Poetry Technical Terms Flashcards
Alliteration
The repetition of the same consonant sound in successive words
Allusion
An indirect reference to any person, place or thing
Anastrophe
The inversion of the proper word order for rhetorical effect
Apostrophe
A way of addressing someone or something invisible or not ordinarily spoken to
Assonance
The repetition of a vowel sound
Caesura
A break or pause in the middle of a line of poetry
Simile
A comparison using like or as
Metaphor
An implied or directly stated comparison using is
Connotation
Overtones or suggestions of additional meaning that is gained from all its contexts
Couplet
A two-lined stanza, usually rhymed
End-stopped
A line that ends in a full pause, usually marked by some form of punctuation
Enjambment
The continuation of the meaning of the line beyond the end of a line of verse and into the next. It is sometimes called a Run-on line – a line that does not end in punctuation and is, therefore, read with only a slight pause before going on to the next line
Euphony
Where the sounds of the words work together with meaning pleases the mind and ear
Hyperbole
Overstatement, exaggerating
Imagery
A word or sequence of words that refers to any sensory experience: sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste (visual imagery, auditory imagery, tactile imagery)
