Poetry Terms

Poetry Terms

Poetry- a type of literature that uses very concise (very brief; using few words), musical, and emotionally charged words.

Poetic Language:

1. Figurative Language-not the literal meaning; interpreted imaginatively
1. Simile-comparison between two  unlike things using like or as

It rained like cats and dogs.

2. Metaphor- comparison between two things without using like or as; one thing is spoken of as being another

Death is a long sleep

3. Personification- giving objects human qualities or characteristics

The moon sighed; The trees danced

4. Hyperbole- Extreme exaggeration

A nose the size of a house

2. Imagery- use of vivid language to create word pictures for the reader. Uses sensory language appealing to smell, taste, feel, sound, sight.

3. Symbol- something that has a meaning and also represents or stands for something else.

4. Devices-
1. Alliteration- repetition of the first sound of several words. Example: “start their silent swinging”
2. Onomatopoeia-use of words to imitate actual sounds. Example: “bang, tap, swish”

1. Assonance-repetition of similar vowel sounds. Example:  “deep, beneath, dreamless”; At, Ask
2. Consonance- repetition of similar consonant sounds at end of accented syllables. Example: “spurt of a lighted match”; Will-Wall
3. Repetition – repeating a word
4. Rhyme – repetition of sounds at the end of words

                                          i.    End rhyme- rhyming words at ends of lines

                                        ii.    Internal rhyme- rhyming words are within the line

Rhyme:

A.   Rhyme Scheme- A regular rhyming pattern of words in a poem (Usually found at the end of the lines)

Mary had a little lamb             A

Its fleece was white as snow B

Everywhere that Mary went,  C

The lamb was sure to go       B

B.   Rhyme Scheme of a Shakespearean Sonnet:

A,B,A,B  C,D,C,D= the first 8 lines (an OCTET)

E,F,E,F = The last 6 lines are a SESTET

G,G= RHYMING COUPLET

C.   Couplet- A pair of consecutive rhyming lines

Rhythm:

1. Rhythm- the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables or beats in the lines

2. Meter- the rhythmical pattern of a poem. This pattern is determined by the number and types of stresses, or beats, in each line.

3. Foot-  each group of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line.
1. Lines are described in terms of the number of feet that occur in them
2. Monometer-1 foot
3. Dimeter-2 feet
4. Trimeter-3 feet
5. Pentameter- 5 feet

Poetic Structures:

1. Refrain- phrase or word that his repeated regularly in a poem

2.  Stanza- groups of lines that form units in a poem (like a paragraph)

4. Blank verse- poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter.

When I / see birch/ es bend/ to left/ and right

Across/ the lines/ of  straight/ er dark/ er trees

Iambic pentameter- Lines of poetry with 5 Iambic feet; each with one unstressed followed by one stressed syllable (see example above)

5. Free verse-verse not written in formal rhythmical pattern

Types of Poetry:

1. Ballad- a poem intended to be sung; tells a story

2. Haiku- three line verse form; (Japanese Poem)

first line has five syllables,

second line has seven syllables

Third line has five syllables. 

A haiku tries to convey a single vivid emotion with images from nature.

3. Lyric poetry- poetry expressing the observations and feelings of a single speaker. Never tells full story; zeroes in on an experience or creates and explores a single effect.

(Lyrics- Also words of a song)

4. Narrative- type of poem that tells a story.

5. Sonnet-  fourteen-line lyric poem, usually written in rhymed iambic pentameter.

(Most common: Shakespearean sonnet; Elizabethan sonnet)

6. Concrete Poetry- A poem with a shape that suggest it’s subject