Poetic Terms Study Guide

Alliteration

Repetition of consonant sounds

Allusion

A reference to another work of literature, person, or event

Analogy

Direct comparison

Anaphora

the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds

Cacaphony

harsh sounds

Caesura

A natural pause or break in a line of poetry, usually near the middle of the line.

Connotation

the implied or associative meaning of a word

Consonance

Repetition of words or consonant sounds

Denotation

the literal meaning of a word

Dissonance

Unpleasant or unharmonious sound

End Rhyme

when a poem has lines ending with words that sound the same

End-Stopped Lines

lines in which both the grammatical structure and the sense reach completion at the end

Enjambment

A run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next.

Euphony

pleasant, harmonious sound

Homonym

a word spelled exactly like another word, but having a different meaning

Homophone

a word that has the same sound but a different meaning as another word

Hyperbole

extreme exaggeration

Internal Rhyme

A word inside a line rhymes with another word on the same line

Irony

A contrast between what is said and what is meant

Juxtaposition

the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.

Line Break

the process of bracing a line of text and starting a new one

Meter

the structured pattern of a rhythmic stresses in a line of verse

Mood

a temporary state of mind or feeling.

Motif

A recurring element (image, idea, word, symbol) appearing throughout a text to develop a larder theme, mood, or idea

Onomatopoeia

the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named

Paradox

a statement that seems contradictory but is actually true

Repetition

the action of repeating something that has already been said or written.

Rhyme

the repetition of syllables, typically at the end of a verse line

Rhythm

the "beat" of "flow" of a poem, created by a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables

Sensory detail

Words or phrases that appeal to the 5 senses

Stanza

A group of lines in a poem

Synechdoche

When a part of something represents the whole, or the reverse

Symbol

A thing that represents or stands for something else

Syntax

Deliberate arrangement and ordering of words, creating specific artistic effects

Tone

The author/speaker's attitude toward the subject, the reader, and the audience

Volta

Pivotal point - the "turn" in thought, argument, or tone