Download POETRY TERMS / DEFINITIONS

POETRY TERMS / DEFINITIONS
TYPES OF POETRY
There are 3 types of poetry: What type of poetry is it?
Narrative poetry:
Tells a story
Descriptive poetry:
Describes a person, place, or thing.
Lyrical poetry:
Expresses the writer’s inner feelings on a topic.
SUB-DIVISIONS OF POETRY
Poetry can be sub-divided into the following: What type of poem is it?
Ballad: A narrative poem which is meant to be sung.
Haiku: A very descriptive poem which has17 syllables (5, 7, 5) in 3 lines
Sonnet: A 14 line lyrical poem that is characterized by distinct characteristics such as a set rhyme
scheme, and a division into stanzas and units. The two main types are English and Italian..
SONNETS
There are 2 types of Sonnets in poetry: (Italian and English)
1. Italian sonnet:
sestet (6 line
2 English Sonnet:
rhyme).
Consists of an octave (8 line stanza) which presents a problem/conflict and a
stanza) which presents a solution / answer to the problem.
Consists of 3 four-line stanzas called rhyming couplet (two lines which
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Figurative means language in which the true sense of the phrase is not what the audience is
intended to get, for example, "go fly a kite".
Simile: A comparison between two unlike things using like or as, for example: "Her love was
like a red rose".
Metaphor: A comparison between two unlike things not using like or as, for example, "The ship
plows the sea".
Personification: A special type of comparison in which inhuman objects are given human
characteristics, for example, "the wind danced"
Apostrophe: Animate or inanimate objects are addressed as if they were present or alive, for
example, "Death be not proud!".
Hyperbole: An over exaggeration to show intensity of feeling, for example, "My heart is
broken", "She nearly died laughing", "She bawled her eyes out".
LITERARY TERMS / SOUND DEVICES
Rhyme: is the repetition of sounds in accented syllabels of two or more words. For example, "rat
/ cat," "history / mystery" and "cheese / wheeze" are rhyming word pairs. Rhyme often occurs at
the ends of lines, but it can occur in the middle of lines also.
Internal rhyme: Two or more words in the same line rhyme
Ex: "The rain in spain fell mostly on the plain".
External rhyme: Two different words at the end of two different lines rhyme.
Ex: "The fox went out on a chilly night
He prayed for the moon to give him some light"
Rhyme scheme: Alphabetical pattern of the external rhyme: (abcd.....)
Ex: The camel has a single hump; A
Some may think it has two; B
Or else the other way around, C
I’m never sure, are you? B
Rhythm: The beat or tempo of a poem, determined by the pattern of stressed and unstressed
syllabels in each line.
Refrain: is a word, phrase, line, or stanza repeated exactly or almost exactly throughout the
poem. It is used to create rhythm, build suspense, or emphasize important words or ideas.
Alliteration: Repetition of the same beginning consonant in the same line.
Ex: Peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Assonance: Repetition of the same vowel sounds in words in the same line.
Ex: "Jack Sprat could eat no fat.
Onomatopoeia Sound device in which the word is pronounced or imitates the sound of the thing
it describes,
Ex: hissing, buzz, slap, bang, or the words choo, choo to represent train.
Free verse: No rhyme scheme in the poem, (there is no internal or external rhyme) and does not
have controlled rhythm.. Usually the stanzas are written in different lengths.
Blank verse: Poetry which does not rhyme but does have controlled rhythm.
Cacophony: The use of words that have a harsh or discordant sound due to the presence of letters
such as c, k, g, b, and p: for example, clobber, squawk, gutteral.
Euphony: The use of words that have a pleasing or melodic sound due to the letters such as s, l,
m, w, and v. For example, slumber, mellow, winsome.
BALLAD
A ballad is a narrative poem which follows definite characteristics, such as four line stanzas, a
rhyme scheme of abab or abcb, swift action, dialogue, repetition and a heroic character. The
Ballad is a narrative poem which was meant to be sung:
Folk Ballad is an older form, passed on orally and having an unknown author.
There are 6 characteristics of the ballad:
It is a narrative poem which is meant to be sung.
It contains very little description or characterization.
The action is brief, to the point, and often developed by dialogue.
It usually involves basic subjects such as love, honor, or death.
It is usually written in a four line stanza in which the second and fourth lines rhyme.
It usually has a refrain which means it has a line or lines repeated for musical effect.