Definitions Flashcards
Sonnet
A poem about love
Dramatic monologue
A poem that suggests the character in the poem is talking directly to the reader as if they were part of the story or in conversation.
Pastoral poem
Poems that paints the countryside in a very idealised way.
Lyric poem
A poem that seems to express the poet’s feelings.
Ghazal
A poem that is made up of rhyming couplets and a refrain. Possible themes: unrequited love.
Ballad
A poem that tells a story.
Simile
A comparison using like or as.
Metaphor
A figure of speech which is not literally applicable.
Alliteration
Letters starting successive words that are all the same.
Assonance
The rhyming of vowel sounds in successive words: Row, row, row your boat.
Enjambment
A phrase that runs over onto the next line to create an effect.
End-stopped line
A phrase that stops at the end of a line, signaled by punctuation.
Caesura
A pause in the middle of the line (signaled by punctuation) that implies natural speech or encourages emphasis.
Couplet
A pair of lines that rhyme.
Quatrain
A group of 4 lines linked by rhyme scheme, or by subject matter.
Iambic pentameter
10 syllables to a line, every-other syllable stressed. Creates the sound of a heartbeat.
Iambic tetrameter
8 syllables to a line, every-other syllable stressed. A quick, snappy rhythm.
Half-rhyme
A pair of words that almost rhyme, or look like they should rhyme but don’t when spoken aloud: bodies - ladies.
Hyperbole
A deliberate over-exaggeration for emphasis.
Onomatopoeia
Words used to imitate sounds.
Blank verse
Poetry that doesn’t rhyme. Usually used to show real speech.
Refrain
A phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated throughout the poem.
Personification
Nonhuman things are given human characteristics.
Stress
Emphasis given to particular syllables or words.
Symbol
A word, phrase or image that ‘stands for’ something else.
Stanza
A verse in a poem.
Alliteration
Repetition of the sound at a beginning of a word.
Contrast
A strong difference between two things.
Imagery
Words so descriptive they create a picture in the readers mind.
Metaphore
An image created by referring to something as something else.
Onomatopoeia
Words that sound like their meaning.
Oxymoron
Two words positioned together with contrasting ideas.
Personification
Giving an object human qualities.
Repetition
Words/phrases/sentences and structures repeated.
Rhyme/Rhythm
The use of rhyming words to give the poem a beat.
Simile
A comparison of two things using ‘like’ and ‘as’.
