poetry terms Flashcards
alliteration
using the same sound at the beginning of two words
allusion
reference to something outside of the poem itself
anaphora
repetition of a certain word or phrase usually at the beginning of the line
apostrophe
when the author is talking to someone in the poem that is not the reader
assonance
related to alliteration and is the repetition of vowel sounds
consonance
repetition of consonant sounds
beat
a syllable
caesura
a natural pause in language
couplet
a stanza with two lines
elegy
written for someone dead or gone
stanza
similar to a paragraph it is a collection of lines usually with a break before or after
enjambment
a line that has no punctuation mark or pause at the end of it
epigraph
a quote from something else usually right after the title
free verse
a poem with no set form
imagery
uses or employs one or all of the five senses
metaphor
the juxtaposition of two or more lines
meter
the rhythm of a line
negative capability
capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason
ode
a love letter to a thing, tend to be reflective on something
persona
a character or state of being that the writer is trying to embody in his writing
quatrain
a four line stanza
refrain
repeated line, stanza or expression
simile
a comparison using like or as, describing something more precisely
slant rhyme
words that sound like they rhyme but they do not actually, creates more of a flow, pleasing and inventive
sonnet
a type of poem that is 14 lines and follows a specific meter
speaker
the persona of the poem
strophe
any type of turn that has the poem take on a different kind of direction
symbolism
uses objects, people, or actions to represent more than their literal meaning
synecdoche
where a part represents the whole (wheels representing car)
tercet
three line poem
tone
has to do with the poet’s voice, emotional quality behind the words
