poetic terms Flashcards
alliteration
repetition of the sound at a beginning of a word
anaphora
repetition at the start of a line
assonance
repetition of a vowel sound anywhere within a section of the poem
caesura
a break in the line
consonance
– repetition of a consonant sound anywhere within a section of the
poem
contrast
a strong difference between two things
couplet
a pair of rhymed lines (
enjambment
a flow on line (where the reader is forced to keep reading rather
than stop at the end of the line / stanza in order to maintain the meaning
form
a specific type of poem, such as a sonnet or a haiku
fricatives
these consonants create a turbulent flow of air. E.g. f and th
iambic pentameter
a line containing ten syllables where the stress alternates
from soft to heavy (five pairs of syllables)
imagery
words so descriptive they create a picture in the reader’s mind
metaphor
an image created by referring to something as something else (He is
a pig)
metre
the measurement of the rhythm of a poem
octet
a stanza comprising eight lines
ode
a poem in praise of something / usually addresses and exalts its subject
onomatopoeia
words that sound like their meaning (crash/bang/pop)
oxymoron
– two words positioned together with contrasting ideas (beautiful
death
personification
giving an object human qualities (the wind whistled)
plosives
sounds that explode from the mouth
quartet
A stanza of four lines
repetition
words/phrases/sentences and structures repeated
rhyme
Rhyme – repetition of a sound either at the end of the line or internally, within
the same line.
half rhyme
(where the words almost rhyme / Eye rhyme – where the words look as though they should rhyme but pronunciation means they do not
rhythm
the use of meter and / or rhyme to give the poem a beat
sestet
a stanza comprised of 6 lines
sibilance
repeated s sound
simile.
a comparison of two things using ‘like’ and ‘as’ (as cold as ice)
sonnet
a fourteen-line poem, usually associated with love
staccato
short and abrupt
stanza
how lines are grouped in poems
structure
how the poem is constructed. E.g. number of lines, stanzas, size of
symbolism
– symbol that represents an idea (cross = religion)
