poetry terms

SOUND DEVICES

repetition – a sound, word, or phrase that is repeated for emphasis and unity

alliteration – the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words near enough for the echo to be discernible, ex. “which circle slowly with a silken swish”

consonance - the recurrence of sounds, especially consonant sounds, anywhere in a word near enough for the echo to be discernible, ex. “Mike likes his new kit-kat bike”

assonance - the repetition of vowel sounds near enough for the echo to be discernible, ex. “We did not feel prepared to be heirs of such a terrifying hour” and “We will not be … interrupted by intimidation because we know and inertia will be the inheritance of the next generation”

rhyme – the occurrence of similar or identical sounds, ex. 

end rhyme is rhyme that occurs at the end of lines

internal rhyme is rhyme that occurs within one line

half or slant rhyme – end rhyme that is not exact but approximate, as in “love” and “prove”

rhyme scheme – a regular pattern of end rhyme

rhythm/meter – the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in spoken or written language

couplet – a rhymed pair of lines of the same length and meter

OTHER LITERARY DEVICES

metaphor – a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things that are basically unlike but have something in common. Metaphors do not use the words like or as. Sometimes the metaphor is not directly stated but merely implied.

extended metaphor – a figure of speech that compares two essentially unlike things at some length and in several ways

simile – a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things, using the words like or as

personification – a figure of speech in which human qualities are given to an animal, object, or idea

hyperbole – a figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated for emphasis or humorous effect

onomatopoeia – a word that phonetically imitates the sound it describes (ex. Bang!)

MORE GENERAL TERMS

allusion – an implied or indirect reference to something else

figurative language – language that communicates meanings beyond the literal meanings of words

imagery – words and phrases that employ one or more of the five senses

free verse – poetry that does not contain a regular pattern of rhythm or rhyme. Free verse seeks to capture the rhythm of speech and is the dominant form of modern poetry.

stanza – a group of two or more lines that form a unit in a poem. A stanza is comparable to a paragraph in prose.

quatrain – a four-line stanza

concrete poetry – a poem whose lines create recognizable shapes to create a picture related to the poem’s subject

speaker – the poem’s voice

symbol – something that stands for or represents something else and derives its meaning from the context in which it appears..