Poetry Definitions

alliteration

repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words in a line of poetry

apostrophe

a poetic device used to address absent or nonliving objects as if they were present or alive

assonance

repetition of similar vowel sounds in words that are close together in a poem

caesura

a pause within a line of poetry

conceit

an extended metaphor that makes a complex comparison

connotation

the implied or suggested meanings of a word

consonance

repeated consonant sounds within the words of a line of poetry

diction

the writer of speaker’s choice of words, depending on the audience

elegy

a mournful, melancholic, or plaintive poem; a lament for the dead

enjambment

the running on of thought from one line to the next without a syntactical break

figure of speech

a word or phrase that describes things in terms of another, not to be taken literally

foot

a unit of measure in a poem

hyperbole

the use of extravagant exaggeration

imagery

language that appeals to the senses

metaphor

a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things without helping words

meter

a generally regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry

onomatopoeia

the use of a word whose sound suggests or imitates its meaning

personification

special kind of metaphor in which a non-human thing is talked about as if it were human

pun

a play on multiple meanings of a word; words that sound alike but different meanings

rhyme scheme

the pattern of rhymes in a poem

simile

a figure of speech that make a comparison using “like,” “as,” “resembles,” or “than”

tone

the attitude a writer takes toward the audience, subject, or character