English Poetic Terms Vocabulary

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Alliteration

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the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words

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Allusion

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an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference

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Assonance

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in poetry, the repetition of the sound of a vowel or diphthong in nonrhyming stressed syllables near enough to each other for the echo to be discernible

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Consonance

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the recurrence of similar sounds, esp. consonants, in close proximity

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Connotation

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an idea or feeling that a word invokes person in addition to its literal or primary meaning

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Denotation

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the literal or primary meaning of a word, in contrast to the feelings or ideas that the word suggests

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Stanza

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a group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem; a verse

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Onomatopoeia

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the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named

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Couplet

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two lines of verse, usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme, that form a unit

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Tercet

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a set or group of three lines of verse rhyming together or connected by rhyme with an adjacent tercet

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Quatrain

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a stanza of four lines, esp. one having alternate rhymes

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Sestet

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the last six lines of a sonnet

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Octave

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a poem or stanza of eight lines; an octet

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Iambic

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a metrical foot consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable

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Pentameter

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a line of verse consisting of five metrical feet, or (in Greek and Latin verse) of two halves each of two feet and a long syllable

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Meter

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the rhythm of a piece of poetry, determined by the number and length of feet in a line

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Trimeter

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a line of verse consisting of three metrical feet

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Tetrameter

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a verse of four measures

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Hexameter

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a line of verse consisting of six metrical feet, esp. of six dactyls

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Irony

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the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect

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Rhyme Scheme

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the ordered pattern of rhymes at the ends of the lines of a poem or verse

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Paraphrase

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express the meaning of (the writer or speaker or something written or spoken) using different words, esp. to achieve greater clarity

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Explicate

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analyze and develop (an idea or principle) in detail

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Image

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a simile or metaphor

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Symbol

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a thing that represents or stands for something else, esp. a material object representing something abstract

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Oxymoron

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a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction

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Paradox

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a statement or proposition that, despite sound (or apparently sound) reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory

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Extended Metaphor

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An extended metaphor, also called a conceit, is a metaphor that continues into the sentences that follow. It is often developed at great length, occurring frequently in or throughout a work, and are especially effective in poems and fiction.

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Metaphor

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a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable

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Simile

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a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid

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Theme

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the subject of a talk, a piece of writing, a person's thoughts, or an exhibition; a topic

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Tone

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a modulation of the voice expressing a particular feeling or mood

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Personification

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the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form

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Understatement

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the presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is

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Hyperbole

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exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally