Poetry Analysis Terms

metaphor

a direct comparison or analogy between two things

simile

a comparison or analogy between two things using "like" or "as"

personification

giving human attributes to something that isn't human

repetition

deliberately repeating a word or phrase to give it added emphasis

imagery

strong visual descriptions which create a picture in the reader's mind

tone

the emotional bearing of a work, always described as an emotion

topic

subject

theme

the message or lesson about the topic which the author conveys

meter

the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry

line length

the number of syllables in a line of poetry

rhyme scheme

the ordered pattern of rhymes at the ends of the lines of a poem

internal rhyme

rhyme that occurs within a line, rather than at the end

end rhyme

rhyme that occurs at the end of two or more lines of poetry

turn

the point where a poem makes a clear shift in POV, plot, or tone

enjambment

when a line of poetry ends but the thought continues onto the next line

onomatopoeia

a word that imitates the sound it represents.

alliteration

repetition of initial consonant sounds in a series of words

assonance

repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity

form

the structure of a poem (shown in rhyme scheme, line length, etc.)

free verse

poetry with no established form or structure