Download Definitions of Poetic Terms and Poetic Forms

Eighth Grade
English Language Arts and Reading
Unit: 02A Lesson: 01
Definitions of Poetic Terms and Poetic Forms
Sound Effects:
Alliteration - the repetition of the same sounds at the beginning of two or more
adjacent words or stressed syllables (e.g., furrow followed free in Coleridge’s The
Rime of the Ancient Mariner)
Rhyme - two words or lines that end in the same sound (rhythmic patterns that
emphasize sound)
Rhythm - regular patterns that emphasize sound
Meter - the basic rhythmic structure in verse, composed of stressed and
unstressed syllables. The movement of words in a poem. Meter stresses the number
and patterns of syllables. It has a definite organization with certain lines containing a
certain number of pronounced beats.
Internal rhyme - a rhyme within the same line of verse (e.g., dreary and weary in
Poe’s “The Raven”: Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and
weary.)
Onomatopoeia - the use of words that sound like what they mean (e.g., buzz and
purr); a poetic device to produce this effect
Rhyme scheme - the pattern of rhyming lines (e.g., ABAB, ABBA)
Consonance - the repetition of internal or ending consonant sounds close together (e.g.,
The abandoned bird found a wide window in which to build his nest.)
Assonance - the repetition of vowel sounds in words close together (e.g., David made
his way to the lake.)
Repetition - a repeating cadence/meter that enriches or emphasizes words, phrases,
lines, and even whole verses of poems. Alliteration is a type of repetition.
Literary Language and Devices
Hyperbole - an intentional and extreme exaggeration for emphasis or effect (e.g.,
this book weighs a ton)
Metaphor - a subtle comparison in which the author describes a person or thing
using words that are not meant to be taken literally (e.g., time is a dressmaker
specializing in alterations)
Extended metaphor - a metaphor in which the comparison is carried through
several lines or even the entire literary work
©2011, TESCCC
06/01/13
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Eighth Grade
English Language Arts and Reading
Unit: 02A Lesson: 01
Personification - figurative language in which non-human things or abstractions
are represented as having human qualities (e.g., necessity is the mother of
invention)
Simile - a comparison of two things that are essentially different, usually using the
words like or as (e.g., O my love is like a red, red rose from Robert Burns, “A Red,
Red Rose”)
Imagery - the use of language to create mental images and sensory impressions.
Imagery can be used for emotional effect and to intensify the impact on the
reader. The following is an example of imagery from Romeo and Juliet: Her eyes
in heaven/ Would through the airy region stream so bright/ That birds would sing
and think it were not night (2.2.20–22).
Graphic and Structural Elements
Line break - the intentional end of a line of poetry
Refrain - group of words repeated at key intervals in poetry
Stanza - division of a poem composed of two or more lines characterized by meter,
rhyme, and number of lines (i.e., couplet: a 2-line stanza; triplet: a 3-line stanza,
quatrain: a 4-line stanza; quintet: a 5-line stanza, sestet: a 6-line stanza)
Poetic Forms
***Please Note: These are just a few of the many poetic forms that could be used in the
lessons.
Lyrical poetry - short poems expressing personal feelings and emotions that may
be set to music and often involves the use of regular meter
Narrative poetry - poetry that tells a story to entertain
Humorous poetry - poetry that deals with amusing happenings
Free Verse - poetry composed of rhymed or unrhymed lines that have no set patterns.
Free verse has a casual irregular rhythm similar to that of everyday speech.
Quatrain – a four-line poem. Lines 1 and 3 may rhyme or may not. Lines 2 and 4 should
rhyme. Lines that rhyme should have the same number of syllables.
Cinquain - a cinquain is composed of five lines as follows: Line 1 has one word which is
the title; Line 2 is comprised of two words that further explain the title; Line 3 is made up
©2011, TESCCC
06/01/13
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Eighth Grade
English Language Arts and Reading
Unit: 02A Lesson: 01
of three words which describe the action; Line 4 has four words which express the
emotion; Line 5 is one word that refers to the title
Diamante - a diamante has seven lines: Line 1 is a one word subject that is opposite of
Line 7; Line 2 is two adjectives which describe the subject in Line 1; Line 3 is three
verbs relating to the subject in Line 1; Line 4 is two nouns related to the subject of Line
1, followed by two nouns related to the subject in Line 7; Line 5 is three verbs related to
the subject in Line 7; Line 6 is two adjectives which describe the subject in line seven;
Line 7 is a one word subject that is opposite of Line 1
Shape poem - poetry written in the shape or form of an object. This is a type of concrete
poetry.
Acrostic poem - poetry that certain letters, usually the first in each line form a word or
message when read in a sequence.
Epitaph - written to praise or to reflect on the life of a deceased person
Haiku - a poem of Japanese origin. A haiku has a rigid structure of three lines: five
syllables long, seven syllables lone, and five syllables long. These lines do not rhyme
and often center on themes of nature.
Limerick – an amusing poem that is composed of five lines. Lines 1, 2, and 5 consist of
seven to ten syllables and rhyme with one another. Lines 3 and 4 have five to seven
syllables and rhyme with each other.
Epic poetry - a long narrative poem, usually chronicling the deeds of a folk hero
and written using both dramatic and narrative literary techniques (e.g., Homer's
Iliad or John Milton’s Paradise Lost)
Sonnet - a lyric poem that consists of 14 lines, which usually have one or more
conventional rhyme schemes.
©2011, TESCCC
06/01/13
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