Poetry Terms Flashcards
What is a simile?
To say something is like something else.
Eg. Her voice is like velvety chocolate.
What is a metaphor?
To say something is something else.
Eg. The monster is a megaphone.
What is caesura?
It is a pause in the middle of a verse, often marked as ||
What is enjambment?
Enjambment is when one sentence goes over multiple lines.
Eg.
After dark
when the cars park
and the streets are quiet
Fox comes
loping calmly over the wall.
What is tonal shift?
It is when poets shift the mood in the poem with ‘but’, ‘yet’ or ‘therefore’.
What is iambic pentameter?
A line in poetry consisting of ten syllables with a particular pattern of stressed/unstressed syllables.
What is personification?
Personification is when non-human objects perform a human action.
Eg. The trees were howling in the wind.
What is alliteration?
When the first phonic of multiple consecutive words is the same.
Eg. The powerful, pink pirhana pair’s place.
What is a rhyme scheme?
The sequence of which lines in a poem end with the same or similar phonic. If the first and third line rhyme and the second and fourth line rhyme, the rhyme scheme would be ABAB.
What is rhythm?
Rhythm in poetry is the pattern of stresses within a line.
What is repetition?
Repetition is when a certain line is repeated for a certain effect.
What is an onomatopoeia?
An onomatopoeia is any sort of written out sound.
Eg. While the students were doing work, there was a sudden BANG in the science lab next door.
What is slang?
Slang in poetry contains words that are very specific to a region and time.
Eg. (In modern days) Dope, cancel, lit
What is colloquial language?
Colloquial language, or colloquialism, is a literacy device utilizing informal words/phrases.
What is nonsensical language in poetry?
It is a form of literature that makes no sense and usually employs rhythm and rhyme.
