Poetry Terms

Front 1

diction

Back 1

word choice

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tone

Back 2

the speaker’s mood or attitude toward the subject and/or audience

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simile

Back 3

a comparison using like or as

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metaphor

Back 4

a comparison where one thing is said to be another

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personification

Back 5

an inanimate object is given living characteristics

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allusion

Back 6

a brief, indirect reference to something in history, mythology, current events, or other work of literature

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symbol

Back 7

an object or image stands for something larger than itself

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metonomy

Back 8

literally, a misnaming, where an emblem or associated image is used to stand for something else, e.g. “the pen is mightier than the sword”

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synecdoche

Back 9

a part of something represents the whole, e.g. “a roof over one’s head”

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pathetic fallacy

Back 10

nature or other phenomenon is given feelings sympathetic to humans

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oxymoron

Back 11

a short paradox (contrasting words are juxtaposed) e.g. sweet sorrow

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synesthesia

Back 12

description which mixes the senses, e.g. silken song

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alliteration

Back 13

the repetition of initial consonant sounds in a line of poetry or prose

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assonance

Back 14

the repetition of dominant vowel sounds in a line of poetry or prose

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consonance

Back 15

the repetition of consonant sounds anywhere in the words

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iambic pentameter

Back 16

a pattern of iambic meter repeated five times

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blank verse

Back 17

a pattern of iambic meter repeated five times, unrhymed, often used by Shakespeare, et. al.

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meter

Back 18

organization of words’ accents into rhythm patterns

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iamb

Back 19

one measure of a poetic rhythm

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scansion

Back 20

the process of identifying the metrical pattern in a poem

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iambic

Back 21

unaccented, accented rhythm pattern

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trochee

Back 22

accented, unaccented rhythm pattern

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anapest

Back 23

unaccented, unaccented, accented rhythm pattern

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dactyl

Back 24

accented, unaccented, unaccented rhythm pattern

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spondee

Back 25

accented, accented rhythm pattern

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pure rhyme

Back 26

the pattern of rhymes at the ends of lines of poetry

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slant rhyme

Back 27

closely related but not identical rhyme

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anaphora

Back 28

repetition of first word or words in lines

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refrains

Back 29

repeated group of lines; chorus

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caesura

Back 30

pause (in Latin= cut) in middle of meter

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enjambment

Back 31

continuation of a line of poetry beyond the end without a pause

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free verse

Back 32

poetry which does not use conventional rhythm or rhyme patterns, but follows the natural cadence of speech.

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euphony

Back 33

flowing, pleasing sound in a line of poetry or prose

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cacophony

Back 34

harsh, jarring sound in a line of poetry or prose

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sibilance

Back 35

the repeated use of “s” sounds in a line of poetry of prose

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onomatopoeia

Back 36

words that sound like what they mean (spelling counts)

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denotation

Back 37

the literal or explicit meaning of words

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connotation

Back 38

the suggested or implicit meaning of words

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imagery

Back 39

the use of language that appeals to the senses to create a “picture”

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clichés

Back 40

overused phrases, e.g. quick as lightening; slow as molasses

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conceit

Back 41

a bold or absurd comparison, often used by Metaphysical Poets

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epic simile

Back 42

an extended comparison using like or as

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archetype

Back 43

a universal symbol, e.g. snake for evil, or sunrise for hope

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persona

Back 44

a speaker who provides a mask for the author

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lyric

Back 45

songlike poem (originally played on the lyre) usually told in first person

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narrative

Back 46

story poem

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dramatic

Back 47

poetry which presents a character or characters and a conflict

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dramatic monologue

Back 48

a poem spoken by single speaker, to the reader or other person

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public voice poem

Back 49

the speaker of a poem speaks for participants in a common situation

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didactic

Back 50

a poem that teaches a moral lesson

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sonnet

Back 51

a fourteen-line poem written in iambic pentameter with a specific rhyme scheme

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villanelle

Back 52

a nineteen-line poem consisting of five tercets and a quatrain, with two rhymes and specific lines repeated

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ode

Back 53

a lyrical poem written in the form of address to a particular subject, often in elevated style

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pastoral

Back 54

a poem which features country life, particularly in an idealized way

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aubade

Back 55

a poem related to dawn, and particularly the parting of lovers