Poetic Form

Front 1

Meter

Back 1

Rhythm (the beats) within a poem (the way the syllables are accented and unaccented to form a pattern).

ex: I reMEMber IT was IN the BLEAK deCEMber.

Front 2

Symbol

Back 2

A word that means something else in addition to itself

ex: Two roads diverged in a yellow wood (road = actual road and life journey)

Front 3

Quintet

Back 3

Stanzaic Form: 5 lines per stanza

Front 4

Masculine rhyme

Back 4

Single syllable rhymes

ex: plain, rain, arraign

Front 5

Limerick

Back 5

A fixed poetic form, usually humorous, using five lines, in which the first, second, and fifth lines rhyme with each other, and the third and fourth lines, which are shorter, form a rhymed couplet. Usually in anapestic meter.

ex: There was was a man from Peru
Who dreamed he was eating his shoe...

Front 6

Free Verse

Back 6

A free poetic form in which no meter or rhyme is required.

ex: my heart
oh the brokenness inside me
how can i go on like this?

Front 7

Septet

Back 7

Stanzaic Form: 7 lines per stanza

Front 8

Rhyme

Back 8

The repetition of ending sounds within words. Common types are end rhyme, internal rhyme, near rhyme, and eye rhyme.

ex: On the SHORE I found LenORE.

Front 9

Alliteration

Back 9

The repetition of the initial sounds of words within lines of poetry, usually to produce a certain tone or mood.

ex: My Mother's Many Moods

Front 10

Simile

Back 10

Explicit comparison of two things using like/as

ex: My hope is like the burning sun

Front 11

Pentameter

Back 11

Meter form: Five feet per poetic line.

Front 12

End rhyme

Back 12

The most obvious form of rhyme, at the ends of lines. Often labeled with rhyme schemes like ABAB, CDCD.

ex: Come with me
Climb this tree

Front 13

Fixed Form

Back 13

A "stanza pattern" which has specific guidelines for a poetic form that music be followed.

Front 14

Metaphor

Back 14

Implicit comparison of two things in which one thing is spoken of in terms of another

ex: My heart is dirt beneath your foot

Front 15

Quatrain

Back 15

Stanzaic Form: 4 lines per stanza

Front 16

Cinquain

Back 16

A fixed poetic form of 5 lines, containing two, four, six, eight, and two syllables.

ex: Summer
It comes again
Scorching and wooing us
etc....

Front 17

Figurative Language

Back 17

One of the five poetic elements used to analyze poetry. Imaginative comparisons used within the poetry.

ex: simile, personification, etc.

Front 18

Blank Verse

Back 18

Poetic form using meter (usually iambic pentameter) but no rhyme

ex: And when I think that this may be the night
I cringe and wonder why it must be so

Front 19

Octameter

Back 19

Meter form: Eight feet per poetic line.

Front 20

Patterned Syntax

Back 20

One of the five poetic elements used to analyze poetry. The words, phrases, and stanzas of a poem are arranged in a "poetic" way - not prose.

Front 21

Refrain

Back 21

A line repeated several times within a poem.

ex: miles to go before I sleep, miles to go before I sleep

Front 22

Hyperbole

Back 22

Exaggeration to make a point

ex: His words tore apart my heart

Front 23

Rhymed Verse

Back 23

Poetic form using meter and rhyme.

ex: I own a dog
He's not a frog

Front 24

Approximate rhyme

Back 24

Also called near rhyme. It doesn't exactly rhyme, but it's close enough.

ex: Love, enough

Front 25

Tetrameter

Back 25

Meter form: Four feet per poetic line.

Front 26

Assonance

Back 26

The repetition of vowel sounds within lines of poetry, usually to produce a certain tone or mood.

ex: The lOnely Ocean mOurned and mOaned

Front 27

Sound Repetition

Back 27

One of the five poetic elements used to analyze poetry. Sounds within lines are repeated to support the theme and give an overall pleasant impression.

ex: meter (rhythm), rhyme, and other sound devices.

Front 28

Haiku

Back 28

A fixed poetic form of 3 lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables, meant to create a single strong emotion or image.

ex: The water lily
Slipped beneath the smooth surface
But rose anew, clean

Front 29

Female rhyme

Back 29

Multi-syllable rhymes

ex: Flowing, going, snowing

Front 30

Triplet

Back 30

Stanzaic Form: 3 lines per stanza

Front 31

iambic

Back 31

Rhythm:
~ / (the most common)

ex: and WHEN the WORLD has GONE

Front 32

Stanzaic Form

Back 32

A "stanza pattern" in which stanzas are used.

Ex: haiku, limerick, etc.

Front 33

Stanza

Back 33

Poetic paragraphs. The arrangement of poetic lines into groups based on rhyme, rhythm, meaning, etc.

ex: couplets, tercets, quatrains, etc.

Front 34

trochaic

Back 34

Rhythm:
/ ~

ex: EVer AFter NEVer COMES

Front 35

Pyrrhic

Back 35

Rhythm:
~ ~

Cannot be sustained throughout an entire poem. Usually added once in a line.

Front 36

anapestic

Back 36

Rhythm:
~ ~ /

ex: and we FELL even THOUGH we were STRONG

Front 37

Eye rhyme

Back 37

Words that look like rhymes, but don't quite rhyme.

ex: done, gone

Front 38

Heptameter

Back 38

Meter form: Seven feet per poetic line.

Front 39

dactylic

Back 39

Rhythm:
/ ~ ~

ex: HAPiness HAPiness LIVing withIN

Front 40

Sestet

Back 40

Stanzaic Form: 6 lines per stanza

Front 41

Internal rhyme

Back 41

Rhyme within the lines of poetry, rather than only at the ends of lines.

ex: I GO where I KNOW I will find it

Front 42

Consonance

Back 42

The repetition of consonant sounds within lines of poetry, usually to produce a certain tone or mood.

ex: OveR the Rolling wateRs of yoRe

Front 43

Monometer

Back 43

Meter form: One foot per poetic line.

Front 44

Apostrophe

Back 44

Speaking to non-human things as if they're human

ex: Oh, Love, leave me now forever!

Front 45

Dimeter

Back 45

Meter form: Two feet per poetic line.

Front 46

Sense

Back 46

One of the five poetic elements used to analyze poetry. Poetry must have meaning.

Front 47

Trimeter

Back 47

Meter form: Three feet per poetic line.

Front 48

Personification

Back 48

Giving non-human things human characteristics

ex: The flower smiled up at me

Front 49

Hexameter

Back 49

Meter form: Six feet per poetic line.

Front 50

Couplet

Back 50

Stanzaic Form: 2 lines per stanza

Front 51

Continuous Form

Back 51

A "stanza pattern" in which no stanzas are used.

Front 52

Spondaic

Back 52

Rhythm:
/ /

Cannot be sustained throughout an entire poem.

ex: I WILL GO

Front 53

Octave

Back 53

Stanzaic Form: 8 lines per stanza

Front 54

Shape/Form

Back 54

An optional element of poetry (a kind of patterned syntax) in which the poem is given a shape to support its meaning.

ex: The Christmas Tree in the shape of a tree

Front 55

Imagery

Back 55

One of the five poetic elements used to analyze poetry. It focuses on creating vivid pictures in the mind of the reader, and is strongest if it uses many of the five senses.