wilton POETRY TERMS

Poetry

A type of literature that expresses ideas, feelings, or tells a story  in a specific form (usually using lines and stanzas)

Form

the appearance of the words on the page

Line

a group of words together on one line of the poem

Stanza

a group of lines arranged together

Couplet

a two line stanza

Tercet (Triplet)

a three line stanza

Quatrain

a four line stanza

Cinquain

a five line stanza

Sestet (Sextet)

a six line stanza

Septet

a seven line stanza

Octave

an eight line stanza

Rhythm

The beat created by the sounds of the words in a poem. Can be created by meter, rhyme, alliteration and refrain

Meter

A pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. Occurs when the stressed and unstressed syllables of the words in a poem are arranged in a repeating pattern. Count out the number of stressed (strong) syllables and unstressed (weak) syllables for each line.  They they repeat the pattern throughout the poem.

Foot

unit of meter. Can have two or three syllables. Usually consists of one stressed and one or more unstressed syllables.

Iambic Pentameter

unstressed, stressed // five feet on a line

Rhyme

Words sound alike because they share the same ending vowel and consonant sounds

Onomatopoeia

Words that imitate the sound they are naming

Alliteration

Consonant sounds repeated at the beginnings of words

Consonance

Similar to alliteration except the repeated consonant sounds can be anywhere in the words

Assonance

Repeated VOWEL sounds in a line or lines of poetry.

Refrain

A sound, word, phrase or line repeated regularly in a poem

Lyric

A short poem

* Usually written in first person point of view
* Expresses an emotion or an idea or describes a scene
* Do not tell a story and are often musical

Haiku

A Japanese poem written in three lines

\n

Five Syllables

Seven Syllables

Five Syllables

Cinquain

A five line poem containing 22 syllables

\
Two Syllables

Four Syllables

Six Syllables

Eight Syllables

Two Syllables

Shakespearean Sonnet

A fourteen line poem with a specific rhyme scheme.

\n

The poem is written in three quatrains and ends with a couplet.

\n

The rhyme scheme is

abab   cdcd   efef   gg

Narrative Poems

* A poem that tells a story.
* Generally longer than the lyric styles of poetry b/c the poet needs to establish characters and a plot.

Concrete Poems

* In concrete poems, the words are arranged to create a picture that relates to the content of the poem.

Simile

A comparison of two things using “like, as than,” or “resembles.”

Metaphor

A direct comparison of two unlike things

Extended Metaphor

A metaphor that goes several lines or possible the entire length of a work.

Implied Metaphor

The comparison is hinted at but not clearly stated.

Hyperbole

Exaggeration often used for emphasis.

Idiom

An expression where the literal meaning of the words is not the meaning of the expression.  It means something other than what it actually says.

Personification

An animal given human-like qualities or an object given life-like qualities.

Symbolism

When a person, place, thing, or event that has meaning in itself also represents, or stands for, something else.

Allusion

* comes from the verb “allude” which means “to refer to”
* Is a reference to something famous.

Imagery

* Language that appeals to the senses.
* Most are visual, but they can also appeal to the senses of sound, touch, taste, or smell.