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POETERY LITERARY TERMS
•
Allusion: Reference to
a well-known person,
place, event, or work of
art. Allusions suggest
complex ideas simply
and easily. Example –
An apple can be an
allusion to the Bible and
Man’s loss of innocent.
•
Connotation: A set of
associations with a
given word that help
define its meaning and
use. Example – Ever
since the September 11
terrorist attack on
America, the numbers
911 have taken on a
special meaning.
POETERY LITERARY TERMS
• Cinquain
•
A cinquain has five lines.
•
Line 1 is one word (the title)
Line 2 is two words that
describe the title.
Line 3 is three words that tell
the action
Line 4 is four words that
express the feeling
Line 5 is one word that recalls
the title
• Couplet:
A stanza consisting of
two consecutive lines,
usually rhymed.
Example:
I think that I shall never see
A poem as lovely as a tree
POETRY LITERARY TERMS

Diction:
Word choice that
determines a
writer’s style and
tone.

Elegy
A sad and
thoughtful poem
lamenting the death
of a person.
POETRY LITERARY TERMS
 Figurative
Language:
Writing or speech
not meant to be
interpreted
literally.
 Free Verse:
A poem that
doesn’t use
rhyming words to
create a sense of
rhythm, beat, or
flow.
POETRY LITERARY TERMS
•
Literal Language:
Writing or speech
that is meant to be
interpreted literally.
The words mean
exactly what they
say.
• Metaphor:
A comparison of two
or more things that
are not alike without
the use of “as” or
“like.”
POETRY LITERARY TERMS
•
Quatrain:
A stanza or poem of
four lines.
Lines 2 and 4 must
rhyme.
Lines 1 and 3 may or
may not rhyme.
Rhyming lines should
have a similar number
of syllables.
• Rhyme Scheme:
The way a poem uses
rhyming words to create a
sense of rhythm, beat, or
flow.
POETRY LITERARY TERMS
•
Simile:
A comparison of two
or more things that
are not alike through
the use of either “as”
or “like.”
• Speaker:
Person who says the
words of a poem, not
to be confused with
the author of the
work.
POETRY LITERARY TERMS
•
Stanza:
A fixed number of
lines of verse
forming a unit in a
poem. Stanzas are
basically the
paragraphs of a
poem.
• Style:
A writer’s way of
writing, determined by
factors such as
diction, imagery,
syntax, formality, and
organization.
POETRY LITERARY TERMS

Symbol:
An object that
stands for
something else.
Example: Winter
can symbolize
death.

Tone:
A writer’s attitude
toward his or her
subject and
audience. The
writer’s tone can be
serious, funny,
formal, informal,
bitter, angry,
happy, etc.
POETRY LITERARY TERMS

Mood:
Similar to TONE,
mood is the emotional
quality of the work of
literature. The mood of
a poem, for example,
can be funny, serious,
sad, angry, happy,
mysterious, scary, etc.

Alliteration:
The repetition of the
same consonant sound
in two or more words
in a row. For example:
Telly told Ted to take
Todd to Tina's Toyota.
POETRY LITERARY TERMS

Assonance:
The repetition of the
same vowel sound in two
or more words in a row.
For example: "How now
brown cow." Remember,
your vowels are A, E, I,
O,U, and sometimes Y.
Every other letter will be
a consonant.

Hyperbole:
An intentional
exaggeration used to
emphasize an idea and
create a visual image in
the reader's mind. For
example, "He caught a
fish as big as a whale."
POETRY LITERARY TERMS

Onomatopoeia:
The use of words that
imitate sounds. For
example, SNAP,
CRACK, POP, POW,
BAM, SLAM.

Personification:
A literary technique
where the author /
poet gives a
nonhuman object
human-like qualities.
Example: “The clouds
cried cold tears.”
Rhyme Scheme:
The regular pattern of rhyming words in a
poem. The rhyme scheme of a poem is
indicated by using different letters of the
alphabet for each new rhyme. For
example:

Roses are red,
A

Violets are blue;
B

Sugar is sweet,
C

And so are you.
B
POETRY LITERARY TERMS
• Imagery:
Descriptive language
poets use to create
word pictures
(images). Images are
enhanced by
SENSORY
LANGUAGE.
• Sensory Language:
Descriptive language
that relates to the five
senses (sight, touch,
taste, sound, smell).