Short Stories & Poetry _POETRY TERMS_ for FINAL EXAM Spring 2026

Alliteration

The repetition of consonant sounds in words that are close together

Allusion

A reference to someone or something from literature, history, religion, mythology, politics, sports, or another field that many people are familiar with

Atmosphere

The overall mood or feeling of a piece of literature

Ballad

A poem with qualities like a song such as "Sir Patrick Spens", "Annabel Lee", & "The Cremation of Sam McGee"

Connotation

The meaning, association, or emotion suggested by a word in addition to its dictionary definition

Denotation

The dictionary definition of a word

Foot

A basic repeated sequence of meter composed of two or more accented or unaccented syllables

Free Verse

A poem that has no regular meter or rhyme scheme

Imagery

Language that appeals to the senses

Internal Rhymeh

A word inside a line rhymes with another word on the same line; "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary".

Lyric Poem

A poem that expresses the feelings or thoughts of the speaker rather than telling a story such as the poem "Here a Pretty Baby Lies"

Metaphor

A comparison between two unlike things in which one thing becomes another thing

Implied Metaphor

When a writer hints at a connection between two unlike things without opening stating the comparison

Extended Metaphor

When a metaphor is developed over several lines of poetry or even over an entire work

Meter

A pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry

Narrative Poem

A poem that tells a story such as the poem "Casey at Bat", "The Raven", "Sir Patrick Spens", or "The Cremation of Sam McGee"

Onomatopoeia

The use of words whose sounds imitate or suggest their meaning like "sizzle"

Personification

A figure of speech in which an object or animal is spoken of as if it had human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

Poetry

A mode of writing that appeals to our emotions and imaginations; it focuses as much on rhythm, meter, and sound as on meaning and communication; it emphasizes the interaction of sound and sense; it expresses ideas, feelings, or tells a story in a specific form (usually using lines and stanzas).

Refrain

A repeated sound, word, phrase, line, or group of lines

Rhyme

The repetition of accented vowel sounds and all sounds following them in words that are close together in a poem

End Rhyme

Rhyme at the ends of lines of poetry

Eye Rhyme

Also known as "visual rhyme" this type of rhyme involves words that are spelled similarly but pronounced differently

Rhyme Scheme

The pattern of end rhymes in a poem (usually end rhyme, but not always); letters of the alphabet represent sounds to be able to visually "see" the pattern (AABB).

Rhythm

A musical quality or the "beat" produced by sounds of the words in the poem; it can be created by meter, rhyme, alliteration and refrain; there is often a repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables or the repetition of certain other sound patterns

Simile

A comparison between two unlike things, using a word such as like, as, than, or resembles

Stanza

A group of consecutive lines in a poem that form a single unit

Symbol

A person, place, thing, or event that has meaning in itself and stands for something beyond itself as well

Theme

The main idea in a work of literature

Tone

The attitude a writer takes toward his or her subject, characters, and audience

Voice

The speaker of the poem; the person who is talking