Poetry Terms Flashcards
situational irony
incongruity between what is expected to happen and what actually happens
verbal irony
a figure of speech that occurs when a person says one thing but means the opposite
dramatic irony
a discrepancy between what a character believes or says and what the reader or audience member knows to be true
cosmic irony
the use of god, destiny, or after to dash the hopes and expectations of a character of humankind in general
elegy
a mournful, contemplative lyric poem written to commemorate someone who is dead, often ending in a consolation
ode
a relatively lengthy lyric poem that often expresses loft emotions in a dignified style. characterized by a serious topic such as truth, art, freedom, justice, or the meaning of life; their tone tends to be formal
parody
a humorous imitation of another, usually serious, work. it can take any fixed or open form because the parodists imitate the tone language, and shape of the original in order to deflate the subject matter, making the original work seem absurd.
Stanza
consists of grouping of lines, set off by a space, that usually has a set pattern of meter and rhyme
rhymes scheme
the pattern of end rhymes
couplet
consists of two lines that usually have rhyme and have the same space meter
meter
when a rhythmic pattern of stresses recurs in a poem. they are determined by the type and number of feet in a line of verse. there is rising, which moves from unstressed to stressed sounds, and falling, which refers to metrical feet that move from stressed to unstressed sounds.
iambic pentameter
is a metrical pattern in poetry that consists of five iambic feet per line (an iamb, or iambic foot, consists of one unstressed syllable followed by a stresses syllable)
blank verse
unrhymed iambic pentameter. this is in the English verse is closest to the natural rhythms of English speech and therefore is the most common pattern found in traditional english narrative and dramatic poetry (used heavily in Shakespeare)
italian sonnet
a sonnet is lyrical poetry of 14 lines written in iambic pentameter. (also known as a petrarchan sonnet, the italian sonnet is divided into an octave with the abba abba rhyme scheme. the sonnet often introduces a situation which is resolved by the subsequent sestet - cdecde/cdcdcd
english sonnet
also known as the Shakespearean sonnet, it is organized into three quatrains and a couplet, following the abab, cdcd, efef, gg pattern. it is best fit to the English language in terms of thematic ideas, break between the quatrains and couplets and flow of speech.
sestina
39 lines total with 6 sestets (6 lined stanza) and 3 line concluding stanza (envoy). the last 6 words in every line of the first stanza are repeated in the following sestets in varying order and in the 3 liens of the envoy.
villanelle
19 line poem with 5 tercets (3 lined stanza) and a quatrain (4 line stanza). they have rhymes of the first and third lines (aba format) which is then followed in each subsequent line. and also followed in the quatrain in the last two lines (abaa) 1st and third line are also repeated throughout the poem
ballad
traditionally a ballad is a song, passed form generation to generation, which makes it difficult to trace the ballad back to one author.group of authors, they contain dramatic aspects, are usually somewhat condensed and imperson narratives.
epigram
normally written in couplets, they are witty, brief poems, usually making a satiric or humorous point.
free verse
also referred to as open form poetry, this form takes on no “expected” patterns such as meter, rhyme, and stanza. this type of poetry uses speech patterns, grammar, emphasis, and breath pauses to create line breaks.
formal diction
a dignified, impersonal and elevated use of language; it follows the rules of syntax exactly and is often characterized by complex words and lofty tone
informal diction
the plain language of everyday talk and often includes idiomatic expressions, slang, contraction, and many simple, common words
colloquial diction
a type of informal diction that reflects casual, conversational language and often includes slang expressions, abbreviations, and other phrases that are known to native speakers of a dialect.
visual imagery
utilizing descriptive qualities of how something looks to create an image in the reader’s head
auditory imagery
utilizing descriptions of what is heard to appeal to a reader’s sense of hearing
olfactory imagery
utilizing descriptions of what is smelled to appeal to reader’s sense of smell
tactile imagery
utilizing descriptions of what is felt to appeal to a reader’s sens of touch
gustatory imagery
utilizing descriptions of taste to appeal to a reader’s sense of taste
pun
play on words, it rely’s on words having more than one definition or sounding like another word