Poetry Terms

Alliteration

The repetition of initial identical consonant sounds.

Example: “Homesick for home Daedalus hated

Crete”

Approximate Rhyme

Sounds are similar but not exact.

AssonanceThe repetition of vowel sounds.

Example:“My words like silent raindrops fell”

“All looked up in absolute amazement”

End RhymeRhymes that occur at the end of a line of

poetry.

Figurative LanguageFigurative language is language that uses

words or expressions with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation. Figurative language, in comparison, uses exaggerations or alterations to make a particular linguistic point. Figurative language is very common in poetry, but is also used in prose and nonfiction writing as well.

http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/style-and-usage/Figurative-Language.html

Folk BalladPoem passed by word of mouth from one

generation to another.

Blues music can find its roots in folk ballads that were often sung. Folk ballads often reflect elements region and culture.

imageryLanguage that appeals to the senses.“Preludes” by T. S. Eliot.  The winter evening settles down With smell of steaks in passageways. Six o'clock. The burnt-out ends of smoky days. And now a gusty shower wraps The grimy scraps Of withered leaves about your feet And newspapers from vacant lots; The showers beat On broken blinds and chimney-pots, And at the corner of the street A lonely cab-horse steams and stamps.And then the lighting of the lamps.

Imaginative LanguageWords use to arouse the reader’s feelings.

Internal RhymeRhyming within a line.

Literary BalladImitates the form and spirit of a folk ballad.

Lyrical Poetry

Poetry in which the speaker reveals personal thoughts and feelings.

Metaphor

Figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things, in which one thing becomes another thing without the use of the word like, as, than or resembles.

Narrative PoetryPoetry that tells a story, has a plot and

characters.

OnomotopoeiaThe use of a word or phrase that actually

imitates or suggests the sound of what it describes.

Examples:“Snap” “Crackle” “Pop” “Buzz” “Sizzle”

ParallelismRepeating of phrases/sentences so that the

repeated parts are alike.

Personification

Kind of metaphor in which a nonhuman thing or quality is talked about as if it were human.

Poetic SpeakerThe voice of a poem.

RepetitionThe repeating of sounds, letters, words, or

lines, which helps give poetry its meaning, form and sound.

Rhyme SchemeThe pattern of rhymes formed by the end

rhyme in a poem.

The Outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day: (a)The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play. (a)And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same, (b)A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game. (b)

RhythmRhythm is a musical quality produced by the

repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables.

Rhythm occurs in all forms of language, both

written and spoken, but is particularly important in poetry

Sensory LanguageLanguage that appeals to the senses and

represents concrete objects, people, or events.

SimileA comparison of two dissimilar things using

"like" or "as.”

For example: “My love is like a red, red rose"