Fundamental Poetic Elements

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Poetry

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a patterned form of verbal or written expression of ideas in concentrated, imaginative, and rhythmical terms. Contains Rhyme and a specific meter, but not necessarily.

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Verse

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an arrangement of words in a regular metrical pattern

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Meter

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the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables established in a line of poetry. In identifying the meter of a line or verse, the type and the number of feet are considered.

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Monometer

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one foot line

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Dimeter

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two foot line

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Trimeter

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three foot line

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tetrameter

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four foot line

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Pentameter

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five foot line

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Hexameter

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six foot line

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Heptamether

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seven foot line

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Octometer

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eight foot line

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Foot

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a unit of meter. can have 2 or 3 syllables. Generally cosists of one stressed and one or more unstressed syllables. Poetic lines are classified according to this.

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Iambic Foot

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one unstressed and one stressed syllable

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Trochaic Foot

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One stressed and one unstressed syllable

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Anapestic

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two unstressed followed bye one stressed syllable

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Dactylic foot

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one stressed followed by 2 unstressed syllables

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Spondaic foot

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two unstressed syllables

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Rhymed Verse

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consists of verse with end rhyme and usually with a regular meter.

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Blank Verse

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Consists of lines of iambic pentameter without end rhyme

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Free Verse

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consists of lines that do not have regular meter and do not contain rhyme

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rhyme

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similarity or likenss of sound existing at the end of the two words.

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End Rhyme

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Rhyme at end of line

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Internal Rhyme

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Rhyme inside of line

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Masculine Rhyme

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occurs when one syllable word rhymes with another (head, bed)

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Feminine Rhyme

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when last two syllables of a word rhyme with last two of another (lawful, awful)

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Triple Rhyme

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three syllalbes of words rhyme (victorious, glorious)

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Rhyme Scheme

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the pattern or sequence in which the rhyme occurs

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Alliteration

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is the repitition of the initial letter or sound in two or more words in a line or verse

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Onomatopoeia

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the use of a word to represent or imitate natural sounds. (buzz, crunch)

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Assonance

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the similarity or repetition of a vowel sound in two or more words. Sometimes called partial or near rhymes.(lake, fate)

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Consonance

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the repetition of consonant sounds within a line or verse. Similiar to alliteration except it does not have to be the initial letter

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Refrain

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the repetition of one or more phrases or lines at intervals in a poem, usually at the end of a stanza. takes form as chorus

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Repetition

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the repeating of a word or phrase within a poem

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Euphony

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poetic language characterized by a smooth, pleasant arrangement of sound

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Cacophony

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harsh, discordant language with unpleasant sound

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Figure of Speech

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an expression in which words are used in a non literal sense to present a figure, picture or image

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Simile

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Comparison between 2 usually unrelated things indicating a likeness between some attribute found in both things (uses like or as)

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Metaphor

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an implied comparison between two unlike things (no like or as)

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Personification

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giving of human characteristics to inanimate objects, ideas, or animals

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Synecdoche

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the technique of mentioning a part of something to represent the whole

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Metonymy

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the substitution of something closely associated with an object for the object itself

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Hyperbole

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an exaggeration for the sake of emphasis and is not meant to be taken literally

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Antithesis

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the balancing, or contrasting one term against another.

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Apostrophe

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the addressing directly of someone or something usually not present or alive as though it were present or alive

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Symbol

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a word or image that signifies something other than what is literally represented

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Understatement

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the deliberate representation of something as less than it is for the purpose of ironic contrast

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Allegory

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a poem that has a second meaning beneath the surface one

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Paradox

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statement or situation which contains an apparently contradictory element, but on further examination yields some truth

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Oxymoron

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a two word paradox

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Irony

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a situation or use of language involving some kind of incongruity or discrepancy (verbal, dramatic, situational)

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Satire

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deliberately pokes fun at something with the intention of bringing about change.

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Denotation

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the literal or dictionary meaning of a word

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Connotation

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what a word suggests beyond its literal meaning

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Imagery

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the representation through language of sense experience

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Allusion

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a reference to another work of literature or a previous event in history

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Tone

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the writer's or speaker's attitude toward his subject, audience or himself.

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Structure

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Internal organization of a poem's content

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Form

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the external patter or shape of a poem

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stanzaic

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written in stanza

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continuous form

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no stanza breaks

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Fixed form

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established pattern such as a ballad, sonnet, or terza rima

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Grammatical Pause/ Caesura

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a pause introduced into the reading of a line by a mark of punctuation

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Theme

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the central meaning or idea of the poem

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Stanza

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the division oof a poem based on thought or form. Based on form and are marked bye their rhyme scheme

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couplet

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two lines of verse that rhyme

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triplet/ tercet

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three line stanza, or three lines of verse within a larger unit that generally rhyme

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quatrain

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four line stanza with the rhyme scheme often being a,b,a,b

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quintet

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five line stanza

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seset

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six line stanza/ last part of an italian sonnet

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septet

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seven line stanza

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octave/ octet

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eight line stanza/ first part of an italian sonnet

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Heroic Couplet

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consists of 2 succesive rhyming lines that contain a complete thought within the two lines of poetry.

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Rime Royal

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seven line stanza of iambic pentameter (a,b,a,b,b,c,c)

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Narrative Poetry

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poetry that tells a story

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Epic

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long story telilng poem, usually written in grave and stately language.

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Meieval Romance

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long narrative poem, usually dealing with chivalric adventure, courtship and love

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Ballad

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a short narrative poem with swift action. Often meant to be sung, story line is simple and direct. Written in quatrains.

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Lyric Poetry

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short poem which stirs the emotion and the imagination, musical in nature

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Ode

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a poem in praise of someone or something

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Elegy

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a lament or in memory of someone or something

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Epitaph

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a short elegy inscribed on a tombstone or monument

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Epigram

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Short witty poem expressing a single thought or observation

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Pastoral

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poem extolling virues of country life

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Sonnet

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14 line poem written in iambic pentameter. italian has an octave and a seset. Elizabethan has 3 quatrains and a couplet. First part of poem often presents a problem or question which is resolved in the sesttet or the couplet

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dramatic poetry

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tells a story through speeches of characters

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satirical poetry

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poetry that attacks throught ridicule

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Parody

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humorous imitation of another work