Structure Flashcards
alliteration
repetition at close intervals of the initial consonant sounds of accented syllables or important words (for example, map-moon, kill-code, preach-approve)
anapest
metrical foot consisting of two unaccented syllables followed by one accented syllable (for example, understand)
anapestic meter
a meter in which a majority of the feet are anapests
approximate rhyme
(imperfect rhyme, near rhyme, slant rhyme, or oblique rhyme)
term used for words in a rhyming pattern that have some kind of sound correspondence but are not perfect rhymes (for example, arrayed-said)
assonance
repetition at close intervals of the vowel sounds of accented syllables or important words (for example, hat-ran-amber, vein-made)
ballad meter
stanzas formed of quatrains of iambs in which the first and third lines have four stresses (tetrameter) and the second and fourth lines have three stresses (trimeter). usually the second and fourth lines rhyme (abcb), although ballad meter is often not followed strictly
blank verse
poetry with a meter, but not rhymed, usually in iambic pentameter
consonance
repetition at close intervals of the final consonant sounds of accented syllables or important words (for example, book-plaque-thicker)
couplet
two successive lines, usually in the same meter, linked my rhyme
dactyl
metrical foot consisting of one accented syllable followed by two unaccented syllables (for example, merrily)
dactylic meter
a meter in which a majority of the feet are dactyls
end rhyme
rhymes that occur at the ends of lines
end-stopped line
a line that ends with a natural speech pause, usually marked by punctuation - opposite of enjambment
enjambment
(run on line)
a line which has no natural speech pause at its end, allowing the sense to flow uninterruptedly into the succeeding line - opposite of an end-stopped line
English (or Shakespearean) sonnet
sonnet rhyming ababcdcdefefgg. content or structure ideally parallels the rhyme scheme, falling into three coordinate quatrains and a concluding couplet; often structured like the Italian sonnet, into octave and sestet, the principal break in thought coming at the end of the eighth line
feminine rhyme
rhyme in which the stress is on the penultimate (second from last) syllable of the words (picky, tricky)
foot
basic unit used in the scansion or measurement of verse. usually contains one accented syllable and one or two unaccented syllables
free verse
nonmetrical verse. arranged in lines, may be more or less rhythmical, but has no fixed metrical pattern or expectation
half rhyme
consonance on the final consonants of the words involved
heroic couplet
constructed by a sequence of two lines of (usually rhyming) verse in iambic pentameter. if they do not rhyme they are usually separated by extra white space
iamb
a metrical foot consisting of one unaccented syllable followed by one accented syllable (for example, rehearse)
iambic meter
a meter in which the majority of feet are iambs, the most common English meter
internal rhyme
a rhyme in which one or both of the rhyme-words occur within the line
Italian (or Petrarchan) sonnet
a sonnet consisting of an octave rhyming abbabba and of a sestet using any arrangement of two or three additional rhymes, such as cdcdcd or cdecde
masculine rhyme
(single rhyme)
rhyme in which the stress is on the final syllable of the words (rhyme, sublime)
meter
regularized rhythm; an arrangement of language in which the accents occur at apparently equal intervals in time
octave
1) an eight-line stanza
2) first eight lines of a sonnet, especially one structured in the manner of an Italian sonnet
perfect rhyme
rhyme in which is when the later part of the word or phrase is identical sounding to another. types include masculine and feminine among others
pentameter
a metrical line containing five feet
quatrain
1) four-line stanza
2) four-line division of a sonnet marked off by its rhyme scheme
refrain
a repeated word, phrase, line, or group of lines, normally at some fixed position in a poem written in stanziac form
rhyme
repetition of an identical or similarly accented sound or sounds in a work. may find multiple ways to rhyme within a verse.
rhyme scheme
any fixed pattern of rhymes characterizing a whole poem or its stanzas
scansion
process of measuring verse, that is of marking accented and unaccented syllables, dividing the lines into feet, identifying the metrical pattern, and noting significant variations from that pattern
sestet
1) six-line stanza
2) last six lines of a sonnet structured on the Italian model
spondee
metrical foot consisting of two syllables equally or almost equally accented (true-blue)
stanza
group of lines whose metrical pattern (and usually its rhyme scheme as well) is repeated throughout a poem
syntax
arrangement of words to form phrases, clauses, and sentences; sentence construction
terza rima
three-line stanza form borrowed from the Italian poets. rhyme scheme is aba, bcb, cdc, ded, etc.
tetrameter
metrical line containing four feet
trimeter
metrical line containing three feet
triple meter
meter in which a majority of the feet contain three syllables. Anapestic and dactylic are both triple meters.
(If more than 25% of the feet in a poem are triple, its effect is more triple than duple. Should be referred to as a triple meter.)
trochaic meter
meter in which the majority of feet are trochees
trochee
a metrical foot consisting of one accented syllable followed by one unaccented syllable (barter)
