Poetry Terminology and Devices

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and definitions related to poetry terminology and devices.

Alliteration

The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.

Assonance

The repetition of similar vowel sounds in two or more words near each other.

Consonance

Repetition of the same consonant sounds in quick succession.

Caesura

A stop or pause in the middle of a line, often marked by punctuation or by a grammatical boundary.

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive sentences, phrases, or clauses.

Elevated diction

Formal or academic language.

Low diction

Slang or informal language.

Syntax

The arrangement of words and phrases within the sentence.

End-stopped line

A line of poetry that contains a stop at the end of the phrase or line, typically indicated with punctuation.

Enjambment

A line of poetry that carries its idea or thought over to the next line without a grammatical pause.

Figurative language

Language intended to create an image, association, or other effect beyond the literal meaning.

Hyperbole

Extreme exaggeration.

Irony (verbal)

The stated meaning is opposite of the intended meaning.

Conceit (poetry)

An elaborate, fanciful metaphor, often used throughout the poem.

Implied metaphor

A comparison between two unlike things that does not directly state that one is the other.

Speaker

The narrator in poetry, often mistaken to be the poet.

Tone

The author’s attitude toward the message of the work.

Mood

The emotional response that the writer wishes to evoke in the reader.

Volta

A turn of thought or argument in poetry.

Stanza

A group of lines in a poem, often with similar rhythm and rhyme scheme.

Refrain

A repeated line or group of lines repeated at regular intervals throughout a poem.

Sonnet

A 14 line poem with a strict rhyme scheme, often written in iambic pentameter.