Poetry Terms Flashcards
Alliteration
Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, doubting dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.
Hyperbole
A figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated for emphasis or humorous effect
My books weighed a ton.
Idiom
Common figure of speech whose meaning is different from the literal meaning of its words.
It’s raining cats and dogs
Metaphor
Figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things that are basically unalienable but gave something in common without using like or as.
My dog is an angel
Personification
Figure of speech in which human qualities are given to an object, animal, or idea
The grey-eyed morn smiles on the frowning night.
Internal rhyme (need example)
Similar sounds within lines
Slant rhyme- or approximate rhyme
rhyme in which either the vowels or the consonants of stressed syllables are identical
eyes, light; years, yours.
End rhyme (need example)
Similar sounds at the ends of lines
Exact rhyme
Two or more words have identical sounds in their final stressed syllables
yams and hams
Rhymes (need example)
A pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.
Rhyme scheme
A regular pattern of rhyme
A
B
C
B
iambic pentameter
To describe what you find
Meter- (reSiŚT)
Number of feet- pentameter (5)
Repetition
A sound, word, phrase or line that is repeated for emphasis or unity
Back off from this poem
It has drawn in yr feet
Back off from this poem
Pun
A joke that comes from a play on words.
Words have multiple meanings
Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a GRAVE man.
Grave means solemn, and tomb
Blank Verse
Unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter. Imitates the natural rhymes of the English speech.
But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is east, and Juliet is the sun!
Blank verse has rhythm but no rhyme
Free Verse- free of rhyme and rhythm
Poetry that does not contain regular patters of rhythm or rhyme
The hunger of this poem is legendary It has taken in many victims Back off from this poem It has drawn in yr feet Back off from this poem It has drawn in yr legs
Onomatopoeia
Use of words whose sounds echo their meaning
Buzz, whisper, gargle, murmur, pop, crackle
Lyric poem
Short poem in which a single speaker expresses personal thoughts or feelings
“Theme fro English B” by Langston Hughes
Epic
A long narrative poem on a serious subject, presented in an elevated or formal style. Universal concerns such as, good evil, life death.
The odyssey
Sonnet
Lyric poem of 14 lines, commonly written in iambic pentameter. Consists of three quatrains, or four-line in its, and a final couplet.
Ballad
Type of narrative poem that tells a story and was originally meant to be sung or recited. It has a setting, plot, and characters.
Simile
Figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unalike things, using the words like or as.
My heart is like a singing bird
Oxymoron
Special kind of concise paradox that brings together two contradictory terms.
Bright smoke, brawling love, loving hate, pretty ugly.
Paradox
Seemingly contradictory or absurd statement that may nonetheless suggest important truth.
I found the treasure and it was hidden in plain sight.
Archetype
A pattern in literature that is found in a variety of works from different cultures through the ages
Can be a plot, character, image, or setting
Association of death and rebirth with winter and spring.
The hero and villain, side kick.
