Lit poetry terms

Poetry

Is one of three major literary genres, it defies simple definition because there is no single characteristic.

Thematic statement

underlying meaning of a literary work (think about the author’s intent)

Meter

A regular rhythmical pattern

Dramatic Poetry

a poem in which an imaginary character speaks

Dramatic monologue

a poem in which an imaginary character speaks to a silent listener during the monologue, the speaker reveals his or her personality, often at a moment of crisis.

Metaphor

 a figure of speech that identifies something as being the same as something else that is apparently unrelated, thus highlighting the similarities between the two.

Simile

Figure of speech that makes a comparison, showing similarities between 2 different things. Using like or as.

Extended Metaphor

A version of metaphor that extends over the course of multiple lines, paragraphs, or stanzas of prose or poetry. Extended metaphors build upon simple metaphors with figurative language and more varied, descriptive comparisons. 

Narrative Poetry

poem that tells a story

Imagery

the use of language to create a concrete sensation of a person, thing, place, or experience. Relies on sense:

Lyric Poetry

relatively short non-narrative poems in which the narrator expresses thoughts and feelings–not necessarily those of the poet.

Ryhme

the repetition of syllables, typically at the end of a verse line

slant ryhme

a type of rhyme with words that have similar, but not identical sounds

Personification

The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

Assonance

repetition of the sound of a vowel in non rhyming stressed syllables near enough to each other for the echo to be discernible. 

Onomatopoeia

words evoke the actual sound of the thing they refer to or describe. (The “boom” of a firework exploding, the “tick tock” of a clock)

Rhyme scheme

the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song

Free verse

form of poetry that does not rely on consistent patterns of rhyme and meter

Hyperbole

an intentional exaggeration

Sonnet

Fixed verse form consisting of 14 lines, typically in 5 foot iambics (iambic pentameter), rhyming according to a prescribed scheme. 

Verse

Metrical language

Iambic

A metrical foot consisting of one unstressed, one stressed syllable (in order)

Pentameter

Five foot lines

Foot

A grouping of patterned syllables in poetry

Shakespearean Sonnet

three quatrains (four lines)

A couplet (2 lines)

Volta (shift in mood or thought) normally occurs after the 2nd or 3rd quatrain

Rhyme scheme (pattern of rhyme) is usually ABAB CDCD EFEF GG 

Quatrain

a series of four-lines that make one verse of a poem, known as a stanza

Volta

Volta (shift in mood or thought) normally occurs after the 2nd or 3rd quatrain

Trochee

stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable

Anapest

unstressed unstressed stressed

Dactyl

stressed unstressed unstressed

Principle of Relative Stress

In order to be considered heavy or stressed, a syllable simply has to be heavier than its closest neighbors

Monometer

one foot to a line

Dimeter

two feet to a line

trimeter

three feet to a line

tetrameter

four feet to a line

pentameter

Five feet to a line

Petrarchan Sonnet

Italian sonnets written in the thirteenth century.  Had an octave and a sestet.  Shakespeare tended to make fun of them because they followed the same thought process about love

Blank verse

unrhymed iambic pentameter

Consonance

the same consonant sound repeats within a group of words. An example of consonance is: "Traffic figures, on July Fourth, to be tough." (Alliteration is only if it’s at the beginning of the word)

Alliteration

repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words