Poetry terminology

Acrostic

A poem in which the beginning, middle or last letters of each line form a word when read vertically.

Alliteration

The repetition of the same consonant sound, often used to highlight feelings of sound or movement.

Assonance

Repetition of identical vowel sounds to achieve a particular effect.

Ballad

A simple song or narrative poem that tells a story through dialogue.

Caesura

A stop or pause in a line of poetry, usually caused by punctuation.

Diction

The choice of words or language used.

Dramatic Monologue

A poem in which an imagined speaker addresses the reader.

Elegy

A slow, thoughtful poem written for someone who has died.

End Stopped Lines

A line of poetry with a pause or stop at the end.

Enjambment

A running over of the sense and grammatical structure from one line to another.

Imagery

Language that appeals to the senses, creating a vivid picture in your mind.

Lyric

An emotional, rhyming poem describing emotions caused by a specific event.

Metaphor

An image where one thing is said to be something else.

Ode

A formal poem written to celebrate a person, place, object, or idea.

Onomatopoeia

Words that mimic or resemble the sounds of the object being described.

Personification

Describing a non-human object or quality as if it were a human being.

Parody

A comic imitation of another writer's work.

Pun

A play on words that has multiple meanings, usually for comedic effect.

Quatrain

A four-line stanza.

Rap

A popular song form that utilizes several poetic devices.

Refrain

A recurring line or phrase, especially at the end of a verse.

Repetition

Repeating a sound, word, or phrase for effect.

Rhyme

The use of words with matching sounds, usually at the end of each line.

Rhythm

The movement of syllables within a line of verse.

Simile

A comparison of one thing with another, using 'like' or 'as'.

Sestet

A six-line stanza.

Sonnet

A fourteen-line poem, traditionally about the theme of love.

Stanza

A group of lines of verse, arranged in a particular way.

Symbol

The use of something to represent something else on a deeper level.

Theme

The subject, concerns, issues, or ideas within a piece of literature.

Tone

The feeling, mood, or attitude of a piece of writing.

Triplet

A three-lined stanza.

Voice

The speaker in a poem, either the poet's own or a character created by the poet.

Volta

A turning point in the line of thought or argument in a poem.

Allusion

In literature, an allusion is an unexplained reference to someone or something outside of the text. Writers commonly allude to other literary works, famous individuals, historical events, or philosophical ideas.

Anachronism

An anachronism is a person or a thing placed in the wrong time period. For instance, if a novel set in Medieval England featured a trip to a movie-theater, that would be an anachronism.

Anadiplosis

Anadiplosis is a figure of speech in which a word or group of words located at the end of one clause or sentence is repeated at or near the beginning of the following clause.

Analogy

An analogy is a comparison that aims to explain a thing or idea by likening it to something else.

Anapest

An anapest is a three-syllable metrical pattern in poetry in which two unstressed syllables are followed by a stressed syllable.

Anaphora

Anaphora is a figure of speech in which words repeat at the beginning of successive clauses, phrases, or sentences.

Antagonist

An antagonist is usually a character who opposes the protagonist (or main character) of a story, but the antagonist can also be a group of characters, institution, or force against which the protagonist must contend.

Antanaclasis

Antanaclasis is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is repeated within a sentence, but the word or phrase means something different each time it appears.

Anthropomorphism

Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human characteristics, emotions, and behaviors to animals or other non-human things.

Antimetabole

Antimetabole is a figure of speech in which a phrase is repeated, but with the order of words reversed.

Antithesis

Antithesis is a figure of speech that juxtaposes two contrasting or opposing ideas, usually within parallel grammatical structures.

Aphorism

An aphorism is a saying that concisely expresses a moral principle or an observation about the world.

Aphorismus

Aphorismus is a type of figure of speech that calls into question the way a word is used.

Aporia

Aporia is a rhetorical device in which a speaker expresses uncertainty or doubt about something.

Apostrophe

Apostrophe is a figure of speech in which a speaker directly addresses someone (or something) that is not present or cannot respond in reality.

Assonance

Assonance is a figure of speech in which the same vowel sound repeats within a group of words.

Asyndeton

An asyndeton is a figure of speech in which coordinating conjunctions are omitted.

Ballad

A ballad is a type of poem that tells a story and was traditionally set to music.

Ballade

A ballade is a form of lyric poetry that originated in medieval France.

Bildungsroman

Bildungsroman is a genre of novel that shows a young protagonist's journey from childhood to adulthood.

Blank Verse

Blank verse is the name given to poetry that lacks rhymes but follows a specific meter.

Cacophony

A cacophony is a combination of words that sound harsh or unpleasant together.

Caesura

A caesura is a pause that occurs within a line of poetry, usually marked by punctuation.

Catharsis

Catharsis is the process of releasing strong or pent-up emotions through art.

Characterization

Characterization is the representation of the traits, motives, and psychology of a character.

Chiasmus

Chiasmus is a figure of speech in which the grammar of one phrase is inverted in the following phrase.

Cinquain

The word cinquain can refer to two different things, historically referring to any stanza of five lines.

Cliché

A cliché is a phrase that is seen as lacking in substance or originality due to overuse.

Climax (Figure of Speech)

Climax is a figure of speech in which successive words or phrases are arranged in ascending order of importance.

Climax (Plot)

The climax of a plot is the story's central turning point, the moment of peak tension or conflict.

Colloquialism

Colloquialism is the use of informal words or phrases in writing or speech, often defined by regional dialect.

Common Meter

Common meter is a specific type of meter often used in lyric poetry, alternating between lines of eight and six syllables.

Conceit

A conceit is a fanciful metaphor, especially a highly elaborate or extended metaphor.

Connotation

Connotation is the array of emotions and ideas suggested by a word in addition to its dictionary definition.

Consonance

Consonance is a figure of speech in which the same consonant sound repeats within a group of words.

Couplet

A couplet is a unit of two lines of poetry, especially those using the same or similar meter.

Dactyl

A dactyl is a three-syllable metrical pattern in poetry in which a stressed syllable is followed by two unstressed syllables.

Denotation

Denotation is the literal meaning, or 'dictionary definition,' of a word.

Dénouement

The dénouement is the final section of a story's plot, where loose ends are tied up, and a sense of resolution is achieved.

Deus Ex Machina

A deus ex machina is a plot device where an unsolvable conflict is suddenly resolved by the unexpected appearance of an implausible character or event.

Diacope

Diacope is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is repeated with a small number of intervening words.

Dialogue

Dialogue is the exchange of spoken words between two or more characters in a written work.

Diction

Diction is a writer's unique style of expression, especially the choice and arrangement of words.

Dramatic Irony

Dramatic irony is a device used to highlight the difference between a character's understanding and that of the audience.

Dynamic Character

A dynamic character undergoes substantial internal changes as a result of plot developments.

Elegy

An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, especially one mourning the loss of someone who has died.

End Rhyme

End rhyme refers to rhymes that occur in the final words of lines of poetry.

End-Stopped Line

An end-stopped line is a line of poetry in which a sentence or phrase comes to a conclusion at the end.

Enjambment

Enjambment is the continuation of a sentence or clause across a line break.

Envoi

An envoi is a brief concluding stanza at the end of a poem.

Epanalepsis

Epanalepsis is a figure of speech where the beginning of a clause is repeated at the end of the same clause.

Epigram

An epigram is a short and witty statement that conveys a single thought or observation.

Epigraph

An epigraph is a short quotation, phrase, or poem placed at the beginning of another piece of writing.

Epistrophe

Epistrophe is a figure of speech in which one or more words repeat at the end of successive phrases.

Epizeuxis

Epizeuxis is a figure of speech where a word or phrase is repeated in immediate succession.

Ethos

Ethos, along with logos and pathos, is one of the three 'modes of persuasion' in rhetoric.

Euphony

Euphony is the combining of words that sound pleasant together.

Exposition

Exposition is the description or explanation of background information within a work of literature.

Extended Metaphor

An extended metaphor is a metaphor that unfolds across multiple lines or paragraphs.

External Conflict

An external conflict is a struggle that takes place between a character and an outside force.

Falling Action

The falling action of a story is the section of the plot following the climax.

Figurative Language

Figurative language is language that contains or uses figures of speech.

Figure of Speech

A figure of speech is a literary device in which language is used in an unusual way.

Flat Character

A character is said to be 'flat' if it is one-dimensional or lacking in complexity.

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don’t occur until later.

Formal Verse

Formal verse is rhymed poetry that uses a strict meter.