Download Poetry Terms Paradox

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A statement that seems to contradict or
oppose itself, yet actually reveals some
truth.
Examples:
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Having is not as good as wanting.
It’s hard work doing nothing.
Her silence was deafening.
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Figure of speech that uses exaggeration in
service of the truth to express strong emotion
or comic relief
Example:
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There were a million people at the party.
He could eat a horse.
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Opposite of what is expected
Both unexpected and strangely coincidental
Example:
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Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.
The man died of a heart attack after scratching the
million dollar lottery ticket.
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Giving human characteristics to non-human
things
Example:
The sun smiled down on us as we enjoyed the picnic.
 The wind whispered her name.
 Love is blind.
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Addressing dead, absent, or non-human things
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Example:
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I held my pencil to my face and begged it for the
correct answers.
Grandma, if you’re watching, I could use a little help
here.
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Direct comparison between two unlike things
Example:
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Mrs. Mahood is a real bear today.
My sister is a witch.
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Comparison using like or as
Example:
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Mrs. Mahood is like a bear today.
Bob is hungry as a wolf.
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Dictionary definition of a word
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Example:
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Snake– (noun) a cold-blooded limbless reptile
Chubby– (adjective) overweight; fat
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The emotional value associated
with a word
Example:
{positive} = cotton candy
 {negative} = broken
 {neutral} = desk
 Plump vs. fat
 Freedom fighter vs. terrorist
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Words used to create a picture; appeal to the
five senses
Example: Emily pulled her scratchy, warm,
wool scarf up close to her face to ward off the
frigid, howling, bitter wind as the brilliantly
white snow collected at her pine scented boots.
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Something that stands for something else
Example:
The officer handed the man an olive branch; but the
criminal spit in his face.
 Heart
 American flag
 McDonald’s
 Prism
 Texting codes
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Musical quality in language produced by
repetition
Example:
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By the clicking of my thumbs something wicked this
way comes.
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Generally, the regular pattern of stressed and
unstressed syllables in poetry
Example:
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Once upon a midnight dreary while I pondered
weak and weary….
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Repetition of the same or very similar
consonant sounds
Example:
Purple pandas parked Packards perfectly.
 Sound of the slammin screen door.
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Comparison made between two things alike in
some respect.
Example:
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The old oak tree was as protective as a parent.
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Words spoken on stage to another but not
meant to be overheard by the other actors.
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Repetition of similar vowel sounds that are
followed by different consonant sounds.
Example:
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Hickory Dickory Dock, the Mouse Ran up the Clock.
Talking and walking, hours on end.
A turtle in the fertile soil.
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Song that tells a story
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Example: The Brady Bunch
 Gilligan’s Island
 The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
 Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire
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Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter
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Person in a story, poem, or play
Examples: Yoda, Katniss, or Cronus
Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme
 Example:
While my freshman year is very dear,
I feel my sophomore year is very near.
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Type of writing designed to create a mood or
emotion or to recreate a person
Example:
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Edgar Allen Poe
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Way of speaking particular to a region
Examples: A wicked Noreaster blowin’ hard.
Y’all come back now real soon.
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A writer’s or speaker’s choices of words
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Example:
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Sloppy – Untidy
Handsome – Gorgeous
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A long story told in elevated language (usually
poetry).
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Word or phrase that describes one thing in
terms of another and is not meant to be
understood on a literal level
Example:
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I am so hungry I could eat a horse.
It’s raining cats and dogs.
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Character used as contrast to another character
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Example:
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Gaston – The Beast
Edward—Jacob
Reed—Russell
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Use of clues to hint at future events
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Poetry with out a regular meter or rhyme
scheme
5-7-5
 Japanese Poetry
 17 syllables
 Three lines
 About nature
 Example:
Soft summer rains fall
I long for those long June days
Long cold winter now
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Line of poetry that contains five
iambs
Example:
But soft what light through yonder window
breaks?
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Expression particular to a certain
language
Example:
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Red up your room.
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Words that imitate sounds
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Examples:
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Snap, crackle, pop,
Slap
Buzz
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Main character in fiction or drama
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Question:
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Who is the protagonist in Star Wars?
Who is the protagonist in The Hunger Games?
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Play on the multiple meaning of words
Example:
Seven days without a Wendy’s hamburger makes
one weak.
 Throw that pie away; I don’t want it to go to waist.
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Repeated word, phrase, line, or group of lines
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Example: Row row row your boat
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Repetition of accented vowel sounds and all
sounds following them, in words that are close
together in a poem.
Example:
defense/tense, know/go, Spain/Maine
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Ridicules in order to reveal a weakness
Example: Saturday Night Live
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A long speech with a character alone on stage
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A fourteen line lyric poem
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Voice that is talking to us in the poem
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Group of consecutive lines in a poem that form
a unit
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Central idea of work in literature
Example: What is the theme of the book Holes?
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Attitude a writer takes toward his audience
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Depicts events where the main character comes
to an unhappy end.
Example:
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Romeo and Juliet
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A poem that tells a story
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Example:
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Poetry in which one or more characters speak
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Example: