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English Poetic Terms
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1.
Allegory
a story that operates on two
levels, with a direct
correspondence between literal
and the symbolic
2.
alliteration
the repetition of initial consonant
sound in proximity
3.
allusion
a reference to history, mythology
or another work of art the
enriches the meaning of the poem
4.
anaphora
a repetition of words of phrases
usually at the beginning of lines
5.
Apostrophe
a figure of speech in which
someone absent or dead, or
nonhuman is addressed as if it
were alive and could reply
6.
assonance/consanance
the repetition of a vowel sound or
consonant sound within words in
proximity
7.
Ballad
a narrative poem usually written
in four line stanzas of iambic
tetrameter, with the second and
fourth lines rythming
8.
cacophony/Euhony
hard, discordant sounds:
pleasant, harmonious sounds
9.
cliche
a boring phrase made tedious by
frequent repetition
connotation/denotation
Denotation if the dictionary of the
word: Connotation includes all
the implied meaning of the work
11.
Couplet
Two rhymed lines following each
other
12.
DIction
the choice of words in a work of
literature: the king of vocabulary
used
13.
elegy
a poem of sorrow or grief, usually
focused on the death of a single
person
14.
End-stopped line
a line that ends with a natural
pause, usually marked by
punctuation
15.
enjambment
a line that is not end-stopped, in
which both the sound and
meaning "run-on" or continue
into the next line, it is called
enjambed
10.
16.
Epic
a long narrative poem, in formal
style, about the exploits of
superhuman heroes, usually
involving the myths of a nation
17.
Epigram
a brief, witty saying that sums up
an idea
18.
Epigraph
a quotation at the beginning of a
literacy work (or chapter) hinting
at what is to come
19.
Exegesis
explanation and interpretation of a
text
20.
figurative language
a general term for words designed
to suggest something in addition
to or other than their literal
meaing
21.
Free verse
poetry without a specific pattern of
meter and rythme
22.
Haiku
A seventeen syllable poem, divided
into lines of five, seven and five
syllables: usually describes a
natural scene as a way of implying
feeling
23.
Hymn
a song-like poem with a serious
purpose, using formal style and
complicated stanza patterns
24.
hyperbole
deliberate exaggeration to achieve
emphasis
25.
imagery
a description that appeals to any of
all of the five senses
26.
Imply
to suggest or hint
27.
Irony
A statement that contradicts the
actual attitude of the speaker, or a
situation that contrasts what is
expected or appropriate with what
occurs
28.
Metaphor
A figure of speech that implies a
comparison between two things
that are essentially unlike
29.
Meter
A pattern of accented and
unaccented syllables
30.
Metonymy/Synecdoche
the substitution of a word that
relates to the thing or person for
the name itself ( The white house
had no comment) Synecdoche is
using a part for the whole (The
brain in the class always raises
her hand)
31.
Octave
A stanza of eight lines: sometimes,
the first eight lines in a sonnet
32.
Onomatopoeia
the use of words whose sound
imitates or suggests their meaning
Paradox/
oxymoron
an apparently self-contradictory statement or situation with a meaning or truth behind: an oxymoron is a two word
paradox
34.
paraphrase
rewriting a passage in one's own words
35.
Persona
The imagined character (never the poet) who speaks the poem (the speaker)
36.
Personification
a figure of speech in which human characteristics are given to an animal, object or a concept
37.
Prose
any writing that isn't poetry
38.
PUn
Two widely different meaning for the same word
39.
quatrain
a four line stanza
40.
refrain
a word, phrase, line, or group of lines, repeated at some fixed interval throughout the poem
41.
rythme/rime
perfectly matching sounds
42.
scansion
the process of marking accented and unaccented syllables, dividing lines into feet, identifying the metrical pattern,
and nothing variations from the pattern
43.
sestet
a stanza of six lines: sometimes, the last six lines in a sonnet
44.
SImile
a figure of speech of that makes an explicit comparison between two essentially unlike things, using like, as, than, etc.
45.
Slant rythme
also called off-rhyme, near-rhythm, imperfect-rhythm, para-rhythm; a pattern of similar sounds that don't rhyme
perfectly
46.
Sonnet
a fourteen line poem in iambic pentameter, usually with one of two specific rhythm schemes: usually contains a "turn
of thought"
47.
Stanza
A unit of several lines of poetry
48.
Stress/accent
spoken emphasis on a syllable: a beat
49.
Structure
the pattern or organization of lines in a poem
50.
Symbol
a figure of speech in which something concrete (an object, color, person, action, situation? repres
51.
Villanelle
a poem of five three-lined stanzas followed by a quatrain: only two rhythms are used; the first and last line of the first
stanza repeat alternately at the end of each stanza; both appear together in the quatrain.
33.