Poetry Terms

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or a phrase at the beginning of a line

Alliteration

The repetition of sounds in a sequence of words.

Allegory

Narrative with two levels of meaning, one stated and one unstated

Antithesis

A figure of speech characterized by strongly contrasting words, clauses, sentences, or ideas; balancing one term against another for emphasis or effect

Apostrophe

Direct address to an absent or otherwise unresponsive entity (deceased, imaginary, inanimate, etc)

Assonance

The repetition of vowel-sounds

Binary

Dual, twofold, characterized by two parts

Blank Verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter

Caesura

An audible pause internal to a line, usually in the middle.

Climax

The high point; the moment of greatest tension or intensity. The climax can occur at any point in a poem.

Conceit

An ingenious and fanciful notion or conception, usually expressed through an elaborate analogy, and pointing to a striking parallel between two seemingly dissimilar things.

Consonance

The repetition of consonant-sounds

Couplet

Two lines of verse, usually rhymed.

Diction

Word choice, specifically the “class” or “kind” of words chosen

Elegy

Since the 17th century, usually denotes a reflective poem that laments the loss of something or someone.

End-stopped line

A line that ends with a punctuation mark and whose meaning is complete.

Enjambed line

a “run-on” line that carries over into the next to complete its meaning

Foot

The basic unit of accentual-syllabic and quantitative meter, usuallt