Poetry Terms #1

alliteration - the repetition of identical or similar consonant sounds, normally at the beginning of words

assonance - the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds

cacophony - a harsh, unpleasant combination of sounds or tones.

cadence - the natural rhythm of a poem, created through the poet’s selective arrangements of words, rhyme, and meter

consonance - the repetition of similar consonant sounds within a group of words

euphony - a style in which combinations of words pleasant to the ear predominate

eye rhyme - rhyme that appears correct from spelling, but is half rhyme or slant rhyme from the pronunciation.

feminine rhyme - a rhyme of two syllables, one stressed and one unstressed

internal rhyme - rhyme that occurs within a line, rather than at the end

masculine rhyme - rhyme that falls on the stressed and concluding syllables of the rhyme-words

mood - the feeling or atmosphere a piece of writing creates in the reader

ononmonpeia - the use of words whose sounds suggest their meaning

refrain - a group of words forming a phrase or sentance and consisting of one or more lines repeated at intervals in a poem, usually at the end

tone - the manner in which an author expresses his or her attitude

villanelle - a nineteen-line poem divided into five tercets and a final quatrain