Poetry Terms Definitions Flashcards
Alliteration
The repetition of the same or similar sounds at the beginning of words
Accent
The prominence or emphasis given to a syllable or word.
Anapest
A metrical foot of three syllables, two short (unstressed) followed by one long (stressed).
Antithesis
A figure of speech in which words and phrases with opposite meanings are balanced against each other
Apostrophe
Words that are spoken to a person who is absent/imaginary.
Assonance
The repetition or a pattern of similar sounds
Ballad
A poem that tells a story similar to a folk tale or legend and often has a repeated refrain
Ballade
A type of poem, usually with three stanzas of seven, eight or ten lines and a shorter final stanza of four of five lines. All stanzas end with the same one-line refrain.
Blank verse
Poverty that is written in unrhymed iambic pentameter
Caesura
A natural pause or break in a line of poetry, usually near the middle of the line
Carpe diem
A Latin expression that means “seize the day”. Carpe diem poems urge the reader to live for today
Classicism
The principles and ideals of beauty that are characteristic of Greek and Roman art, architecture and literature.
Conceit
A fanciful poetic image or metaphor that likens one thing to something else that is seemingly very different
Consonance
The repetition of similar consonant sounds, especially at the ends of words.
Couplet
In a poem, a pair of lines that are the same length and usually rhyme and form a complete thought.
