Poetic Terms Flashcards
accentual-syllabic verse
the dominant system of meter since the Renaissance: lines of poetry composed according to both regular stress patterns and syllable counts
accentual verse
accentual verse features consistency in the number of accents, or stresses, per line. The number of unaccented syllables is irregular. This system of meter has been in use from the beginnings of English poetry, although overshadowed by accentual-syllabic meter since the Renaissance. It has persisted in popular forms, such as folk ballads and nursery rhymes
alexandrine
uncommon in english poetry, a line of iambic hexameter is often termed an alexandrine. the alexandrine was for centuries the dominant verse form in French poetry, its twelve syllables divided up variously over time, but usually featuring four stresses
allegory
a narrative or image which can be understood on a surface level as well as on a metaphorical level
alliteration
repeated consonant sounds appearing at the beginning of words or stressed syllables
allusion
a passing reference to another cultural text or to a historical figure or event
anacrusis
one or more unaccented syllables falling at the beginning of a line and not counted as part of the poem’s established metrical pattern
anaphora
repetition of a word or phrase, usually at the beginning of a line. This figure can achieve various effects
apostrophe
an address to an absent person, thing, or abstraction
assonance
same or similar vowel sounds repeated in close proximity
avant-garde
French for “advance guard,” the term is used in the arts to describe creative people, movements, and works that are experimental, pushing beyond the limits of established norms
ballad
flourishing in the Renaissance period, the traditional English folk ballad was a single narrative song, transmitted orally, featuring rhymed quatrain stanzas with alternating tetrameter and trimeter lines. The subject matter was commonly tragic, drawn from local history, delivered in the impersonal third person and reflective of popular cultural worldviews rather than an individual perspective
blank verse
unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter. The most widely used verse form in traditional English poetry. Blank verse is the dominant form in Shakespeare’s plays
blazon
popularized by Petrarch, the blazon is a commonplace of Renaissance love poetry in which the speaker enumerates and celebrates the various virtues, primarily physical, of his beloved
caesura
a grammatical pause mid-line, often marked by a period, semicolon, or comma
canon
originally the term referred to a body of texts considered to be authentic. now the term is used more often to refer to a body of writings considered to be the best and most important literary accomplishments of a nation, an era, a genre, etc. Over the past few decades, critics have become increasingly aware of how cultural biases shape literary canons. As a result, received canons are subject to intervention and expansion, including, for example, more women authors and authors of colour
carpe diem
Latin phrase meaning “seize the day.” A shorthand way to refer to the perennial theme, especially prevalent in love poetry, of embracing pleasure while one can in this short life. In Elizabethan poetry, this urgent plea is often expressed by a speaker attempting to persuade a chaste young woman to submit to his advances.
catalectic
in a catalectic line, a final syllable that would normally fulfil the established meter has been dropped (catalexis)
chiasmus
a figure of speech in which the second half reverses the terms of the first
concrete poetry
this mode of poetry makes the most of language as physical material. Pattern poems are organized so that the overall shape of the poem echoes its subject matter. Concrete poetry embraces more than simply shape poems; the term, popularized in the 1950s during a surge of experimental output on an international scale, applies to a wide range of innovative poetry that engages the physicality of language, even down to the level of the letter and punctuation. While definitions shift and overlap, the expression “concrete poetry” in its most generous scope embraces pattern poetry, visual poetry, sound poetry, and new digital forms
confessional poetry
more revealing and detailed in its expression of the self than the poetry that came before
consonance
same or similar consonant sounds repeated in close proximity.
dactylic meter
a meter composed of the following repeated foot: stressed syllable + two unstressed syllables
deconstruction
a theory and practice of literary criticism that proceeds from the notion that language itself is an infinitely unsettled system, so that literary texts cannot be closed, unified, articulable systems we might presume them to be. Deconstructive interpretations seek to unveil in a work the inconsistencies, contradictions and alternate paths of meaning that are always unresolvable. A revolutionary way to explore the instability of textual dynamics
diction
the choice of vocabulary and phrasing in a work, contributing to its tonal effect
ekphrastic poem
an ekphrastic poem responds to another, non-literary work, usually a sculpture or painting
elegy
a formal poem of lament, usually mourning the death of an individual. An important subtype is the pastoral elegy, originated by the ancient Greeks and revived in the Renaissance; the pastoral elegy features shepherds in a Classical rustic setting
elison
the suppression of a vowel or syllable, often to accommodate a metrical scheme
end rhyme
rhyme occurring among the terminal words of lines
enjambment
the carrying over of sense and syntax from the end of one line to the beginning of the next, also referred to as a run-on line
epic
a long narrative poem detailing the adventures of a hero or heroes.
epithalamion (epithalamium)
a poem written in celebration of marriage. originated by Classical poets, the form was taken up with enthusiasm by poets of the Renaissance
euphony
a sonically pleasing quality. a euphonic phrase, thanks to letter combinations and rhythmic profile, is attractive to the ear and generally easy to pronounce
feminine ending
an unstressed terminal syllable
foot
the repeated metrical unit in a line of verse, for example an iamb or dactyl
free verse
the majority of modern and contemporary poetry is written in free verse; unlike most poetry composed before the twentieth century, free verse does not adhere to any fixed meter or rhyme scheme. sound and rhythm usually remain of prime importance in free verse, and patterns appear, but these are unique and organic to the individual poem rather than predetermined
haiku
a short, unrhymed Japanese poem which recounts and invites a moment of acute perception and meditation. natural imagery figures prominently. as adopted by English language practitioners, the haiku usually appears in three lines, with the following syllable counts: 5, 7, 5.. a concise form free of regular rhyme and meter
harlem Renaissance
the explosion of creative and intellectual activity among African Americans before the end of WWI and the Great Depression.
heresy of paraphrase
term introduced by Cleanth Brooks, argues that one cannot paraphrase the full meaning of a poem, invites readers to consider poetry as they would the other arts: “as an experience rather than any mere statement about experience or any mere abstraction from experience”
heroic couplet
a rhyming pair of iambic pentameter lines, the heroic couplet was especially popular during the 18th century
hyperbole
exaggeration, overstatement
iambic meter
a meter composed of the following repeated foot: unstressed syllable + stressed syllable. this foot is called an IAMB
iambic pentameter
lines comprising five imabic feet, one of the most commonly employed meters in English poetry
imagery
a vague and variable but ubiquitous term in literary criticism. generally refers to the non-abstract elements in a poem, particularly those evoking a mental picture, but also those offering other sense-impressions
indeterminacy
undecidability of meaning, the unstable link between text and referent. Characterizes a body of work in which the connections among words on the page, rather than connection between words and their referents, are foregrounded
intentional fallacy
the misguided assumption that a work’s meaning resides within the scope of the author’s intentions. while these intentions (whether stated or divined) can be instructive and interesting, the meaning and import of a text continues to evolve as it passes through different cultural contexts, different critical climates, and different reader’s hands.
intertextuality
a resonant relationship between texts, manifested through citation, allusion, echoing, borrowing, parody, etc. The relationship can be macro or micro. Taken to its logical limits, intertextuality is the condition of all texts; as deconstruction has shown, all words are understood only through their relationships with other words
verbal irony
words of a speaker contradict his or her true feelings or intentions
lineation
the organization of poetry into lines (as opposed to the arbitrary termination of lines of text determined by page margin, as in prose)
lyric
a relatively brief poem featuring a single speaker expressing thought and feelings. appears in many forms, including sonnet, ode, and free verse. in ancient Greece, the lyric was a poem sung to the accompaniment of a lyre
