Poetry Terminology Flashcards
Internal Rhyme
A word inside a line rhymes with another word on the same line.
“I went to town to buy a gown.”
Slant Rhyme
The words share EITHER the same vowel or consonant sound but NOT BOTH.
Hot/Mat
Hat/Mad
End-Stopped Lines
A natural break at the end. Reflects normal speech patterns and are often marked by punctuation.
Enjambment
A line ends without a pause and continues into the next line for its MEANING. A run-on line.
Reasons for Enjambment
- Force the reader to keep reading into the next line or stanza.
- Determine a line length, then make one line shorter or longer for EMPHASIS.
- Inject surprise by placing an unexpected word at the beginning of a line.
- Conclude the line with single-syllable words.
- Create a pattern, and then break it to add EMPHASIS.
Elision
The omission of unstressed syllables, usually to fit a metrical scheme. Used for rhythm.
Ere = ever
t’other = the other
Diction
The style of speaking or writing, determined by the choice of words by a speaker or writer.
Musical diction, violent diction
*use diction with adjective
Alliteration
Consonant sounds repeated at the beginnings of words.
Peter picked a pepper.
Consonance
The repeated consonant sounds can be anywhere in the words.
Assonance
Repeated VOWEL sounds in a line or lines of poetry.
Questions to ask yourself after identifying Alliteration, Consonance, Assonance
Do the sounds identified convey harmony, beauty, calm, peace?
Do the sounds identified help convey disorder, chaos, danger?
Couplet.
A two line stanza.
Triplet
A three line stanza.
Quatrain
A four line stanza.
Lyric poetry
A short poem written in first person. Expresses emotion or idea or describes a scene. Does not tell a story.
Narrative poetry
A poem that tells a story.
Free verse poetry
NO repeating patterns. NO rhyme. Sounds conversational. Modern type of poetry.
Occasional poetry
A poem written to describe or comment on a particular. Often written for a public reading.
Euphony
A series of musically pleasant sounds. A sense of harmony and beauty. e.g. l, m, n, r, y
Cacophony
A series of unpleasant discordant sounds. A sense of disorder. e.g. p, b, d, g, k, ch, sh.
Style
The poet’s individual style. Determined by choices in diction, figurative language, rhetorical devices, sounds, and rhythmic patterns.
Tone
The poet’s or persona’s attitude in style or expression toward the subject. eg. loving, ironic, bitter, pitying, fanciful, solemn. Overall mood of the poem, intended to influence readers’ emotional response.
Dramatic convention
Techniques and methods used by playwright and director to create the desired stylistic effect.
Genre
Type of play.
Comedy, tragedy. mystery, historical, etc/
