poetry

allusion

a reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or other branch of culture

personification

an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

mood

overall emotion created by a work of literature

tone

the attitude a writer takes toward the subject of a work, the characters in it, or the audience

onomatopoeia

use of a word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning

perfect rhyme

the repetition of vowel sounds in accented syllables and all succeeding syllables

extended metaphor

a metaphor that is developed over several lines or with several examples

conceit

a type of extended metaphor that compares two vastly different things

paradox

a statement that appears self-contradictory, but reveals a kind of truth

meter

the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem

foot

metrical unit of poetry made of at least one stressed syllable and one or more unstressed syllables

spondee

metrical foot consisting of two syllables, both of which are stressed

petrarchan sonnet

written in iambic pentameter; contains an 8 line octave followed by a 6 line sestet making 14 lines total

iambic pentameter

lines of poetry that contain 5 iambs. an iamb is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable

apostrophe

a direct address to someone or something that is not present

inversion

a reversal or rearranging of word order in a sentence

theme

central insight into human experience that a writer reveals in their work

catalog

long list of things

parallel structure

repitition of words, phrases, clauses, or sentences that have the same grammatical structure

free verse

poetry that does not have regular meter or rhyme scheme

cadence

musical run of words

irony

discrepancy between appearance and reality

slant rhyme

a close but not exact rhyming sound

imagery

use of language to evoke a picture

diction

writer’s choice of words

syntax

way words are arranged in a sentence

style

distinctive way a writer uses language

synesthesia

practice of using an image that appeals to one sense but is expressed in terms of another

ambiguity

a writer’s technique that an author suggests two or more different meanings in a work.

connotation

 the emotions associated or have become attached to a word or phrase, in addition to its dictionary definition. 

edgar allen poe

• the bells

• onomatopoeia

• perfect rhyme

edward taylor

• huswifery

• extended metaphor

• conceit

anne bradstreet

• to my dear and loving husband

• paradox

henry wadsworth longfellow

• the tide rises, the tide falls

• cross of snow

• meter

• foot

• spondee

• petrarchan sonnet

• iambic pentameter

oliver wendall holmes

• the cambered nautilus

• apostrophe

william cullen bryant

• thanatopsis

• theme

• inversion

walt whitman

• i hear american singing

• catalog

• parallel structure

emily dickinson

• because i could not stop for death

• the soul selects her own society

• rhyme

• exact rhyme

• slant rhyme

• irony

• tone

william carlos williams

• the red wheelbarrow

• this is just to say

• imagery

• diction

e.e cummings

• what if a much of a which of a wind

• somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond

• style

• syntax

• synesthesia

robert frost

• nothing gold can stay

• mending wall

• allusion

• ambiguity

• connotation

langston hughes

harlem

• mood

claude mckay

• america

• personification