Poetry Glossary Flashcards
Anaphora
The repetition of the same word or expression at the beginning of successive
phrases, clauses, sentences or lines.
Alliteration
The repetition of the same consonant sounds at any place, but often at the
beginning of words.
Assonance
The repetition of a pattern of the same vowel sounds.
Caesura
A pause in a line of verse, usually denoted by the use of punctuation
Conceit
An extended metaphor that runs throughout a poem and dominates its meaning.
Couplet
A pair of lines that are the same length and (usually) rhyme.
Elegy
A poem that laments the death of a person, or one that is simply sad and thoughtful.
Enjambment
A sentence in a poem which straddles two lines. There is no punctuation used between the two lines.
Feminine rhyme
A rhyme that ends with a final unstressed syllable, e.g. pleasure/leisure, longing, yearning.
Hyperbole
Deliberate exaggeration that is used for emphasis.
Imagery
The use of pictures, figures of speech and description in words to evoke ideas, feelings, objects, states of mind, etc.
Litotes
A figure of speech in which a positive is stated by negating its opposite, e.g. no small victory, not a bad idea.
Masculine rhyme
A rhyme that ends with a final stressed syllable, e.g. cat/hat, desire/fire, observe/deserve.
Metaphor
The comparison of two things, usually by
saying one thing is another or by substituting a more descriptive word for the
more usual or common one that would be expected, e.g. all the world’s a stage, he
was a lion in battle, drowning in debt, a sea
of troubles.
Metre
The measurement of the rhythm in poetry.
Narrative
A poem that tells a story
Onomatopoeia
Words which imitate sounds, e.g. buzz, hiss, zing, pop, splat, thump, etc.
Personification
Non-human objects or abstract ideas which are given human attributes, e.g. the sky is crying, blind justice.
Refrain
A phrase, line or group of lines that is repeated throughout a poem, usually after every stanza.
Rhetorical question
A question which is asked simply for effect and to which no answer is expected.
Rhyme scheme
The pattern that is made by the rhyme within each stanza.
Simile
Comparison of two things using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’, e.g. the sun looked like a bowl of custard, he is as tall as a tree.
Stanza
Two or more lines of poetry that together form one of the divisions of a poem.
Stress
The emphasis placed on certain syllables.
Symbol
When a word, phrase or image represents
an idea or theme, e.g. a red rose could symbolise romantic love.
Tone
The poet’s or speaker’s attitude towards the subject of the poem. Tone can also
refer to the overall mood of the poem.
