literary terms: poetry poetry is a difficult word to define, for almost every definition has...

Literary Terms: Poetry

Poetry is a difficult word to define, for almost every definition has exceptions.  In simple terms, a poem is an artistic composition of words that are broken into lines.  Poetry is to be understood in contrast with prose, which is language which is not broken into lines.

Simile

Simile: a comparison using an explicit connective such as like or as 

Ex.: “Life is like a mountain highway.”Ex.: “He’s as strong as Hercules.”

Metaphor

Metaphor: a comparison without using “like” or “as”

a figure of speech in which a thing is described as something else, with that thing’s characteristics. 

Ex.: “All the world is a stage.”Ex.: “Love is a rose.” 

Personification

Personification: giving inanimate objects, animals, or ideas human qualities

Ex.: “This coffee is strong enough to get up and walk away.”Ex.: “The sun looks down from her jealous sky.” (Sting)

Symbol/Symbolism

Symbol: something that is itself and yet represents something else A symbol can be a thing (ex., the cross representing Christianity, or an action (Robert Frost’s choice of the road in “The Road Not Taken”).

  Ex.: Heart = Love

Oxymoron

Oxymoron: a figure of speech that fuses two contradictory or opposing words (usually an adjective and noun are combined)Ex.: “jumbo shrimp”, “military intelligence”Ex from R&J, “glorious pain” and “parting is such sweet sorrow”

Paradox

Paradox: a statement that seems contradictory or absurd and yet is true and profound Ex.: “There must be war to achieve peace.”“I must be cruel to be kind.” (Hamlet)

Irony

Irony: the difference between what is expected and what actually occurs; dark humour; dark coincidence; something that says something about human natureEx.: The old man who won the lottery and died the next day.

Rhyme

Rhyme: similar sounds of words, at the end of two or more lines of poetry.Ex.: I miss you so much/I long for your touch.

Rhyme (Internal)

Rhyme (Internal): rhyming of 2 or more words in the same line of poetry, most often in the middle and at the end of the line.Ex.: I am the daughter of Earth and Water

Rhyme Scheme

Rhyme Scheme: pattern or sequence in which the rhyme sounds occur in a stanza or poem. Ex.: …steeple a

…town b …people a …down b

Rhythm

Rhythm: movement having a regular repetition of beat, accent, stress, rise and fall, much like that of music

Ex.: Tyger, tyger burning bright,/In the forest of the night

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia: the use of words in which their pronunciation suggests their meaningEx.: The snake hissed. The clock ticked.

Pun

Pun: play on words based on the similarity of sound between two words with different meanings

Ex.:  ”I find the bananas appealing.”

Alliteration

Alliteration: repetition of the first letter or sound in a series of words

Ex.: Sally sells seashells at the seashore on Saturdays.

Euphony

Euphony: word combinations that sound pleasant to the ear – this is the opposite of cacophonyEx.: “And the words hung hushed in their long white dream/By the ghostly glimmering, ice-blue stream.”

Euphemism

Euphemism: an indirect statement is substituted for a direct on in an effort to avoid bluntness

Ex.: “passed on” for “died”; “vertically challenged” for “short”

Cacophony

Cacophony: unpleasant combination of sounds or tones – opposite of euphony 

Ex.: “All day cows mooed and shrieked/Hollered and bellowed and wept…”

Prose

Prose: writing not like that of poetry but with normal sentences and paragraphs. It is the opposite of verse.

Ex.: Writing style in novels, short stories, essays and most modern dramas.

Verse

Verse:writing style found in poetry. It is the opposite of prose. It is often very metrical and may rhyme.

Ex.: Sauntering through the streets, the sound sweeps in melodic motion.

Couplet

Couplet: two consecutive lines of poetry that connect together, usually by rhyme

Ex.: Hear it not Duncan; for it is a knell/That summons thee to heaven or to hell.

Stanza

Stanza: division of a poem, usually made according to a pattern. It is similar to paragraphs in prose

Figurative Language/Figure of Speech

Expressions that make comparisons or associations meant to be taken imaginatively rather than literally.

Ex.: A thousand knives stabbed my heart (this did not literally happen)

Hyperbole

Hyperbole: over exaggeration used for emphasis in literature

Ex.: It took me forever to get to sleep.

Imagery

Imagery: pictures/paintings you see in your head when poets use specific figurative language. It appeals to the senses.Ex.: Clouds = images of white, fluffy, round balls; “These words are like a thousand razors piercing through my heart.”

Mood

Prevailing/predominating feeling in a piece of work

Ex.: “Waiter, there’s an Alligator in my Coffee = fun, light-hearted, humourous mood; “The Coffins” = serious, dark, depressing mood

Tone

Attitude/approach a writer takes toward his or her subject

Ex.: It can be serious, admiring, angry, envious, etc.

Poetic License

Freedom for a poet to break rules of punctuation, spelling, language or truth in the interest of creativity and imagination

Ex.: Ain’t 2 Proud 2 Beg

Repetition

Repetition: repeating a word, line, or stanza for emphasisEx.: “In Guernica the dead children/ were laid out in order upon the sidewalk,/In their white starched dresses/in their pitiful white dresses,” (Norman Rosten)

Black Humour

Humourous effects by associating grotesque/horrifying situations with humourous ones

Ex.: Laughing at someone falling down the stairs