Persona
playing a character
Speaker
Main voice of the poem; not always the author
Stanza
A group of lines in a poem
Couplet
Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme
Quatrain
A four line stanza
Enjambment
A run-on line of poetry
Caesura
a strong pause within a line of verse (w/ end punctuation)
end rhyme
Rhyme that occurs at the end of two or more lines of poetry
true rhyme
the last syllable rhyme sounds exactly the same
Slant Rhyme/Near Rhyme
Rhyme that is similar but not exactly the same.
rhyme scheme
A regular pattern of rhyming words in a poem
meter
the rhythm of a poem
iambic pentameter
A line of poetry that contains five iambic feet. (Unstressed/Stressed/Unstressed/Stressed)
Italian/Petrarchan Sonnet
a sonnet consisting of an octave with the rhyme pattern abbaabba, followed by a sestet with the rhyme pattern cdecde or cdcdcd
English/Shakespearean Sonnet
abab cdcd efef gg (3 quatrains and a couplet) ; 14 lines
Alliteration
Repetition of initial consonant sounds
Assonance
Repetition of vowel sounds
Simile
A comparison using "like" or "as"
Onomatopoeia
A word that imitates the sound it represents.
euphony
pleasant, harmonious sound
cacophony
A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds
consonance
Repetition of consonant sounds
figurative language
non-literal language
Hyperbole
extreme exaggeration
Personification
the giving of human qualities to an animal, object, or idea
Allusion
A reference to another work of literature, person, or event