poetic terms

Allegory

A system of connected symbols, typically employing personification to give abstract qualities human shape, wherein a text’s explicit story tells another, more universal story.

Apostrophe

A direct address to an inanimate object, abstract qualities, or a person not present or living.

Allusion

A reference to an event, person, place, or artistic work, the relevance of which is usually not explained by the writer.

Hyperbole

Exaggeration for emphasis, the opposite of understatement.

Imagery

Language that evokes sense-impressions by referring to objects, scenes, actions, or experiences.

Simile

A comparison between two unlike things using words such as 'like,' 'as,' or 'as though.'

Metaphor

A comparison stating that one thing is another, without using "like" or "as".

Synecdoche

A part substituted for the whole (e.g., 'hands' for manual laborers) or a whole substituted for a part (e.g., 'the law' for a police officer).

Metonymy

A closely related term substituted for an object or idea.

Oxymoron

A combination of two words that appear to contradict each other.

Paradox

A situation or phrase that appears contradictory but illuminates a truth worth considering.

Personification

The endowment of inanimate objects or abstract concepts with living qualities.

Symbolism

Using one thing to represent something else beyond it, usually an idea conventionally associated with it.

Blank verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter.

Meter

The rhythmic measure of a line or verse.

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds.

Free verse

Unmetrical verse: lines that are not measured for the number of accents or syllables.

Alliteration

The repetition of consonant sounds.

Simile

A comparison that uses a linking word (such as 'like,' 'as') to make the likeness clear.