ELA poetry vocab

12/08/2025

free verse poem

No rules.

haiku

5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second, 5 in the third

limerick

One stanza, 5 lines, AABBA, A lines 8 syllables B lines 5 syllables

couplet poem

Every 2 lines rhyme

Quatrain

4 lines per stanza

Sonnet

14 line poem, rhyme scheme ABAB/CDCD/EFEF/GG, 10 syllables per line

diction

The choice of words

syntax

arrangement of words

imagery

Descriptive or figurative language that uses the 5 senses

alliteration

Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words

assonance

Repetition of a vowel sound in non-rhyming words

consonance

repetition of consonant sounds

refrain

A verse, line, set or group of line that appears where a poem divides into different sections

connotation

a feeling that a word involves in addition to its literary or primary meaning

extended metaphor

a metaphor that compares two things, longer than a sentence and line

symbol

objects with a certain meaning that is different or deeper than their original meaning or function

rhyme

repetition of the same or similar sounds, has to be at the end.

line+mine

pure rhyme

mind+line

slant rhyme

love+prove

eye rhyme, looks like it rhymes but doesn't

rhyme scheme

pattern of rhyme

poetic meter

the measured arrangement of sounds/beats in a poem, including the poet's placement of emphasize and number of syllables per line

anaphora

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

repetition

entire words or phrases repeated

rhythm

the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables

enjabment

run on lines, a sentence stretches across multiple lines

end-step lines

a poetic device in which a pause comes at the end of a syntactic unit

ballad

a form of a narrative verse that is considered either poetic or musical