Poetry Form and Structure

Form

Physical structure of a poem: length, rhythm, rhymes

Stanza

Group of lines separated by an empty line

Rhythm

Pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables

Meter

Rhythm and sound pattern of a line

Lineation

When a line of poetry stops and a new line begins

Sound Effects

Techniques used to enhance poems

Figurative Language

Use of metaphors, similes, hyperbole, etc. in a poem

Couplet

Stanza with 2 lines

Tercet

Stanza with 3 lines

Quatrain

Stanza with 4 lines

Cinquain

Stanza with 5 lines

Sestet

Stanza with 6 lines

Septet

Stanza with 7 lines

Octave

Stanza with 8 lines

End-Stopped

Break at the end of a line

Enjambment

Continuation of a sentence over a line-break

Caesura

Strong pause or stop within a line

Foot

Combination of stressed and unstressed syllables

Iamb

Foot with two syllables; unstressed followed by stressed

Trochee

Foot with two syllables; stressed followed by unstressed

Spondee

Foot with two syllables; both stressed

Anapest

Foot with three syllables; two unstressed followed by one stressed

Dactyl

Foot with three syllables; one stressed followed by two unstressed

Amphibrach

Foot with three syllables; one unstressed, followed by a stressed, followed by an unstressed

Cretic

Foot with three syllables; one stressed, followed by an unstressed, followed by a stressed

Monometer

Line with 1 foot

Dimeter

Line with 2 feet

Trimeter

Line with 3 feet

Tetrameter

Line with 4 feet

Pentameter

Line with 5 feet

Hexameter

Line with 6 feet

Heptameter

Line with 7 feet

Octameter

Line with 8 feet

Rhyme

Correspondence of sounds between words

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds

Consonance

Repetition of consonant sounds within words

Onomatopoeia

Use of words that create the sounds they describe

Repetition

Recurring use of a sound, word, phrase, or line

Metaphor

Comparison between two unlikely things

Simile

Comparison between two unlike things using 'like' or 'as'

Personification

Giving human qualities to an animal, object, or idea

Hyperbole

Exaggerated statement used to emphasize an idea

Euphemism

Softer, more inoffensive word or phrase used as a substitute

Sonnet

Poetic form, which follows a rigid structure of 14 lines with a strict rhyming pattern.

Synecdoche

Using a part to represent the whole or the whole for a part

Pun

Play on words with different meanings or similar sense/sound

Oxymoron

Incongruous or contradictory terms appearing side by side

Villanelle

A pastoral or lyrical poem of 19 lines (5 tercets and a final quatrain) with only two rhymes repeated throughout, and some lines repeated.

Anaphora

Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of clauses

Allusion

Reference to a well-known person, story, or idea

Terza Rima

Poem with 3-line stanzas following the rhyme pattern aba, bcb, cdc, ded, etc.

Ode

Formal lyric poem that addresses and celebrates a person, place, thing, or idea

Blank Verse

Poetry without rhymes, written in iambic pentameter

Epic Poem

Long narrative poem telling the heroic journey of a person or group

Limerick

Silly or whimsical poem with 5 lines and specific rhyme scheme

Elegy

Mournful or melancholic poem, often a funeral song or lament

Rhyme Scheme

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