Terms of Poetic Structure and Meter Flashcards
scansion
the process of analyzing a poem’s meter and rhythm
rhythm
the “beat” of the poem, as achieved by arrangement of syllables
meter
arrangement of accented and unaccented syllables in a line of poetry
foot
a basic repeated sequence of meter comprised of two or more accented or unaccented syllables
line length
the number of feet in a line of poetry
blank verse
unrhymed iambic pentameter (meant to mimic actual speech pattern)
alexandrine
line of poetry that has 12 syllables (often iambic)
end-stopped
a line of poetry in which the reader is meant to pause at the end
enjambment
a line of poetry which is not end-stopped, in which the thought continues into the next line without any pause
inversion
a change in what would be considered “normal” syntax; aka Yoda-speak
ex. “Happy I am that you came here today.”
stanza
a grouping of lines of poetry
includes couplets, tercets, quatrains, sestets, and octaves
canto
a division, or “chapter” in a lengthy poem
caesura
a purposeful pause in a poem, sometimes mid-line
parallelism
repetition of the syntactical structure of a line or phrase
refrain
a repeating stanza or line
internal rhyme
rhyme that occurs within the middle of lines of poetry
end rhyme
rhyme that occurs at the end of lines of poetry; denoted with letters of the alphabet to signify which lines rhyme (ex. abba abba)
approximate rhyme
“almost” rhyming; aka near rhyme or slant rhyme
feminine rhyme
end rhyme that occurs on final unstressed syllable (ex. va’ por / pa’ por)
masculine rhyme
end rhyme that occurs on a final stressed syllable (ex. re hearse’ / so terse’)
