Poetry Terms Flashcards
Poem
Where the poet chooses and arranges words to create a strong feeling through meaning, sound, and rhythm.
Lines
Rows of words in a poem
Stanzas
A group of lines set apart by spaces.
Rhyme
Words with the same ending sound. Ex. Cat, mat, hat, and sat.
Rhyme scheme
The ending of certain lines rhyme with each other. Ex. abab
Blah blah blah cat
Blah blah blah sip
Blah blah blah mat
Blah blah blah tip
Rhythm
Create the “beat” of the poem
Meter
A recurring pattern
Repetition
Repeating of words or lines in poetry.
Alliteration
The repetition of an initial consonant sound. Ex. Baby bay blue.
Simile
A comparison that uses like or as. Ex. The treetops reached as high as the sky.
Metaphor
A comparison that DOESNT use like or as. Ex. The table was nut, not crackable.
Personification
Human qualities to a nonliving thing. Ex. The sun glared at me when I said it was too bright.
Symbolism
The use of an image or thing to stand for something else. Ex. Susie’s boyfriend gave her 12 red roses to show his love. Meaning roses symbolize love.
Allusion
A reference to another book, movie, poem etc. Ex. I came in like a wrecking ball!
Point of view
The position from which the speaker tells a story. 1st person (me, myself, and I) 2nd Person (you) and 3rd person (He/she, they).
Speaker
The narrator of a story. Ex. Narrator part in play.
Theme
The central idea that the poem has.
Tone
The mood the speaker sets. Playful, angry, melancholy etc.
Lyric poem
A short poem that is like a song. Ex. Roar by Katy Perry.
Ode
A poem that has two or more stanzas with similar structures.
Haiku
A short poem with three lines with syllables 5-7-5. Ex.
I tend my garden
As a meditation. Hope
In a broken world
Sonnet
A poem that has 14 lines with 10-12 syllables per line.
Ballad
A short poem with stanzas of 2 or 4 lines and a refrain that repeats.
Free verse
A poem that does not follow any rules of rhythm or rhyme.
