Poetry Terms to Know Flashcards
allusion
a reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art
assonance
the repetition of a vowel sounds in a series of non-rhyming words
blank verse
poetry written in unrhymed, iambic penatemeter
consonance
repetition of consonant sounds within words
couplet
a pair of successive lines of verse, especially a part that rhyme and are of the same length
enjambment
the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza
free verse
a poem without regular rhyme or meter
imagery
eliciting images in the reader’s mind through sensory and concrete details
structure
the arrangement of words and lines in a poem
- line: similar to a sentence in poetry
- stanza: a group of lines separated from other liens by breaks in the poem. similar to a paragraph
- meter: using a set number of syllables in each line
onomatopoeia
words that replicate sound
personification
attributing human characteristics to non-human objects/ideas
repetiton
the technique of repeating important lines, words, or phrases of a poem for effect
end rhyme
rhyme at the end of lines
internal rhyme
rhyme within lines
near rhyme (slant rhyme)
words that nearly rhyme
- is done for a purpose
- may actually rhyme in the dialect of the author
simile
comparison of tow things using like or as
speaker
the voice talking to the reader
symbol
an object or idea that represents or stand for something else, especially a material object representing something abstract
theme
central idea of a piece
tone
how the author feels about the subject
irony
the contrast between expectations and reality
- situational irony: we expect a situation to go one way, and it goes another
- verbal irony: what is said is different or opposite from what is meant
- dramatic irony: the reader knows something the characters don’t know
amber dashed down the dark, deserted hallway
alliteration
what time of day will you come? i want to see you soon
free verse
stanza
a group of lines separated from other lines by breaks in the poem
meter
using a set number of syllables in each line
i’ll walk with you in rain or shine, if only you would please be mine
end rhyme
