Poetry Flashcards
form
refers to a poem’s structure or the way the words appear on the page
Ex: concrete, iambic, ode
a line
a basic structural component of a poem
lines can be written in free form, in syllabic form (e.g. haiku) or in metrical form
meter
the syllables you count
metrical lines can vary in length from the monometer to the octameter
regular pattern of rhythm
iambs, trochees, spondees, anapests, & dactyls
a stanza
1+ lines tht make up the basic units of a poem - sep-ed from each other by spacing
stanza forms can be classified by the # of lines they employ e.g. couplet, triplet, quatrain
couplet
a stanza comprising of 2 lines
rhyme
the pattern of rhyming lines in a poem
usually referred to by using letters to idnicate which lines rhyme
Ex: abab indicates 4-line stanza in which the first & 3rd, and 2nd & 4th lines rhyme
end rhyme
a rhyme tht occurs in the last syllables of verses
end of line
internal rhyme
rhyme tht occurs w/in the line
sonnet
14 line poem
usually iambic pentamters consisting of an octave(8 lines) & a sextet(6 lines); octave presetns & develops the theme while the sextet reflects & brings the poem to a conclusion
Italian or Petrarchan sonnet
a-b-b-a, a-b-b-a, c-d-e, c-d-e
the sonnet was originated by the Italian poet Guittone of Arezza & then popularized by Petrarch (1304-74).
the term sonnet derives from Italian for “little song”
Shakespearean or English sonnet
a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g
essentially consists of 3 quatrians & a final couplet & usually features a break b/w the octave & the sextet
free verse
verse w/out formal meter/rhyme patterns
instead relies upon the natural rhythms of everyday speech
diff from blank verse, which has a specific pattern
scansion
marking stressed syllables / and unstressed syllables x
a foot
one stressed syllable & 1/2 unstressed syllables
a lot of irregularities tho
each unit of rhythm
Each poem contains a certain # of ft of iabms, trochees, spondees, dactyls, or anapests.
1 = monometer
2 = dimeter
3 = trimeter
4 = tetrameter
5 = pentameter
6 = hexameter
7 = heptameter
8 = octameter
the # of syllables in a line varies therefore according to the meter
iambic
x /
Ex: That time of year thou mayst in me behold (iambic pentameter)
trochaic
/ x
Ex: Tell me not in mournful numbers (trochaic tetrameter)
spondaic
/ /
Break, break, break/ On thy cold gray stones, O Sea! (irregular)
heartbreak
football
anapestic
x x /
Ex: And the sound of a voice that is **still **(anapestic trimeter)
dactylic
/ x x
This is the forest primeval, the murmuring pines and the hemlock (trochee replaces final dactyl, dactylic hexameter)
figurative language
language that uses words beyond their literal meaning, often comparing 2 very diff things
Ex: The sun smiled kindly on us. (sun & kind person)
simile
a comparison b/w 2 unlike things, using the word like or as
Ex: The clouds are like graywhales.
metaphor
a comparison b/w 2 unlike things, not using the word like or as
Ex: The waves are glass mountains.
personification
a desc. of an obj, an animal, a place, or an idea in human terms
Ex: “This poem has taken many victims.”
hyperbole
an exaggeration for emphasis or human effect
“The hunger of this poem is legendary.”
sound devices
ways of using the sounds of words to create special effects, such as through rhythm, rhyme, and repetition
alliteration
repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words
Ex: smooth, slippery stones
not the letter but the sound
“Which circle slowly with a silken swish”
assonance
repetition of vowel sounds in words that don’t end with the same consonant
Ex: wild night ride
“Words shy and dappled deep-eyed deer in herds”
consonance
repetition of consonance sounds w/in & @ the end of words
ending of verbs & truly plural don’t count - must be intentional
“Whose nest is from the watered shoot”
repetition
a sound, word, phrase, or line that is repeated for emphasis & unity
anaphora
“Back off from this poem
It has drawn in yr feet
Back off from this poem”
speaker
the “voice” that the reader hears in a poem
similar to narrator
onomatopoeia
words have sounds that echo their meaning
Ex: buzz, gargle
haiku
a Japanese poem
17 syllables, in 3 lines of 5, 7, & 5
telegraphic sentence
5 words/fewer
tricolon
3 things in a row
present participles
end in -ing
Ex: jumping, burning, speaking
past participles
usually end in -ed, -t, or -en
Ex: jumped, burnt, spoken
participles
verbs acting as adjectives
aren’t preceded by an auxiliary verb!
participle phrases
participles can combine w/ other words into these
they act as adj’s
Ex: Rejected by all his friends, he decided to become a monk.
infinitives & infinitive phrases
a verbal construction made up of the particle to and the base form of a verb, w/ or w/out modifiers & obj’s
can function as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb
Ex: to be, to have, to command
prepositions & prepositional phrases
a group of words made up of a prep, its obj, & any of the obj’s modifiers
can modify nouns, verbs, phrases, & complete clauses
can be embedded inside other prep phrases
