Honors English 10- EV Poetry terms

Epic

a long, dignified narrative poem, which gives the account of a hero important to his nation or race.

Ballad

a type of narrative poem, often set to music, that tells a story in a simple, straightforward manner, frequently focusing on a central dramatic event or character.

Lyric

subjective, reflective poetry with regular rhyme scheme and which reveals the poet's thoughts and feelings to create a single, unique impression.

Narrative

non-dramatic, objective verse with regular rhyme scheme and meter, which relates a story or narrative.

Sonnet

a rigid 14 line verse form, with variable structure and scheme according to type. The two main types are Italian/Petrarchan and the English/Elizabethan/Shakespearean

Ode

elaborate lyric verse, which deals seriously with a dignified theme—usually in praise of someone or something.

Blank Verse

unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter.

Elegy

a poem of lament, meditating on the death of an individual.

Rhyme Scene

The pattern of rhyme, usually indicated by assigning a letter of the alphabet to each rhyme at the end of a line of poetry.

End Rhyme

The rhyming of words that appear at the ends of two or more lines of poetry.

Exact Rhyme

occurs when two or more words, usually but not always at the end of their respective lines of a poem, rhyme perfectly.

Slant Rhyme

a type of rhyme with words that have similar, but not identical sounds. Also called a half rhyme, sprung rhyme, approximate rhyme. Example: Worm & Swarm

Free Verse

Poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme.

Enjambment

The running over of a sentence or thought from one line of poetry to another.

Stanza

A division of poetry named for the number of lines it contains.

Couplet

Two lines of verse the same length that usually rhyme.

Alliteration

The repetition of initial consonant sounds in words

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds without the repetition of consonants.