Poetry Terms (all 47) Flashcards
Elegy
Work of literature or music written to mourn a loss (Example: “Oh Captain! My Captain!” written to mourn Lincoln’s death).
Imagery
Any part of a poem or any other work that appeals to the senses in a way to create a vivid or emotionally resonant picture.
Anaphora
The repetition of short words or phrases at the beginning of successive lines/sentences to enhance rhythm and emotion.
Repetition
When a word or phrase is used multiple time to produce rhythmic emphasis.
Petrarchan Sonnet
Type of sonnet with fourteen lines divided into an octave (8 lines, ABBAABBA pattern), followed by a sestet (6 lines) with either a CDECDE or CDCDCD rhyme scheme.
Shakespearian Sonnet
A sonnet written iambic pentameter made up of three quatrains (4-line stanzas) and one couplet at the end.
Allusion
Unexplained reference to someone or something outside the story.
Extended Metaphor
A metaphor (figuratively comparing two unrelated things) that extends over multiple lines/stanzas.
Metaphor
Direct statement/comparison between two unlike things that highlights one shared quality
Synecdoche
Figure of speech where a part is used to represent a whole
Metonymy
Figure of speech in which a related term is substituted for the word itself
Slant rhyme
Rhyme scheme with words that sound similar but not exactly the same
End rhyme
The rhyming of final syllables in two or more lines of poetry (does not have to be consecutive lines)
Motif
Recurring image, idea, or theme reinforcing a central message (usually throughout the whole poem)
Ode
Type of poem generally written to praise and address a subject
Pathetic Fallacy
The attribution of human emotion to inanimate objects, nature, and animals
Anthropomorphism
The attribution of human characteristics, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities/objects
Catalog
Collection of people, objects, ideas, and other elements in a list-form within poetry
Stanza
Group of lines within a poem
Couplet
Two lines of poetry that usually rhyme
Euphony
Combining of words to form pleasing sounds
Cacophony
Combinations of words that sound harsh when they’re together
Meter
The poem’s rhythmic structure or pattern of emphasis.
Caesura
Break or pause in a line of a poem often used to get the attention of a viewer or for dramatic effect
Understatement
Figure of speech where a writer makes a situation seem less intense or significant
Hyperbole
A literary device using exaggeration to an extreme to emphasize the text
Conceit
Type of figurative language in which a writer establishes a comparison between two very different subjects
Onomatopoeia
A literary device that uses or creates words that imitates or creates a sound
Dactylic Foot
A metrical foot consisting of a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables (BOOM-ba-ba)
Trochaic Foot
A metrical foot composed of one stressed and one unstressed syllable (BOOM-ba)
Anapestic Foot
A metrical foot composed of two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable (ba-ba-BOOM)
Iambic Foot
A metrical foot consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable (ba-BOOM)
Enjambment
The continuation of a phrase or sentence from one line to the next without any punctuation
Oxymoron
Words or phrases that when placed together create contradictions (old news, deafening silence, organized chaos)
Paradox
A statement that appears to have contradictions at the surface level but has deeper meanings
Free verse
A poetic style that doesn’t follow a set meter or rhyme scheme
Verbal irony
Where a person says one thing but actually means the opposite, tends to be expressing humor, frustration, or anger
Situational irony
When an outcome for a situation is contrary to what is expected
Dramatic irony
When the reader or audience knows more than the characters they were following
Alliteration
The repetition of the beginning consonant/vowel sounds in multiple words across a line, sentence, or phrase
Consonance
The repetition of consonant sounds in adjacent or in nearby words
Assonance
The repetition of vowel sounds in adjacent or nearby words
Apostrophe
When a speaker addresses an absent person or non-human object, idea, or being
Zeugma
Figure of speech using one word to modify two others in two different ways (She broke his car and his heart)
Synesthesia
A blending of different senses for dramatic effect (“Bitter cold” “Loud dress” “Chilly gaze”)
Internal Rhyme
Internal rhyme is rhyme that occurs in the middle of lines of poetry, instead of at the ends of lines.
Juxtaposition
A literary device that places contrasting elements side by side to highlight their differences
