English Terms

Verse

Another word for poetry; a form of literature characterized by lines, often but not necessarily metered

meter

A regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry

foot

A grouping of stressed and unstressed syllables within a poetic meter

Scansion/Scanning

Analysis of a poem to determine its meter, including stressed and unstressed syllables or rhyme scheme

Trimeter

A line of verse consisting of three metrical feet

Tetrameter

A line of verse consisting of four metrical feet

Pentameter

A line of verse consisting of five metrical feet

Iamb/Iambic

A metrical foot consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable ex. reduce

Trochee/Trochaic

A metrical foot consisting of one stressed syllable followed by one short or unstressed syllable

Anapest/Anapestic

A metrical foot consisting of two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable

Figurative Language

Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid

Octave

An eight-line stanza

Sestet

Six line Stanza

Quatrain

A four line Stanza

Couplet

Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme

Sonnet

A verse form consisting of 14 lines with a fixed rhyme scheme

Petrarchan Sonnet

Italian origin - A sonnet consisting of 14 lines, an octave with the rhyme pattern abbaabba, followed by a sestet with the rhyme pattern cdecde or cdcdcd, volta, iambic pentameter- typically about love/politics, formal tone, explores problem/question

Shakespearean Sonnet

English origin - A sonnet consisting of 14 lines, three quatrains and a concluding couplet in iambic pentameter with the rhyme pattern abab cdcd efef gg, typically about love/politics

Sestina

french origin - 39 lines, six stanzas of six lines and a final triplet, all stanzas having the same six words at the line-ends in six different sequences that follow a fixed pattern, and all six words appearing in the closing triplet, positive tone ( can be comedic), purpose is to demonstrate wit and skill

Villanelle

Italian and french origin - 6 stanzas (5 tercets + 1 quatrain) - 2 refrain lines - aba rhyme scheme (abaa final stanza) - iambic pentameter - subject is loss - tone is grief, frustration, confusion, etc - purpose is to explore loss (literal or figurative)

Ode

Ancient Greek origin - no formal rules - subject is a dead person - tone is grief to remembrance to consolation- purpose is to explore communal values

Elegy

Ancient Greek origin - no formal rules - a dead person or idea - grief, remembrance to consolation in tone - express communal values

Refrain

A line, word, phrase, or set of lines repeated several times over the course of a poem

End stop line

A line that ends with a natural speech pause, usually marked by punctuation

Caesura

A natural pause or break in a line of poetry, usually near the middle of the line indicated by punctuation

Enjabment

When one line ends without a pause or punctuation and continues into the next line for its meaning

End rhyme

Rhyme that occurs at the end of two or more lines of poetry

Internal Rhyme

A rhyme involving a word in the middle of a line and another at the end of the line or in the middle of the next

Perfect Rhyme

Rhymes involving sounds that are exactly the same (ex: love, dove)

Imperfect rhyme

(approximate or slant rhyme) involves words that sound similar, but are not exactly the same Example :crooned/groaned, sun/gone

Alliteration

the occurrence of the same letter or sound repeated in series of words

Consonance

Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity

Assonance

Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity

Onomatopoeia

A word or phase that imitates the sound it represents (ex. sound effects as Boom, Pow, Zap, or heartbeats as “Heart, Heart, Heart”)

Volta

The shift or point of dramatic change in a poem, such as a transition from questioning to answering or a change in tone such as from loving to jealous

Substitution

The rules of a poem may need to change briefly to make certain words, sounds, or sensations fit. Sometimes a line of poetry will have a different foot or meter than the predominant one. A poem makes a substitution when its own pattern of form changes briefly for effect.

Free verse poetry

Poetry without regular patterns of rhyme or rhythm

Lyric Poetry

The most varied and widespread kind of poetry in which an individual speaker express what they think, feel or see - Sonnet, Sestina, Elegy, Villanelle, Ode

Narrative Poetry

A type of poetry that tells a story and contains narrative elements such as character, plot, conflict, and resolution. These poems are typically told by just one narrator or speaker - epic, ballad, or Heroic couplet

Stanza

A group of lines in a distinct pattern

Line

A row of words chosen intentionally by the author

Prosody

Describes the technical aspects of verse, relating, stress and meter

Stress

The special emphasis given in pronouncing some syllables

Dactyl

Stressed, unstressed, unstressed ex. happily

Rhyme

Repetition of the same sound in two or more nearby words ;many types; creates unity, contrast or surprise

Repetition

repetition of sounds, words, phrases, lines, or sentences ; create unity and emphasis ;deepen emotional & thematic impact