poetry terms

irony

the contrast between actual meaning and the suggestion of another meaning

verbal irony

meaning one thing and saying another

ex: mark antony calling brutus an “honorable man” in julius caesar after he killed julius caesar

dramatic irony

what the speaker says and what he means, and what the speaker says and the author means

ex: in romeo and juliet, when romeo thinks juliet is dead while the audience knows she’s asleep

situational irony

when the outcome of a situation is opposite of what’s expected

ex: a pilot having a fear of heights

symbolism

the use of one object to suggest another meaning/idea

ex: the snow in the dead

imagery

the use of words to represent things, actions, or ideas by sensory description

ex: “And the May month flaps its glad green leaves like wings” — thoma hardy’s “afterwards”

paradox

a statement which is self-contradictory, but underlines a basis of truth

ex: “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others” — animal farm

oxymoron

contradictory terms brought together to express a paradox for strong effect

ex: deafening silence

allusion

a reference to an outside fact, even, or other source

ex: achilles’ heel

metaphor

figure of speech which makes a direct comparison of two unlike objects

ex: “all the world’s a stage” — william shakespeare, as you like it

simile

a direct comparison of two unlike objects, using like or as

ex: “and like a thunderbolt he falls” (“the eagle”)

conceit

an extended metaphor comparing two unlike objects with powerful effect

ex: dickinson comparing death to going on a carriage ride with death as a polite gentlemen (“because i could not stop for death”)

personification

figure of speech in which objects and animals have human qualities

ex: “into the jaws of death” (“the charge of the light brigade”)

apostrophe

addressing a person or personified object not present

ex: “o, romeo, romeo! wherefore art thous romeo?” — romeo and juliet, juliet expressing longing for romeo

metonymy

when a concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with it, rather than its own name

ex: saying hollywood to refer to the film industry

synecdoche

figure of speech in which a part represents the whole (microcosmic) or the whole represents a part (macrocosmic)

ex: “these words, like daggers, enter in mine ears” — hamlet, ears = body/mind

hyperbole

gross exaggeration for effect

ex: that bag weights a ton

litotes

understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary

ex: not bad = good

alliteration

repetition of two or more initial sounds in words within a line

ex: “he claps the crag with crooked hands” (“the eagle”)

onomatopoeia

technique of using a word whose sound suggests its meaning

ex: moo

euphony

the pleasing harmonious arrangement of sounds in language

ex: “and the smooth stream in smoother numbers flows” (“sound and sense”)

cacophony

harsh or discordant sounds, often the result of repetition and combination of consonants within a group of words

ex: “twas brillig, and the slithy toves” (the jabberwocky)

rime

the repetition of like sounds at regular intervals

end rhyme

rhyme occuring at the end of verse line

ex: “i was angry with my friend / i told my wrath, my wrath did end” (“a poison tree”)

internal rhyme

rhyme contained within a line of verse

ex: “the splendour falls on castle walls” (“blow, bugle, blow”)

rhyme scheme

pattern of rhymes within a unit of verse. represented by letters in analysis.

masculine rhyme

rhyme of final stressed syllables

ex: confess and redress

feminine rhyme

rhyme between stressed syllables followed by one or more unstressed syllables

ex: trembling, hoping

half rhyme/slant rhyme

an approximate/imperfect rhyme

ex: “by full tilt river and switchback sea… / in his house on stilts high among beaks” (“poem on his birthday”)

assonance

repetition of 2+ vowel sounds within a line

ex: “burnt the fire of thine eyes” (“the tiger”)

consonance

repetition of 2+ consonant sounds within a line

ex: “bleared smeared with toil / and wears man’s smudge and share men’s smell: the soil” (“god’s grandeur”)

villanelle

a 19-line poem with 5 tercets (three lines) and 1 quatrain (four lines), with two repeating end rhymes and two refrains

rhyme: ABA ABA ABA ABA ABA ABAA

ex: theodore roethke’s “the walking”

light verse

poems written to entertain

ex: lewis carroll’s “jabberwocky”

haiku

japanese verse in three lines of five, seven, and five syllables

limerick

humorous poem of five lines (rhyme: A A B B A)

a-line = trimeter. b-line = dimeter.

lyric

subjective, reflective poetry with regular rhyme scheme and meter which reveals the poet’s thoughts and feelings to create a singule, unique impression

narrative

non-dramatic, objective verse with regular rhyme scheme and meter which relates a story

sonnet

rigid 14-line verse form, with variable structure and rhyme scheme

shakespearean sonnet

three quatrains and a concluding couplet in iampic pentameter

rhyme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG or ABBA CDDC EFFE GG

spenserian sonnet

specialized form with a linking rhyme

rhyme: ABAB BCBC CDCD EE

• rhyme carrying over in each line

italian sonnet

octave and sestet (first 8 lines and final 6 lines), between which a break in thought occurs

rhyme: ABBA ABBA CDE CDE (or -CDCDCD)

ode

lyric verse that is addressed to a particular subject

blank verse

unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter

free verse

unrhymed lines without regular rhythm

epic

a long, dignified narrative poem which gives the account of a hero important to his nation or race

dramatic monologue

a lyric poem in which the speaker addresses himself to persons around him

elegy

poem of lament, meditating on the death of an individual; poem of grief

ballad

simple, narrative verse which tells a story to be sung or recited

idyll

lyric poetry describing the life of the shepherd in pastoral, idealic terms

meter

the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem

iambic pentameter

unstressed-stressed (da dum)

trochaic

stressed-unstressed (dum-da)

anapestic

unstressed-unstressed-stressed (da da dum)

dactyllic

stressed-unstressed-unstressed (dum da da)

spondaic

stressed-stressed (dum dum)

monometer

one foot

dimeter

two feet

trimeter

three feet

tetrameter

four feet

pentameter

five feet

hexameter

six feet

heptameter

seven feet

octometer

eight feet

scansion

analysis of mechanical elements within a poem to determine meter

couplet

two lines

tercet

three lines

quatrain

four lines

cinquain

five lines

sestet

six lines

septet

seven lines

octet

eight lines

amphibrach

a foot with unstressed-stressed-unstressed syllables (chi-ca-go)

anacrusis

an extra unaccented syllable at the beginning of a line before the regular meter begins

amphimacer

a foot with stressed-unstressed-stress syallbes (at-ti-tude)

catalexis

an extra unaccented syllable at the ending of a line after the regular meter ends (opposite of anacrusis)

caesura

a pause in the meter or rhythm of a line (initial, medial, terminal)

enjambement

a run-on line, one continuing into the text without a grammatical break