Poetry Lit terms

Anapest

Three syllable metrical pattern in poetry in which two unstressed syllables are followed by a stressed syllable: the word understand

aubade

poem about dawn/morning

ballad

song or songlike poem that tells the story usually about common folk acting heroically

blank verse

unrhymed iambic pentameter

caesura

a pause for effect in the middle of a line of poetry (period dash semicolon) in fair verona, where we lay our scene

canto

a subdivision of an epic poem

carmen figuratum/concrete poem

type of poem where the visual arrangement of the words on the page forms a shape or a pattern, often related to the subject matter

conceit

an elaborate analogy where strikingly dissimilar things are compared. Emily Dickenson’s poem “I could not stop for death” uses a carriage ride to describe a person dying.

concrete poetry

actual typeset layout of the poem suggests the topic. a poem about trees might be shaped like a tree on the page

confessional poetry

poetry that reveals the writer’s most personal thoughts and feelings

couplet

two consecutive rhyming lines of a verse.

Didactic verse-

poem that teaches, almost preaches.

Dramatic monologue-

literature, a single speaker saying something to a silent audience. Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess" is an example wherein the duke, speaking to a non-responding representative of a prospective new duchess, reveals not only the reasons for his disapproval of the behavior of his former duchess, but of his own personality as well.

Dirge/Threnody-

mournful, melancholic poem, expressing grief, lamentation, & sorrow for the dead.

Elegy-

poem that mours the death of a person or laments something lost.

End Rhyme-

See rhyme

End Stop Line- A

A line of verse in which both the grammatical structure and thought reach completion. Usually marked with a period, semicolon or comma.

Enjambment-

line of verse that cares over into the next line without a pause of any kind.

Epic

An extended narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, celebrating the feats of a legendary or traditional hero

Feminine rhyme-

2 syllable rhyme (double rhyme: resenting/consenting

Foot-

A way of describing the stressed syllables within a line of poetry.

lamb-

First syllable is unstressed, followed by a stressed syllable= 2 syllables (Its fleece/was white/ as snow)

Trochee-

First syllable is stressed, followed by an unstressed syllable= 2 syllables (Once up/on a/midnight/dreary.

Anapest

-First 2 syllables are unstressed, followed by 1 stressed syllable=S sylables (For the moon/never beams/without bring/ing our dreams)

Dactyl-

1 stressed syllable followed by 2 unstressed syllables=3 syllables (Thinks of his/land of his/father's where/blossomed are/freshly the/ flowers be.)

Pyrrhic-

2 unstressed syllables

Spondee-

2 stressed syllables