Glossary of Poetry Terms

accent The prominence or emphasis given to a syllable or word. In the word poetry, the accent (or stress) falls on the first syllable.

alexandrine A line of poetry that has 12 syllables. The name probably comes from a medieval romance about Alexander the Great that was written in 12-syllable lines.

alliteration The repetition of the same or similar sounds at the beginning of words: “What would the world be, once bereft/Of wet and wildness?” (Gerard Manley Hopkins, “Inversnaid”)

anapest A metrical foot of three syllables, two short (or unstressed) followed by one long (or stressed), as in seventeen and to the moon. The anapest is the reverse of the dactyl.

antithesis A figure of speech in which words and phrases with opposite meanings are balanced against each other. An example of antithesis is “To err is human, to forgive, divine.” (Alexander Pope)

apostrophe Words that are spoken to a person who is absent or imaginary, or to an object or abstract idea. The poem God's World by Edna St. Vincent Millay begins with an apostrophe: “O World, I cannot hold thee close enough!/Thy winds, thy wide grey skies!/Thy mists that roll and rise!”

assonance The repetition or a pattern of similar sounds, especially vowel sounds: “Thou still unravished bride of quietness,/Thou foster child of silence and slow time” (“Ode to a Grecian Urn,” John Keats).

ballad A poem that tells a story similar to a folk tale or legend and often has a repeated refrain. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is an example of a ballad.

ballade A type of poem, usually with three stanzas of seven, eight, or ten lines and a shorter final stanza (or envoy) of four or five lines. All stanzas end with the same one-line refrain.

blank verse Poetry that is written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. Shakespeare wrote most of his plays in blank verse.

caesura A natural pause or break in a line of poetry, usually near the middle of the line. There is a caesura right after the question mark in the first line of this sonnet by Elizabeth Barrett Browning: “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”

canzone A medieval Italian lyric poem, with five or six stanzas and a shorter concluding stanza (or envoy). The poets Petrarch and Dante Alighieri were masters of the canzone.

carpe diem A Latin expression that means “seize the day.” Carpe diem poems urge the reader (or the person to whom they are addressed) to live for today and enjoy the pleasures of the moment. A famous carpe diem poem by Robert Herrick begins “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may . . .”

chanson de geste An epic poem of the 11th to the 14th century, written in Old French, which details the exploits of a historical or legendary figure, especially Charlemagne.

classicism The principles and ideals of beauty that are characteristic of Greek and Roman art, architecture, and literature. Examples of classicism in poetry can be found in the works of John Dryden and Alexander Pope, which are characterized by their formality, simplicity, and emotional restraint.

conceit A fanciful poetic image or metaphor that likens one thing to something else that is seemingly very different. An example of a conceit can be found in Shakespeare's sonnet “Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?” and in Emily Dickinson's poem “There is no frigate like a book.”

consonance The repetition of similar consonant sounds, especially at the ends of words, as in lost and past or confess and dismiss.

couplet In a poem, a pair of lines that are the same length and usually rhyme and form a complete thought. Shakespearean sonnets usually end in a couplet.

dactyl A metrical foot of three syllables, one long (or stressed) followed by two short (or unstressed), as in happily. The dactyl is the reverse of the anapest.

elegy A poem that laments the death of a person, or one that is simply sad and thoughtful. An example of this type of poem is Thomas Gray's “Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard.”

enjambment The continuation of a complete idea (a sentence or clause) from one line or couplet of a poem to the next line or couplet without a pause. An example of enjambment can be found in the first line of Joyce Kilmer's poem Trees: “I think that I shall never see/A poem as lovely as a tree.” Enjambment comes from the French word for “to straddle.”

envoy The shorter final stanza of a poem, as in a ballade.

epic A long, serious poem that tells the story of a heroic figure. Two of the most famous epic poems are the Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer, which tell about the Trojan War and the adventures of Odysseus on his voyage home after the war.

epigram A very short, witty poem: “Sir, I admit your general rule,/That every poet is a fool,/But you yourself may serve to show it,/That every fool is not a poet.” (Samuel Taylor Coleridge)

epithalamium (or epithalamion)

A poem in honor of a bride and bridegroom.

feminine rhyme A rhyme that occurs in a final unstressed syllable: pleasure/leisure, longing/yearning.

figure of speech A verbal expression in which words or sounds are arranged in a particular way to achieve a particular effect. Figures of speech are organized into different categories, such as alliteration, assonance, metaphor, metonymy, onomatopoeia, simile, and synecdoche.

foot Two or more syllables that together make up the smallest unit of rhythm in a poem. For example, an iamb is a foot that has two syllables, one unstressed followed by one stressed. An anapest has three syllables, two unstressed followed by one stressed.

free verse (also vers libre) Poetry composed of either rhymed or unrhymed lines that have no set meter.

haiku A Japanese poem composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables. Haiku often reflect on some aspect of nature.

heptameter A line of poetry that has seven metrical feet.

heroic couplet A stanza composed of two rhymed lines in iambic pentameter.

hexameter A line of poetry that has six metrical feet.

hyperbole A figure of speech in which deliberate exaggeration is used for emphasis. Many everyday expressions are examples of hyperbole: tons of money, waiting for ages, a flood of tears, etc. Hyperbole is the opposite of litotes.

iamb A metrical foot of two syllables, one short (or unstressed) and one long (or stressed). There are four iambs in the line “Come live/ with me/ and be/ my love,” from a poem by Christopher Marlowe. (The stressed syllables are in bold.) The iamb is the reverse of the trochee.

iambic pentameter A type of meter in poetry, in which there are five iambs to a line. (The prefix penta- means “five,” as in pentagon, a geometrical figure with five sides. Meter refers to rhythmic units. In a line of iambic pentameter, there are five rhythmic units that are iambs.) Shakespeare's plays were written mostly in iambic pentameter, which is the most common type of meter in English poetry. An example of an iambic pentameter line from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is “But soft!/ What light/ through yon/der win/dow breaks?” Another, from Richard III, is “A horse!/ A horse!/ My king/dom for/ a horse!” (The stressed syllables are in bold.)

idyll, or idyl Either a short poem depicting a peaceful, idealized country scene, or a long poem that tells a story about heroic deeds or extraordinary events set in the distant past. Idylls of the King, by Alfred Lord Tennyson, is about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

lay A long narrative poem, especially one that was sung by medieval minstrels called trouvères. The Lais of Marie de France are lays.

limerick A light, humorous poem of five usually anapestic lines with the rhyme scheme of aabba.

litotes A figure of speech in which a positive is stated by negating its opposite. Some examples of litotes: no small victory, not a bad idea, not unhappy. Litotes is the opposite of hyperbole.

lyric A poem, such as a sonnet or an ode, that expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet. A lyric poem may resemble a song in form or style.

masculine rhyme A rhyme that occurs in a final stressed syllable: cat/hat, desire/fire, observe/deserve.

metaphor A figure of speech in which two things are compared, usually by saying one thing is another, or by substituting a more descriptive word for the more common or usual word that would be expected. Some examples of metaphors: the world's a stage, he was a lion in battle, drowning in debt, and a sea of troubles.

meter The arrangement of a line of poetry by the number of syllables and the rhythm of accented (or stressed) syllables.

metonymy A figure of speech in which one word is substituted for another with which it is closely associated. For example, in the expression The pen is mightier than the sword, the word pen is used for “the written word,” and sword is used for “military power.”

narrative Telling a story. Ballads, epics, and lays are different kinds of narrative poems.

ode A lyric poem that is serious and thoughtful in tone and has a very precise, formal structure. John Keats's “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is a famous example of this type of poem.

onomatopoeia A figure of speech in which words are used to imitate sounds. Examples of onomatopoeic words are buzz, hiss, zing, clippety-clop, and tick-tock. Keats's “Ode to a Nightingale” not only uses onomatopoeia, but calls our attention to it: “Forlorn! The very word is like a bell/To toll me back from thee to my sole self!” Another example of onomatopoeia is found in this line from Tennyson's Come Down, O Maid: “The moan of doves in immemorial elms,/And murmuring of innumerable bees.” The repeated “m/n” sounds reinforce the idea of “murmuring” by imitating the hum of insects on a warm summer day.

ottava rima A type of poetry consisting of 10- or 11-syllable lines arranged in 8-line “octaves” with the rhyme scheme abababcc.

pastoral A poem that depicts rural life in a peaceful, idealized way.

pentameter A line of poetry that has five metrical feet.

personification A figure of speech in which things or abstract ideas are given human attributes: dead leaves dance in the wind, blind justice.

poetry A type of literature that is written in meter.

quatrain A stanza or poem of four lines.

refrain A line or group of lines that is repeated throughout a poem, usually after every stanza.

rhyme The occurrence of the same or similar sounds at the end of two or more words. When the rhyme occurs in a final stressed syllable, it is said to be masculine: cat/hat, desire/fire, observe/deserve. When the rhyme occurs in a final unstressed syllable, it is said to be feminine: longing/yearning. The pattern of rhyme in a stanza or poem is shown usually by using a different letter for each final sound. In a poem with an aabba rhyme scheme, the first, second, and fifth lines end in one sound, and the third and fourth lines end in another.

rhyme royal A type of poetry consisting of stanzas of seven lines in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme ababbcc. Rhyme royal was an innovation introduced by Geoffrey Chaucer.

romanticism The principles and ideals of the Romantic movement in literature and the arts during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Romanticism, which was a reaction to the classicism of the early 18th century, favored feeling over reason and placed great emphasis on the subjective, or personal, experience of the individual. Nature was also a major theme. The great English Romantic poets include Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, and Keats.

scansion The analysis of a poem's meter. This is usually done by marking the stressed and unstressed syllables in each line and then, based on the pattern of the stresses, dividing the line into feet.

senryu A short Japanese poem that is similar to a haiku in structure but treats human beings rather than nature, often in a humorous or satiric way.

simile A figure of speech in which two things are compared using the word “like” or “as.” An example of a simile using like occurs in Langston Hughes's poem Harlem: “What happens to a dream deferred?/ Does it dry up/ like a raisin in the sun?”

sonnet A lyric poem that is 14 lines long. Italian (or Petrarchan) sonnets are divided into two quatrains and a six-line “sestet,” with the rhyme scheme abba abba cdecde (or cdcdcd). English (or Shakespearean) sonnets are composed of three quatrains and a final couplet, with a rhyme scheme of abab cdcd efef gg. English sonnets are written generally in iambic pentameter.

spondee

A metrical foot of two syllables, both of which are long (or stressed).

stanza Two or more lines of poetry that together form one of the divisions of a poem. The stanzas of a poem are usually of the same length and follow the same pattern of meter and rhyme.

stress The prominence or emphasis given to particular syllables. Stressed syllables usually stand out because they have long, rather than short, vowels, or because they have a different pitch or are louder than other syllables.

synecdoche A figure of speech in which a part is used to designate the whole or the whole is used to designate a part. For example, the phrase “all hands on deck” means “all men on deck,” not just their hands. The reverse situation, in which the whole is used for a part, occurs in the sentence “The U.S. beat Russia in the final game,” where the U.S. and Russia stand for “the U.S. team” and “the Russian team,” respectively.

tanka A Japanese poem of five lines, the first and third composed of five syllables and the rest of seven.

terza rima A type of poetry consisting of 10- or 11-syllable lines arranged in three-line “tercets” with the rhyme scheme aba bcb cdc, etc. The poet Dante is credited with inventing terza rima, which he used in his Divine Comedy. Terza rima was borrowed into English by Chaucer, and it has been used by many English poets, including Milton, Shelley, and Auden.

tetrameter A line of poetry that has four metrical feet.

trochee A metrical foot of two syllables, one long (or stressed) and one short (or unstressed). An easy way to remember the trochee is to memorize the first line of a lighthearted poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, which demonstrates the use of various kinds of metrical feet: “Trochee/ trips from/ long to/ short.” (The stressed syllables are in bold.) The trochee is the reverse of the iamb.

trope A figure of speech, such as metaphor or metonymy, in which words are not used in their literal (or actual) sense but in a figurative (or imaginative) sense.

verse A single metrical line of poetry, or poetry in general (as opposed to prose).

Glossary of Poetry TermsIamb, enjambment, senryu, and more

by Ann-Marie Imbornoni

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Accent The prominence or emphasis given to a syllable or word. In the word poetry, the accent (or stress) falls on the first syllable.

Alexandrine A line of poetry that has 12 syllables. The name probably comes from a medieval romance about Alexander the Great that was written in 12-syllable lines.

Alliteration The repetition of the same or similar sounds at the beginning of words. Some famous examples of alliteration are tongue twisters such as She sells seashells by the seashore and Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Anapest A metrical foot of three syllables, two short (or unstressed) followed by one long (or stressed), as in seventeen and to the moon. The anapest is the reverse of the dactyl.

Antithesis A figure of speech in which words and phrases with opposite meanings are balanced against each other. An example of antithesis is "To err is human, to forgive, divine." (Alexander Pope)

Apostrophe Words that are spoken to a person who is absent or imaginary, or to an object or abstract idea. The poem God's World by Edna St. Vincent Millay begins with an apostrophe: "O World, I cannot hold thee close enough!/Thy winds, thy wide grey skies!/Thy mists that roll and rise!"

Assonance The repetition or a pattern of similar sounds, especially vowel sounds, as in the tongue twister "Moses supposes his toeses are roses."

Ballad A poem that tells a story similar to a folk tale or legend and often has a repeated refrain. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is an example of a ballad.

Ballade A type of poem, usually with three stanzas of seven, eight, or ten lines and a shorter final stanza (or envoy) of four or five lines. All stanzas end with the same one-line refrain.

Blank verse Poetry that is written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. Shakespeare wrote most of his plays in blank verse.

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Caesura A natural pause or break in a line of poetry, usually near the middle of the line. There is a caesura right after the question mark in the first line of this sonnet by Elizabeth Barrett Browning: "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways."

Canzone A medieval Italian lyric poem, with five or six stanzas and a shorter concluding stanza (or envoy). The poets Petrarch and Dante Alighieri were masters of the canzone.

Carpe diem A Latin expression that means "seize the day." Carpe diem poems urge the reader (or the person to whom they are addressed) to live for today and enjoy the pleasures of the moment. A famous carpe diem poem by Robert Herrick begins "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may . . ."

Chanson de geste An epic poem of the 11th to the 14th century, written in Old French, which details the exploits of a historical or legendary figure, especially Charlemagne.

Classicism The principles and ideals of beauty that are characteristic of Greek and Roman art, architecture, and literature. Examples of classicism in poetry can be found in the works of John Dryden and Alexander Pope, which are characterized by their formality, simplicity, and emotional restraint.

Conceit A fanciful poetic image or metaphor that likens one thing to something else that is seemingly very different. An example of a conceit can be found in Shakespeare's sonnet "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" and in Emily Dickinson's poem "There is no frigate like a book."

Consonance The repetition of similar consonant sounds, especially at the ends of words, as in lost and past or confess and dismiss.

Couplet In a poem, a pair of lines that are the same length and usually rhyme and form a complete thought. Shakespearean sonnets usually end in a couplet.

Dactyl A metrical foot of three syllables, one long (or stressed) followed by two short (or unstressed), as in happily. The dactyl is the reverse of the anapest.

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Elegy A poem that laments the death of a person, or one that is simply sad and thoughtful. An example of this type of poem is Thomas Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard."

Enjambment The continuation of a complete idea (a sentence or clause) from one line or couplet of a poem to the next line or couplet without a pause. An example of enjambment can be found in the first line of Joyce Kilmer's poem Trees: "I think that I shall never see/A poem as lovely as a tree." Enjambment comes from the French word for "to straddle."

Envoy The shorter final stanza of a poem, as in a ballade.

Epic A long, serious poem that tells the story of a heroic figure. Two of the most famous epic poems are the Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer, which tell about the Trojan War and the adventures of Odysseus on his voyage home after the war.

Epigram A very short, witty poem: "Sir, I admit your general rule,/That every poet is a fool,/But you yourself may serve to show it,/That every fool is not a poet." (Samuel Taylor Coleridge)

Epithalamium (or Epithalamion)A poem in honor of a bride and bridegroom.

Feminine rhymeA rhyme that occurs in a final unstressed syllable: pleasure/leisure, longing/yearning.

Figure of speech A verbal expression in which words or sounds are arranged in a particular way to achieve a particular effect. Figures of speech are organized into different categories, such as alliteration, antithesis, assonance, hyperbole, litotes, metaphor, metonymy, onomatopoeia, simile, and synecdoche.

Foot Two or more syllables that together make up the smallest unit of rhythm in a poem.

For example, an iamb is a foot that has two syllables, one unstressed followed by one stressed. An anapest has three syllables, two unstressed followed by one stressed.

Free verse (also vers libre) Poetry composed of either rhymed or unrhymed lines that have no set meter.

Haiku A Japanese poem composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables. Haiku often reflect on some aspect of nature.

Heptameter A line of poetry that has seven metrical feet.

Heroic couplet A stanza composed of two rhymed lines in iambic pentameter.

Hexameter A line of poetry that has six metrical feet.

Hyperbole A figure of speech in which deliberate exaggeration is used for emphasis. Many everyday expressions are examples of hyperbole: tons of money, waiting for ages, a flood of tears, etc. Hyperbole is the opposite of litotes.

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Iamb A metrical foot of two syllables, one short (or unstressed) and one long (or stressed). There are four iambs in the line "Come live/ with me/ and be/ my love," from a poem by Christopher Marlowe. (The stressed syllables are in bold.) The iamb is the reverse of the trochee.

Iambic pentameter A type of meter in poetry, in which there are five iambs to a line. (The prefix penta- means "five," as in pentagon, a geometrical figure with five sides. Meter refers to rhythmic units. In a line of iambic pentameter, there are five rhythmic units that are iambs.) Shakespeare's plays were written mostly in iambic pentameter, which is the most common type of meter in English poetry. An example of an iambic pentameter line from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is "But soft!/ What light/ through yon/der win/dow breaks?" Another, from Richard III, is "A horse!/ A horse!/ My king/dom for/ a horse!" (The stressed syllables are in bold.)

Idyll , or Idyl Either a short poem depicting a peaceful, idealized country scene, or a long poem that tells a story about heroic deeds or extraordinary events set in the distant past.

Idylls of the King, by Alfred Lord Tennyson, is about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

LayA long narrative poem, especially one that was sung by medieval minstrels called trouvères. The Lais of Marie de France are lays.

Limerick A light, humorous poem of five usually anapestic lines with the rhyme scheme of aabba.

Litotes A figure of speech in which a positive is stated by negating its opposite. Some examples of litotes: no small victory, not a bad idea, not unhappy. Litotes, which is a form of understatement, is the opposite of hyperbole.

Lyric A poem, such as a sonnet or an ode, that expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet. A lyric poem may resemble a song in form or style.

Masculine rhymeA rhyme that occurs in a final stressed syllable: cat/hat, desire/fire, observe/deserve.

Metaphor A figure of speech in which two things are compared, usually by saying one thing is another, or by substituting a more descriptive word for the more common or usual word that would be expected. Some examples of metaphors: the world's a stage, he was a lion in battle, drowning in debt, and a sea of troubles.

Meter The arrangement of a line of poetry by the number of syllables and the rhythm of accented (or stressed) syllables.

Metonymy A figure of speech in which one word is substituted for another with which it is closely associated. For example, in the expression The pen is mightier than the sword, the word pen is used for "the written word," and sword is used for "military power."

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Narrative Telling a story. Ballads, epics, and lays are different kinds of narrative poems.

Ode A lyric poem that is serious and thoughtful in tone and has a very precise, formal structure. John Keats's "Ode on a Grecian Urn" is a famous example of this type of poem.

Onomatopoeia A figure of speech in which words are used to imitate sounds. Examples of onomatopoeic words are buzz, hiss, zing, clippety-clop, cock-a-doodle-do, pop, splat, thump, and tick-tock. Another example of onomatopoeia is found in this line from Tennyson's Come Down, O Maid: "The moan of doves in immemorial elms,/And murmuring of innumerable bees." The repeated "m/n" sounds reinforce the idea of "murmuring" by imitating the hum of insects on a warm summer day.

Ottava rima A type of poetry consisting of 10- or 11-syllable lines arranged in 8-line "octaves" with the rhyme scheme abababcc.

Pastoral A poem that depicts rural life in a peaceful, idealized way.

Pentameter A line of poetry that has five metrical feet.

Personification A figure of speech in which nonhuman things or abstract ideas are given human attributes: the sky is crying, dead leaves danced in the wind, blind justice.

PoetryA type of literature that is written in meter.

Quatrain A stanza or poem of four lines.

Refrain A phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated throughout a poem, usually after every stanza.

Rhyme The occurrence of the same or similar sounds at the end of two or more words. When the rhyme occurs in a final stressed syllable, it is said to be masculine: cat/hat, desire/fire, observe/deserve. When the rhyme occurs in a final unstressed syllable, it is said to be feminine: pleasure/leisure, longing/yearning. The pattern of rhyme in a stanza or poem is shown usually by using a different letter for each final sound. In a

poem with an aabba rhyme scheme, the first, second, and fifth lines end in one sound, and the third and fourth lines end in another.

Rhyme royal A type of poetry consisting of stanzas of seven lines in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme ababbcc. Rhyme royal was an innovation introduced by Geoffrey Chaucer.

Romanticism The principles and ideals of the Romantic movement in literature and the arts during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Romanticism, which was a reaction to the classicism of the early 18th century, favored feeling over reason and placed great emphasis on the subjective, or personal, experience of the individual. Nature was also a major theme. The great English Romantic poets include Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, and Keats.

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Scansion The analysis of a poem's meter. This is usually done by marking the stressed and unstressed syllables in each line and then, based on the pattern of the stresses, dividing the line into feet.

Senryu A short Japanese poem that is similar to a haiku in structure but treats human beings rather than nature, often in a humorous or satiric way.

Simile A figure of speech in which two things are compared using the word "like" or "as." An example of a simile using like occurs in Langston Hughes's poem Harlem: "What happens to a dream deferred?/ Does it dry up/ like a raisin in the sun?"

Sonnet A lyric poem that is 14 lines long. Italian (or Petrarchan) sonnets are divided into two quatrains and a six-line "sestet," with the rhyme scheme abba abba cdecde (or cdcdcd). English (or Shakespearean) sonnets are composed of three quatrains and a final couplet, with a rhyme scheme of abab cdcd efef gg. English sonnets are written generally in iambic pentameter.

Spondee A metrical foot of two syllables, both of which are long (or stressed).

Stanza Two or more lines of poetry that together form one of the divisions of a poem. The

stanzas of a poem are usually of the same length and follow the same pattern of meter and rhyme.

Stress The prominence or emphasis given to particular syllables. Stressed syllables usually stand out because they have long, rather than short, vowels, or because they have a different pitch or are louder than other syllables.

Synecdoche A figure of speech in which a part is used to designate the whole or the whole is used to designate a part. For example, the phrase "all hands on deck" means "all men on deck," not just their hands. The reverse situation, in which the whole is used for a part, occurs in the sentence "The U.S. beat Russia in the final game," where the U.S. and Russia stand for "the U.S. team" and "the Russian team," respectively.

Tanka A Japanese poem of five lines, the first and third composed of five syllables and the rest of seven.

Terza rima A type of poetry consisting of 10- or 11-syllable lines arranged in three-line "tercets" with the rhyme scheme aba bcb cdc, etc. The poet Dante is credited with inventing terza rima, which he used in his Divine Comedy. Terza rima was borrowed into English by Chaucer, and it has been used by many English poets, including Milton, Shelley, and Auden.

Tetrameter A line of poetry that has four metrical feet.

Trochee A metrical foot of two syllables, one long (or stressed) and one short (or unstressed). An easy way to remember the trochee is to memorize the first line of a lighthearted poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, which demonstrates the use of various kinds of metrical feet: "Trochee/ trips from/ long to/ short." (The stressed syllables are in bold.) The trochee is the reverse of the iamb.

Trope A figure of speech, such as metaphor or metonymy, in which words are not used in their literal (or actual) sense but in a figurative (or imaginative) sense.

Verse A single metrical line of poetry, or poetry in general (as opposed to prose).

Versification The system of rhyme and meter in poetry.

Terms for Discussing PoetryTry the Online Quiz on Poetry Terms to test your knowledge of these terms.Poll on Online Quizzes You might also like to try the Online Quiz on Prosody to test your knowledge of scanning poetry. An asterisk (*) indicates terms not discussed in class; you are not responsible for knowing those.

Alliteration: The repetition of identical consonant sounds, most often the sounds beginning words, in close proximity. Example: pensive poets, nattering nabobs of negativism. Allusion: Unacknowledged reference and quotations that authors assume their readers will recognize. Anapest (anapestic): unstressed unstressed stressed. Also called "galloping meter." Example: 'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house/ Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse." Anaphora: Repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of a line throughout a work or the section of a work. Apostrophe: The addressing of a poem to a real or imagined person who is not present. Example: "Milton! Thou shouldst be living at this hour

/England hath need of thee: she is a fen / Of stagnant waters." --William Wordsworth, "London, 1802" Assonance: The repetition of identical vowel sounds in different words in close proximity. Example: deep green sea. Ballad: A narrative poem composed of quatrains (iambic tetrameter alternating with iambic trimeter) rhyming x-a-x-a. Ballads may use refrains. Examples: "Jackaroe," "The Long Black Veil" Blank verse: unrhymed iambic pentameter. Example: Shakespeare's plays Caesura: A short but definite pause used for effect within a line of poetry.

Carpe diem poetry: "seize the day." Poetry concerned with the shortness of life and the need to act in or enjoy the present. Example: Herrick’s "To the Virgins to Make Much of Time"; Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress" *Consonance: the counterpart of assonance; the partial or total identity of consonants in words whose main vowels differ. Example: shadow meadow; pressed, passed; sipped, supped. Owen uses this "impure rhyme" to convey the anguish of war and death. Couplet: two successive rhyming lines. Couplets end the pattern of a Shakespearean sonnet. Dactyl (dactylic) stressed unstressed unstressed. This pattern is more common (as dactylic hexameter) in Latin poetry than in English poetry. Example: Grand go the years in the Crescent above them/ Worlds scoop their arcs/ and firmaments row (Emily Dickinson) *Diction (formal or high): Proper, elevated, elaborate, and often polysyllabic language. This type of language used to be thought the only type suitable for poetry. *Diction (neutral or middle): Correct language characterized by directness and simplicity. *Diction (informal or low): Relaxed, conversational and familiar language.

Double rhyme or trochaic rhyme: rhyming words of two syllables in which the first syllable is accented (flower, shower) Dramatic monologue: A type of poem, derived from the theater, in which a speaker addresses an internal listener or the reader. In some dramatic monologues, especially those by Robert Browning, the speaker may reveal his personality in unexpected and unflattering ways.

End-stopped rhyme: A line ending in a full pause, usually indicated with a period or semicolon. Enjambment: A line having no end punctuation but running over to the next line. Explication: A complete and detailed analysis of a work of literature, often word-by-word and line-by-line. Eye rhyme: Words that seem to rhyme because they are spelled identically but pronounced differently. Example: bear/fear, dough/cough/through/bough Foot (prosody): A measured combination of heavy and light stresses. The numbers of feet are given below.

1. monometer (1 foot) 2. dimeter (2 feet) 3. trimeter (3 feet) 4. tetrameter (4 feet) 5. pentameter (5 feet) 6. hexameter (6 feet) 7. heptameter or septenary (7 feet)

Heroic couplet: two successive rhyming lines of iambic pentameter; the second line is usually end-stopped. Hymn meter or common measure: quatrains of iambic tetrameter alternating with iambic trimeter rhyming a b a b. Hyperbole (overstatement): exaggeration for effect Iamb (iambic): an unstressed stressed foot. Iambic pentameter: The most natural and common kind of meter in English; it elevates speech to poetry. Image: Images are references that trigger the mind to fuse together memories of sight (visual), sounds (auditory), tastes (gustatory), smells (olfactory), and sensations of touch (tactile). Imagery refers to images throughout a work or throughout the works of a writer or group of writers. Metaphor: A comparison between two unlike things, this describes one

thing as if it were something else. *Metaphysical conceit: An elaborate and extended metaphor or simile that links two apparently unrelated fields or subjects in an unusual and surprising conjunction of ideas. The term is commonly applied to the metaphorical language of a number of early seventeenth-century poets, particularly John Donne. Example: stiff twin compasses//the joining together of lovers like legs of a compass. See also "To His Coy Mistress" Meter: The number of feet within a line of traditional verse. Example: iambic pentameter. Octave: The first eight lines of an Italian or Petrarchan sonnet, unified by rhythm, rhyme, and topic. Onomatopoeia. A blending of consonant and vowel sounds designed to imitate or suggest the activity being described. Example: buzz, slurp. Paradox: A rhetorical figure embodying a seeming contradiction that is nonetheless true. Personification: Attributing human characteristics to nonhuman things or abstractions. Petrarchan sonnet: A sonnet (14 lines of rhyming iambic pentameter) that divides into an octave (8) and sestet (6) Prosody: pronunciation of a song or poem. Pyrrhic foot (prosody): two unstressed feet (an "empty" foot) Quatrain: a four-line stanza or poetic unit. In an English or Shakespearean sonnet, a group of four lines united by rhyme. Rhyme: The repetition of identical concluding syllables in different words, most often at the ends of lines. Example: June--moon. Rhyme scheme: The pattern of rhyme, usually indicated by assigning a letter of the alphabet to each rhyme at the end of a line of poetry. Scan (scansion): the process of marking beats in a poem to establish the prevailing metrical pattern Sestet: A six-line stanza or unit of poetry. Shakespearean sonnet: A fourteen-line poem written in iambic pentameter, composed of three quatrains and a couplet rhyming abab cdcd efef gg.

Slant rhyme: A near rhyme in which the concluding consonant sounds are identical but not the vowels. Example: sun/noon, should/food, slim/ham. Sonnet: A closed form consisting of fourteen lines of rhyming iambic pentameter. Spondee: stressed stressed. A two-syllable foot with two stressed accents. The opposite of a pyrrhic foot, this foot is used for effect. Stanza: A group of poetic lines corresponding to paragraphs in prose; the meters and rhymes are usually repeating or systematic. Synaesthesia: A rhetorical figure that describes one sensory impression in terms of a different sense, or one perception in terms of a totally different or even opposite feeling. Example: "darkness visible" "green thought" *Syntax: Word order and sentence structure. Triple rhyme or dactylic rhyme: Rhyming words of three or more syllables in which any syllable but the last is accented. Example: Macavity/gravity/depravity Trochee (trochaic): stressed unstressed. Example: "Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright" Understatement (litotes): deliberately underplaying or undervaluing a thing to create emphasis.

Send an e-mail message to Dr. Campbell.Last Modified 09/03/2002 22:04:39

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