Poetry Terms Flashcards
anastrophe.
A rhetorical term for the inversion of the normal order of the parts of a sentence. Writers, especially poets, use anastrophe to place emphasis on a word or idea
apostrophe.
The device, usually in poetry, of calling out to an imaginary, dead, or absent person, or to a place, thing, or personified abstraction either to begin a poem or to make a dramatic break in thought somewhere within the poem
assonance.
The close repetition of middle vowel sounds between different consonant sounds: fade/pale
cacophony.
Harsh, clashing, or dissonant sounds, often produced by combinations of words that require a clipped, explosive delivery
caesura.
A pause within a line of poetry, often resulting from the natural rhythm of language and not necessarily indicated by punctuation
conceit.
An elaborate figure of speech comparing two very dissimilar things
consonance.
The close repetition of identical consonant sounds before and after differing vowel sounds: leave/love, short/shirt
denotation
The precise, literal meaning of a word, without emotional associations or overtones
enjambment.
The carrying of sense and grammatical structure in a poem beyond the end of one line, couplet, or stanza and into the next. Enjambment occurs with the use of run-on lines
euphony.
A succession of sweetly melodious sounds; the opposite of cacophony.
Homeric epithet
A hyphenated adjective used repeatedly in conjunction with the same noun, so as to form a unit of expression
kenning.
A metaphoric compound word or phrase used as a synonym for a common noun
metonymy.
A figure of speech that substitutes the name of a related object, person, or idea for the subject at hand
parallelism.
The technique of showing that words, phrases, clauses, or larger structures are comparable in content and importance by placing them side by side and making them similar in form.
synechdoche.
A figure of speech in which a part of something stands for the whole thing
scansion.
Analyzing the meter in lines of poetry by counting and marking the accented and unaccented syllables, dividing the lines into metrical feet, and showing the major pauses, if any, within the line.
foot.
The basic unit of rhythmic measurement in a line of poetry. A foot consists of at least one accented (stressed) syllable and one or more unaccented (unstressed) syllables
iambic foot.
one unaccented syllable followed by one accented syllable
trochee (trochaic foot)
one accented syllable followed by one unaccented syllable:
anapest (anapestic foot)
two unaccented syllables followed by one accented syllable
dactyl (dactylic foot)
one accented syllable followed by two unaccented syllables:
spondee (spondaic foot)
two accented syllables
meter
The fixed (or nearly fixed) pattern of accented and unaccented syllables in the lines of a poem that produces its pervasive rhythm.
blank verse
Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. Blank verse should not be confused with free verse. It is “blank” only in the sense that its lines do not rhyme; it is not metrically blank
couplet
Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme and that are written to the same meter, or pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables
elegy
A poem of sorrow or mourning for the dead; also a reflective poem in a solemn or sorrowful mood.
free verse
it is “free” of the regular beat of meter, depending instead on the individual poet’s sensitivity to the music of natural speech rhythms. Free verse lacks rhyme and often has irregular line lengths and fragmentary syntax.
idyll.
A short descriptive and narrative piece, usually a poem, about picturesque country life, an idealized story of happy innocence
ode.
A long and elaborate lyric poem
sonnet
A fourteen-line lyric poem in iambic pentameter.
villanelle
A lyric poem made up of five stanzas of three lines (tercets), plus a final stanza of four lines (quatrain). In the tercets, the rhyme scheme is aba; in the quatrain, it is abaa
ballad
A simple narrative poem, often incorporating dialogue that is written in quatrains, generally with a rhyme scheme of ABCD.
Ballad meter
a four-line stanza rhymed abcd with four feet in lines 1 and 3 and three feet in lines 2 and 4
Blank Verse
unrhymed iambic pentameter
blank verse
unrhymed iambic pentameter
Caesura
a pause within a line of poetry, usually marked by a piece of punctuation
Dactyl
a metrical foot composed of an accented syllable followed by two unaccented syllables
End-stopped
a line of poetry with a pause at the end of the line
Enjambement/enjambment
a line of poetry which runs on into the next line because it has no punctuation at the end of the first line
free verse
poetry not written in a tradtional meter but is still rhythmical
hexameter
a line cotaining six feet
Iamb
a metrical foot composed of an unaccented syllable followed by an accented syllable; the most common foot in English poetry
metrical terms
alliteration,assonance,ballad meter,blank verse,dactyl,end-stopped,free verse,….
sonnet
normally a 14-line iambic pentameter poem
Stanza
usually a repeated grouping of three or more lines with the same meter and rhyme scheme
terza rima
a three line stanza rhymed aba,bcb,cdc
Tetrameter
a line of four feet
