English 10H Poetry Review

poetry

type of literature that expresses an idea, conveys an experience or describes an object

three ways to read poetry

understanding (literal), interpretation (meaning and significance) and style (how they use language to create meaning and sounds) *look for shifts in patterns*

speaker

main voice of the story; like the narrator

persona

playing a character; authors do this

line

word or group of words arranged in a single line in a poem; can be a complete sentence, arranged to reinforce meaning, produce a visual effect

stanza

like a paragraph; lines usually share an idea or tone

enjambment

line of poetry continues to another line to complete its meaning

caesura

opposite of enjambment; stops or pauses created by punctuation within the line

end rhyme

rhymes that occur at the end of a line

true/perfect rhyme

exact rhymes (minds, finds)

slant/near rhyme

close rhymes (love, remove)

rhyme scheme

how a poem rhymes; used to see shifts in structure, meaning, sound

internal rhyme

within the line, does not affect rhyme scheme

meter

rhythm, the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables, number of times that pattern is repeated in a line

iambic pentameter

line consists of five iambs (unstressed, stressed)

scansion

process of analyzing poetic lines to determine meter

Italian sonnets

14 line, 1 stanza, iambic pentameter poem; ABBAABBA CDCDCD

English sonnet

uses ABAB CDCD EFEF GG rhyme scheme; ends with a couplet

alliteration

repetition of beginning sounds in neighboring words; can be used to draw attention to a portion of a poem

consonance

repeating consonant sounds at the end of a syllable; can enhance euphony or cacophony

assonance

repeating vowel sounds at the end of a syllable; can enhance euphony or cacophony

euphony

harmonious sounds

cacophony

discordant sounds

onomatopoeia

type of sound created by a word that sounds like the sound it represents; can reinforce the meaning of a poem

ex: “bam”, “crack”

blank verse

unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter

couplet

2 stanzas

tercet

3 stanzas

quatrain

4 stanzas

cinquain

5 stanzas

sestet

6 stanzas

septet

7 stanzas

octave

8 stanzas

Spenserian couplet

variation on the English sonnet; ABAB BCBC CDCD EE

foot

how meter is measured

iambic (iamb)

unstressed, stressed

trochaic (trochee)

stressed, unstressed

anapestic (anapest)

unstressed, unstressed, stressed

dactylic (dactyl)

stressed, unstressed, unstressed

monometer

1 foot

dimeter

2 feet

trimeter

3 feet

tetrameter

4 feet

pentameter

5 feet

hexameter

6 feet