phrase continues from one line to the next without punctuation, sense of flow and momentum

Caesura

Pause or break within a line, often indicated by punctuation, emphasize certain words or create a rhythmic effect

Cacophony

Harsh or discordant sounds, express energy or mimic mood, repetition and combination of consonants within a group of words.

Euphony

Musicality, positive emotions in the reader and can contribute to the overall mood or atmosphere

Consonance

Shared consonants in sequence or reversed (bed/bad, bud/dab)

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds without repeating consonants (vowel rhyme)

Sibilance

Repetition of hissing or hushing sounds (sh/s/z)

Conceit

Extended metaphor makes an unlikely comparison between two disparate things

End-stopped line

Break in meter, pause in reading

Refrain

Group of words or lines that recurs regularly at the end of successive stanzas

Verse

Single line of poetry

Stanza

Unit of poetry consisting of a group of related verses generally with a definite metrical pattern and rhyme scheme

Narrative

Story through verse, through prose (plot, dialogue), epics and ballads

Lyric

Personal emotions and thoughts (musical or song-like), sonnets and odes

Sonnets

14 line with specific rhyme and meter (ABBA ABBA CDE CDE or CDC CDC)

Ode

Lyrical poems that praise/address a specific subject

Elegy

Poems that lament the loss of a person/place/idea expressing grief and reflection.

Strophe (Ode)

Greek ode, two or more lines repeated as a unit, or any group of verses that form a distinct unit in a poem

Antistrophe (Ode)

Second section in an ode, structured the same way as the strophe, thematic counterbalance

Epode (Ode)

Section typically has distinct meter and length from the strophe and antistrophe, serves to summarize or conclude the ideas of the ode.

Horation

Shorter odes in renaissance, not meant for public performance, intimate reflections

Pindaric

Originally sung for athletes, complex ode feature irregular line lengths and rhyme schemes.

Irregular

Follow neither Pindaric form or horatian form, irregular odes typically include rhyme as well as irregular verse structure and stanza patterns

Free verse

No traditional rhyme schemes and meter, flexibility in structure and expression

Villanelle

19 lines, 6 stanzas, strict rhyme schemes and repetition. 5 Tercets + Quatrain with refrains

Haiku

3 lines, 5 syllables in 1+3rd line and 7 syllables in the second lines, brief simple and direct

Ballad

Narrating a story in short stanzas, unknown authorship passed on orally

Epic

Relates the adventures of a heroic figure, often spanning a long period or journey

Patrarchan sonnet

Octet and sestet, (ABBA ABBA, CDE CDE. Or CDCCDC)

Shakespearean sonnet

ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

Spenserian sonnet

ABAB BCBC CDCD EE