English terms and definitions

simile

comparing one thing to another using like or as

metaphor

saying something is something else

personification

giving human qualities to non‑human things

imagery

language that creates vivid sensory pictures

anthropomorphism

making non‑human things behave like humans

stanza

a grouped set of lines in a poem

volta

a shift or turning point in the poem

enjambment

a line that runs on without punctuation

caesura

a deliberate pause created by punctuation in a line

iambic pentameter

a 10‑syllable da‑DUM rhythm line

half‑rhyme

words that almost rhyme but not fully

rhyme scheme

the pattern of end‑line rhymes

internal rhyme

rhyme within a single line

rhyming couplet

two consecutive lines that rhyme

alliteration

repeating the same starting consonant sound

assonance

repeating vowel sounds

consonance

repeating consonant sounds within words

plosive

harsh explosive sounds like p, b, t, d, k, g

sibilance

soft hissing sounds like s or sh