Renaissance POK: Poetry Terms Part II

Scansion

Analysis of a poem's meter by marking stressed and unstressed syllables.

Meter

Rhythmic structure of a verse, determined by the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.

Foot

Basic unit of measurement in poetry.

Iambic

Metrical foot: unstressed, stressed.

Trochaic

Metrical foot: stressed, unstressed.

Spondaic

Metrical foot: stressed, stressed.

Pyrrhic

Metrical foot: unstressed, unstressed. (rare)

Anapestic

Metrical foot: unstressed, unstressed, stressed.

Dactylic

Metrical foot: stressed, unstressed, unstressed.

Monometer

Line of verse with one metrical foot.

Dimeter

Line of verse with two metrical foot.

Trimeter

Line of verse with three metrical foot.

Tetrameter

Line of verse with four metrical foot.

Pentameter

Line of verse with five metrical foot.

Hexameter

Line of verse with six metrical foot.

Heptameter

Line of verse with seven metrical foot.

Internal Rhyme

Rhyme within a single line of verse.

End Rhyme

Rhyme at the end of lines of verse.

End-Stopped Line

Line of poetry that ends with a punctuation mark.

Enjambment/Run-On Line

Line of poetry that continues into the next line.

Feminine Rhyme

A rhyme with two syllables, following stressed unstressed.

Ex: "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary" -y sound is unstressed.

Masculine Rhyme

A rhyme with single stressed syllable.

Ex: "So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see; So long lives this, and this gives life to thee." thee is stressed.

True Rhyme/Exact Rhyme

A rhyme in which the final stressed syllables of the words are identical.

Ex: "Whose woods these are I think I know,His house is in the village though."

know --> though

Slant Rhyme

A rhyme that is approximate or near, rather than exact.

Ex:

groined / groaned

laugh / loaf

talk / lock

Identical Rhyme

A rhyme in which the same word is repeated.

Stanza Form

The arrangement of lines in a poem, often grouped together to create a unit.

Continuous Form

A form of poetry that has no breaks between stanzas.

Stanza Paragraph

A stanza that functions as a paragraph in a poem.

Blank Verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter.

Couplets

Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme.

Heroic Couplets

A pair of rhymed lines in iambic pentameter.

Refrain

A repeated line or group of lines in a poem, often at the end of a stanza.

Terza Rima

A three-line stanza with an interlocking rhyme scheme (ABA BCB CDC).

Quatrain

A stanza of four lines, often with alternating rhymes.

Sestet

A stanza of six lines. (Often used in sonnets.

Octave

A stanza of eight lines (Often used in sonnets.

Limerick

Humorous five-line poem with a specific meter and rhyme scheme (AABBA)

Ballad Stanza

Stanza typically consisting of four lines with alternating rhymes.

Petrarch/Italian Sonnet

Sonnet consisting of an octave (problem) and a sestet (solution), follows the ABBAABBA rhyme scheme.

Shakespearan/English Sonnet

A sonnet consisting of three quatrains (theme/problem) and a final couplet (solution), follows the ABABCDCDEFEFGG rhyme scheme.

Spenserian Sonnet

A sonnet consisting of three quatrains and a couplet, with an interlocking rhyme scheme (ABAB BCBC CDCD EE).

Villanelle

A 19-line poem with five tercets followed by a quatrain, with a specific rhyme scheme and repeated lines.

Haiku

A three-line poem with a 5-7-5 syllable structure, often focusing on nature.

Free Verse

Poetry that does not adhere to a specific meter or rhyme scheme.