Poetic Terms & Structure of Poetry

These flashcards cover key poetic terms, definitions, and structures essential for understanding poetry in preparation for the upcoming exam.

Line

A subdivision of a poem, specifically a group of words arranged into a row that ends for a reason other than the right-hand margin.

Couplet

A stanza with 2 lines.

Tercet

A stanza with 3 lines.

Quatrain

A stanza with 4 lines.

Cinquain

A stanza with 5 lines.

Sestet

A stanza with 6 lines.

Septet

A stanza with 7 lines.

Octave

A stanza with 8 lines.

Verse

A line or stanza of poetry.

Meter

The measured arrangement of words in poetry, involving accented rhythm and syllabic quality.

Rhyme scheme

The ordered pattern of rhymes at the ends of the lines of a poem or verse.

Blank verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter.

Stanza

A group of lines whose metrical pattern is repeated throughout a poem.

Foot

The building block of poetry, composed of 2-3 syllables, representing a unit of sound.

Iambic Pentameter

A line with 10 syllables, most commonly used in traditional English poetry.

Alliteration

Repetition at close intervals of the initial consonant sounds.

Allusion

A reference, explicit or implicit, to something in literature, history, or the Bible.

Anaphora

A figure of repetition when the first word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of successive lines.

Assonance

Repetition of similar vowel sounds.

Cacophony

Harsh or unmelodious sounding words.

Caesura

A speech pause occurring in a line, often marked by punctuation.

Consonance

Repetition of consonant sounds in the middle or end of words.

End-stopped line

A line that ends with a natural speech pause.

Enjambment

The continuation of a sentence or clause over a line-break.

Epanalepsis

A figure of repetition where a word that started the line is repeated at the end.

Epistrophe

A figure of repetition where a word or group of words is repeated at the end of successive lines.

Euphemism

Using a mild or gentle phrase instead of a blunt or painful one.

Hyperbole

A boldly exaggerated statement that adds emphasis.

Imagery

Representation through language of sense experience.

Irony

A situation or language use involving some kind of incongruity or discrepancy.

Metaphor

A figure of speech in which a direct comparison is made between two unlike things.

Personification

A figure of speech where human attributes are given to animals, objects, or concepts.

Polysyndeton

Deliberate use of many conjunctions.

Phonetic intensive

A word whose sound suggests its meaning.

Simile

A comparison between two unlike things using 'like' or 'as'.