Download Poetry Terms

~ Poetry Terms ~
I.
Types of Poems
A. Lyric Poem = a short poem which appeals to the senses and/or emotions
B. Narrative Poem = a longer poem that tells a story; it will likely include
plot, setting, characters, climax, and resolution
II.
The Basics
A. Speaker = the voice that talks to the reader
B. Form = the way a poem’s words and lines are laid out on the page
C. Stanza = a division of a poem; equivalent to a paragraph in prose
D. Free Verse = a poem that does not have a regular pattern of rhythm or
rhyme; the poem sounds like everyday speech
III. Special Effects – Sound Devices
A. Rhyme = similarity of sound between words
1. End Rhyme – rhyming words occur at the end of the lines
Example:
Darkness settles on roofs and walls
But the sea, the sea in the darkness calls
2. Internal Rhyme – rhyme within a line
Example:
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary
3. Rhyme Scheme = the pattern or sequence in which rhyme occurs.
B. Rhythm = the pattern of stressed (
) and unstressed ( ) syllables in
each line. (A poem with a repeating pattern has what is called meter.)
C. Alliteration = the repetition of the initial (first) letter or sound in two or
more words in a line of verse
D. Assonance = repetition of a vowel sound within words
Example:
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride.
E. Onomatopoeia = the use of words (made up or real) whose sound suggest
their meanings
Example: Buzz, crunch, gurgle, hiss, boom, chirp
F. Repetition = the use of a word, phrase, or line more than once
G. Refrain = the repetition of one or more phrases at intervals in a poem; like
the chorus of a song
IV.
Special Effects – Figurative Language = a tool an author uses so that
his/her readers will get a deeper meaning out of the exact words of a poem; a
tool that helps readers visualize what is happening in the poem or story;
ordinary things can be described in unordinary ways
A. Image = a word or phrase a writer selects to create a certain picture in
the reader’s mind. It is based on sight, sound, smell, touch, taste
B. Symbolism = a person, place, thing, or event used to represent something
else
Example:
The dove is a symbol of peace
C. Simile = a comparison using “like or as”
Example:
He sleeps like a log.
D. Metaphor = an implied comparison; one that does not use “like or as”
Example:
She is the Energizer Bunny.
E. Personification = giving human characteristics to something nonhuman
Example:
The wind whistled.
F. Hyperbole = an exaggeration
Example:
I could have died of embarrassment.