Download Poetic Terms Guide DEFINITIONS

Poetic Terms (a.k.a. Literary Devices) Guide
Alliteration
Assonance
Blank/Free Verse
Consonance
Figurative Language
Hyperbole
Iambic Pentameter
Imagery
Limerick
Literal Language
The repetition of consonant sounds at
the beginning of words or syllables.
The repetition of vowel sounds in
words.
Poetry written in free form and
without an obvious structure.
The repetition of a consonant sound
anywhere in words or syllables.
Words or groups of words that
exaggerate or alter the usual
meanings of the component words.
The use of obvious or intentional
exaggeration for special effect.
A line of poetry with 5 iambic feet
(iambic foot=a weak syllable followed
by a strong syllable).
Descriptive language used in writing to
create pictures through details of
light, sound, touch, taste, and/or
smell.
A rhyming, humorous, and often
nonsensical five-line poem that
follows a prescribed rhyme scheme.
Words or groups of words that do not
deviate from their defined meaning.
Metaphor
A figure of speech in which something
is spoken of as though it is something
else (without using “like” or “as”).
The use of words that imitate sounds.
Onomatopoeia
Oxymoron
Personification
Refrain
A figure of speech that combines
opposing or contradictory ideas.
The giving of human qualities to nonhuman things.
A repeated line or group of lines in a
poem or song, usually for suspense or
to emphasize the theme.
A regular pattern of rhyming words.
Rhyme Scheme
Simile
Sonnet
Symbol
Theme
Tone
A figure of speech that makes a
comparison between two subjects
using “like” or “as.”
A fixed verse form of poetry consisting
of 14 lines that are typically 5-foot
iambics rhyming according to a
prescribed rhyme scheme.
An object, character, or event that
stands for something else.
A central message or insight into life
revealed by a literary work that is
usually not directly stated.
The feeling or mood given to the
reader by a literary work.