Download Poetry Terms - Marian High School

Literary Terms
Poetry Terms
The study of the following poetry terms will provide invaluable knowledge and preparation for the AP Exam.
Since it is not enough to know the definition of these words, you will need to illustrate your understanding of
the types of poems and devices used therein using examples from our examination of Romantic, Victorian,
Modern & Contemporary poetry. You MUST type your examples on this document so they are easily
identifiable. Highlight examples from the various time periods with the following color fonts: Romantic=green,
Victorian=red, Modern=purple, Contemporary=blue. You will upload the completed to turnitin.com at the
completion of each semester of poetry. This is not a group assignment. You will not have a group or
partner on the AP Exam unfortunately.
The following are types of poems or stanzas. You do not need to find examples of all of the types; however, if one of
the poems in your notebook is one of the following types, you should label it as such.
Didactic poetry - written to state a message or teach a body of knowledge
Narrative poem - a poem whose main purpose is to tell a story.
Lyric - a short poem, often songlike, with the emphasis not on narrative but on the speaker's emotion or reverie. Whereas
a narrative is set in the past, telling what happened, a lyric is set in the present, catching a speaker in a moment of
expression. (A lyric can, of course, glance forward or backward.)
1. elegy - a lyric poem that is melancholy or mournfully contemplative; sometimes laments a death.
2. ode (hymn) - a lyric poem that is long, elaborate, and on a lofty theme such as immortality or a hero's victory.
The following are ways in which poems are divided or identified by pattern. You need to find ONE example of EACH
(with the exception of a villanelle).
Verse - can be either a stanza or a single line of poetry.
Stanza - a rhythmical unit in which lines of poetry are commonly arranged (from an Italian word meaning "room" or
"stopping-place").
(Note: in discussing stanzas, rhymes are indicated by identical letters. Thus, abab indicates that the first and third lines
rhyme with each other, while the second and fourth lines are linked by a different rhyme.)
1. couplet - a stanza of two lines, usually, but not necessarily, with end-rhymes.
a. heroic couplet - a rhyming couplet of iambic pentameter, often "closed," that is, containing a complete
thought, with a fairly heavy pause at the end of the first line and a still heavier one at the end of the
second.
2. sonnet - a closed, fixed form. A fourteen-line poem, predominantly in iambic pentameter.
a. Italian (Petrarchan) sonnet - named for the Italian poet Francesco Petrarch (1304-74), has two
divisions: the first eight lines (rhyming abba abba) are the octave, the last six (rhyming cd cd cd, or a
variant) are the sestet.
b. English (Shakespearean) sonnet - usually arranged into three quatrains and a couplet, rhyming abab
cdcd efef gg.
3. villanelle - a closed, fixed French form; a nineteen-line poem divided into 5 tercets and a final quatrain. The
villanelle uses only two rhymes which are repeated as follows: aba, aba, aba, aba,aba,abaa. Line 1 is repeated
entirely to form lines 6, 12, and 18, and line 3 is repeated entirely to form lines 9, 15, and 19; thus, eight of the
nineteen lines are refrain.
4. sestina -- a poem with six stanzas of six lines and a final triplet, all stanzas having the same six words at the
line-ends in six different sequences that follow a fixed pattern, and with all six words appearing in the closing
three-line envoi.
5. ballad -- a poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas.
Blank verse - English poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter.
Free verse (vers libre) - rhythmical lines varying in length, adhering to no fixed metrical pattern, and usually unrhymed.
Seems formless but is not. Form or pattern often largely based on repetition and parallel grammatical structure.
Prose poem - a short work that looks like prose but is highly rhythmical or rich in images, or both.
Closed form - some regular pattern is evident.
Fixed form - closed form which adheres to certain strict rules (such as the sonnet, villanelle, sestina, etc.)
Open form - no identifiable patterns of rhyme, rhythm, meter.
Poetry and Literary Terms
From this point forward, YOU MUST FIND 1 TOTAL EXAMPLE FOR EACH TERM THROUGHOUT THE Quarter – NOT 1
FOR EACH UNIT. You will find ONE example from the Renaissance/Romantic/ Victorian Poetry portion of the
notebook (1st quarter). You will find your SECOND example for the Victorian/Modern Poetry portion of the notebook
(2nd quarter). You will find your THIRD example for the Contemporary Poetry portion of the notebook (2nd semester)
1. Dramatic monologue - single character speaking at a critical moment, usually addressed to some other character who
remains silent.
Point of View-any of several possible vantage point from which a story is told. Words to know: speaker, narrator,
persona (mask)
2. Omniscient point of view-the vantage point of a story in which the narrator can know, see, and report
whatever he or she chooses. The narrator is free to describe the thoughts of any of the characters, to skip about in
time or place, or to speak directly to the reader.
3. Limited point of view-the vantage point of a story in which the narrator describes the thoughts of a single
character or several characters.
4. 1st person point of view-indicated by use of “I” or “we,” the narrator participates in the action of the story
5. 3rd person point of view-indicated by use of 3rd person pronouns, the narrator is not a participant in the
narrative
6. Diction - choice of words and/or grammatical constructions (i.e., formal, colloquial, jargon, slang, etc.)
7. Connotation - suggested or associated meaning. (skeleton = death)
8. Denotation - dictionary definition. (skeleton = bony structure)
9. Colloquial - everyday speech; particular to an area or group of people.
10. Tone - the attitude of the author, evident from the diction, use of symbolism, irony, and figures of speech. (Tone can
be described as playful, sad, happy, humorous, etc.).
Figures of Speech (Figurative Language) - non-logical language; not to be taken literally.
11. simile - items from different classes are compared by a connective such as "like," "as," or "than" or by a verb such as
"appears" or "seems." If the objects compared are from the same class, e.g., "New York is like Chicago," no simile is
present. An appropriate simile: "She is like the rose."
12. metaphor - items from different classes are implicitly compared, WITHOUT a connective such as "like" or "as."
("She is the rose, the glory of the day.")
13. metonymy - something is named that replaces something closely related to it. (In the following passage, James
Shirley names certain objects ["Scepter and crown," "scythe and spade"], using them to replace social classes [powerful
people and poor people] to which they are related:
Scepter and crown must tumble down
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crooked scythe and spade.
14. synecdoche - the whole is replace by the part, or the part by the whole. ("He has a new set of WHEELS." "Give me a
HAND.")
15. extended metaphor-an implied analogy or comparison, which is carried throughout a stanza or entire poem
16. personification - giving human qualities to abstractions or inanimate objects such as love, beauty, etc. ("The cat,
disappointed, wondered where I'd been all day." ; "When love calls, wild hearts fly.")
17. euphemism-a figure of speech using indirection to avoid offensive bluntness (“passed away” instead of “died”)
18. apostrophe - an address to a person or thing not literally listening. ("O Santa, bring me that Porsche I've always
wanted...." "O lovely rose, your perfume fills the air.")
19. antithesis-a figure of speech characterized by strongly contrasting words, clauses, sentences, or ideas; a balancing of
one term against another for emphasis or stylistic effectiveness
20. oxymoron-a combination of opposites; the union of contradictory terms (Romeo’s line “feather of lead, bright smoke,
cold fire, sick health”)
21. epigraph - a motto or quotation at the beginning of a literary composition
22. Irony - without using figures of speech, speakers may use this device, saying things that are not to be taken literally,
forming a contrast.
23. verbal irony - contrast between what is said and what is meant.
a. sarcasm - heavy, mocking verbal irony
b. understatement - saying less than what is meant. (to Bill Clinton: "I suppose you have a FEW things on your
mind....")
c. hyperbole (overstatement) - exaggeration. ("He died a thousand deaths.")
24. dramatic irony - contrast between what is intended and what is accomplished.
25. Paradox - an apparent contradiction. ("He who would save his life must lose it" or "The child is father of the man.")
26. Imagery - sensory content of poems; appeals to the five senses.
27. Symbol - an image loaded with significance beyond literal definition; suggestive rather than definitive.
Rhyme - repetition of identical or similar sounds.
28. perfect (exact) rhyme - differing consonant sounds are followed by identical stressed vowel sounds, and the
following sounds, if any, are identical (foe/toe, meet/fleet, buffer/rougher).
29. eye-rhyme (aka slant rhyme) - the sounds do not in fact rhyme, but the words look as though they would rhyme
(cough/bough).
30. end rhyme (terminal rhyme) - the rhyming words occur at the ends of the lines.
31. internal rhyme - rhyme occurs within lines. ("Each narrow cell in which we dwell.")
Sound Devices
32. alliteration - sometimes defined as the repetition of initial sounds ("All the awful auguries," or "Bring me my bow of
burning gold"), and sometimes as the prominent repetition of a consonant ("after life's fitful fever").
33. assonance - the repetition, in words of proximity, of identical vowel sounds preceded and followed by differing
consonant sounds. (Whereas tide and hide are rhymes, tide and mine are assonantal.)
34. consonance - the repetition of identical consonant sounds and differing vowel sounds in words in proximity (fail/feel,
rough/roof, pitter/patter). Sometimes consonance is more loosely defined as the repetition of a consonant (fail/peel).
35. caesura-a pause, usually near the middle of a line of verse, usually indicated by the sense of the line
36. enjambment-the continuation of the sense and grammatical construction from one line of poetry to the next
37. end-stopped-a line with a pause at the end; lines that end with a period, a comma, a colon, a semicolon, an
exclamation point, or a question mark are end-stopped lines
These are terms you do not need to identify in your poetry notebook, but you might see them on the exam, so
review the definitions prior to the exam.
Zeugma-the use of a word to modify or govern two or more words when it is appropriate to only one of them or is
appropriate to each but in a different way (to wage war and peace OR on his fishing trip, he caught three trout and a cold)
Periodic Sentence-A sentence grammatically complete only at the end, meaning the subject of the main clause does not
appear until the end of the sentence (“When conquering love did first my heart assail,/Unto mine aid I summoned every
sense.”
Loose/Cumulative Sentence-A sentence grammatically complete at the beginning of the constructions and followed by
modifiers (“Fair is my love, and cruel as she’s fair.”)
natural symbols - symbols recognized as standing for something in particular even by people from different cultures.
(Rain usually stands for fertility or the renewal of life; a forest--mental darkness or chaos; a mountain--stability, etc.).
conventional symbols - symbols which people have agreed to accept as standing for something other than themselves (a
poem about the cross would probably be about Christianity; similarly, the rose has long been a symbol for love).
masculine rhyme - the final syllables are stressed and, after their differing initial consonant sounds, are identical in sound
(stark/mark, support/retort).
feminine rhyme (double rhyme) - stressed rhyming syllables are followed by identical unstressed syllables
(revival/arrival, flatter/batter).
half-rhyme (off-rhyme) - only the final consonant sounds of the words are identical; the stressed vowel sounds as well as
the initial consonant sounds, if any, differ (soul/oil, mirth/forth, trolley/bully.
cacophony-a harsh, unpleasant combination of sounds or tones; it may be an unconscious result from difficulty of
articulation or a conscious (for effect)
euphony-a style in which combination of words that are pleasant to the ear dominate (opposite of cacophony)
conceit-an ingenious and fanciful notion or conception, usually expressed through an elaborate analogy and pointing to a
striking parallel between two seemingly dissimilar things. A conceit may be a brief metaphor, but it may also form the
framework of an entire poem
ellipsis-the omission of a word or several words necessary for a complete construction; these words must be supplied by
the reader or listener (Plato’s statement-"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.")
You need not put the following terms in your Poetry Notebook, either, but please fill in the definitions as we discuss
them. They are also likely to appear on the AP Exam.
Narrative Techniques (determine approach, advance the plot)
Foreshadowing-
Manipulation of Time –
Stream of Consciousness-
Flashback-
Frame Story-
Projection into future (flash forward)-
Narrative PaceDialogue-
Interior monologue-
Parallel scenes-
Gaps-
Subplots-
CharacterizationDirect CharacterizationIndirect CharacterizationCharacter FoilsRound CharactersFlat CharactersDynamic CharactersFlat CharactersSetting-
Exposition-
Denouement-
Conflict-
Resources of Language (create tone)
A. Rhetorical Techniques (effective, persuasive)
Contrast-
Repetition-
Sarcasm-
Rhetorical Questions-
Parallel Structure (words, phrases, whole passages)-
Didactic attitude/language-
Creation of empathy-
Allusion-
Tragic hero-
Caricature-
Epiphany-
B. Stylistic devices (the way one writes)
Syntax-
Chiasmus-
Selection/Omission of Detail-
Cliché-
Parody-
Satire-
Pathos-
Malapropism-
Realism-
Pastoral-
Allegory-
Genre-
Analogy-