Poetry structure terms Flashcards
Blank verse
A poem written in iambic pentameter (10 syllables per line) but doesn’t
rhyme
Caesura
A natural pause or break in a line of poetry, usually near the middle of the line.
End stopped
The opposite of enjambment. End-stopped is where each line has a full
stop after it. It is short and punchy and does not flow very well.
Enjambment
Where there is no punctuation at the end of a line of poetry, so you keep
reading onto the next line, and the meaning continues too. Makes it flow from one line to the
next.
Free verse
A poem which has no regular rhythm or rhyme scheme
Iambic pentameter
5 pairs of ‘de dum’ beats in a line of poetry (equalling 10 syllables
in total)
Metre
The rhythmic arrangement of syllables in a line or verse of poetry (another word
for rhythm – ‘the metre of the poem is…’
Narrative persona
The persona is the invented voice which presents a narrative — the
‘I’ of a narrative which is not necessarily the voice of the author
Narrative voice
The narrative voice is the voice which ‘tells’ a story. Some narratives
are third-person (he/she/they) while others are first-person
Refrain
A phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated throughout a poem, usually after
every stanza – kind of like the chorus of a song
Rhyme
The occurrence of the same or similar sounds at the end of two or more words.
The pattern of rhyme in a stanza or poem is shown usually by using a different letter for each
final sound. In a poem with an aabba rhyme scheme, the first, second, and fifth lines end in
one sound, and the third and fourth lines end in another.
Rhyme structure
The pattern that is made by the rhyme within each stanza or verse.
Eg abab, aabb
Rhyming couplets
In a poem, a pair of lines that are the same length and (usually)
rhyme and form a complete thought. Shakespearean sonnets usually end in a couplet
Rhythm
The pattern of pulsed beats within a line or stanza of poetry
Stanza
– The posh word for a verse, the way a poem is divided into chunks of lines
