Poetry Definitions Flashcards
Rhyme
Correspondence of sound between the endings of two or more words OR metrical lines such that the syllables involved carry identical vowel sounds and have (if present) identical final consonants.
Rhythm
Senses relating to a regularly repeated pattern of sound or movement.
Iambic Pentameter
A rhyme scheme in which each line consists of ten syllables. The syllables are divided into five pairs called iambs or iambic feet.
Iamb
A metrical unit made up of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable.
Irony
The expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.
Sonnet
A piece of verse (properly expressive of one main idea) consisting of fourteen lines with ten syllables each, with rhymes arranged according to certain definite schemes
Shakespearian Sonnet
Fourteen lines.
Frst twelve lines are divided into three quatrains with four lines each. In the three quatrains the poet establishes a theme or problem and then resolves it in the final two lines, called the couplet. The rhyme scheme of the quatrains is abab cdcd efef. The couplet has the rhyme scheme gg.
Quatrain
A stanza of four lines,especiallyone having alternate rhymes; four lines of verse
Ballad
a poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas. Usually unknown authorship. Stories passed down generations in some cultures
Imagery
to use figurative language to represent objects, actions, and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses.
Symbolism
the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities
Symbols
a thing that represents or stands for something other than it’s literal meaning, especially a material object representing something abstract
Theme
the subject of a talk, a piece of writing, a person’s thoughts, or an exhibition: a broad topic
Internal Rhyme
a rhyme involving a word in the middle of a line and another at the end of the line or in the middle of the next
Enjambment
the running over of a sentence or phrase from one poetic line to the next, without the terminal punctuation. No pause at end of line
End-Stopped
a metrical line of verse ending at a grammatical boundary or breaks- a dash or closing parenthesis- or with punctuation such as a colon semicolon or a period. A line is considered end-stopped if it contains a complete phrase
Metaphor
a comparison that is made directly or indirectly but without pointing out a similarity by using “like”, as or “than”.
Simile
a comparison made with “as”, “like” or “than”
Anaphora
the deliberate repetition of the first part of a sentence or line to achieve an artistic effect
Personification
a figure of speech in which a thing, an idea, or an animal is given human attributes. The non-human objects are portrayed in such a way that we feel they have the ability to act like human beings.
Nonsense Verse
makes use of nonsense words: words without a clear meaning or any meaning at all, whimsical and humorous in tone, and normally having a very obvious rhyme or rhythm.
Satire
the use of humour, irony, exaggeration or ridicule to expose and criticise people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues
