Poetry Terms And Forms

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Ballad

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A narrative poem, usually simple and fairly short, originally designed to be sung, and traditionally written in quatrains rhyming ABCB. A ballad can sometimes be identified by the reputation of a couplet or stanza (a refrain) which appears like a chorus.

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Blank Verse

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A poem that has Rhythm but no rhyme. Much of Shakespeare's dramatic verse and Tennyson's Ulysses are examples.

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Couplet

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Two successive rhyming lines, usually of the same metre

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Elegy

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A dignified poem mourning the death of an individual

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Epic

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A long narrative poem on a serious subject and in an elevated Style. It centers on a heroic figure, upon whose actions the fate of a Nation or race often depends.

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Free verse

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Poetry that has neither rhyme nor Rhythm. Many modern poets and poems are now written in this form as it allows the maximum a freedoms for the poet

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Haiku

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Originally and Japanese form- 17 syllables in three lines (5, 7, 5). Haikus usually Express a delicate emotion or one precise image and nothing more. Very often, it will use an image of nature to comment on The Human Condition

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Limerick

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Originally, it was an Irish poem that had a very strict rhyme and Rhythm. Most limericks are humorous and often in bad taste. There are five lines with a rhythm scheme of AABBA and the first, 2nd, and 5th lines have three accented beats while the third and fourth only have two

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Lyric

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Most poetry Falls in this category. It is a poem of limited length that expresses the deep feelings of a single speaker, usually the poet

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Ode

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A lengthy lyric poem, serious and subject and dignified in style. It was originally written to celebrate a public occasion

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Quatrain

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A stanza consisting of four lines which may follow a variety of schemes, notably ABAC

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Sonnet

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A verse form of 14 lines with a variety of rhyme schemes.

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Stanza

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A stanza is, essentially, a paragraph of poetry. Eat section is called a stanza

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Alliteration

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Alliteration is the reputation of the same consonant sound, especially at the beginning of words in a series

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Allusion

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Allusion is a brief reference to a person, event, or thing that the writer assumes the reader will recognize.

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Apostrophe

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Apostrophe is a figure of speech in which an absent or dead person, and Abstract quality, or something nonhuman is addressed directly

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Assonance

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Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds when consonant sounds are unlike, creating partial rhyme such as late / make. Compared to rhyme in which only the initial sounds are different, as Moon / June / soon, assonance is Freer and quieter.

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Consonance

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Consonant is the reputation of consonant sounds anywhere in a group of words. 'First and last', 'hill and dale', and 'Stroke of Luck' all 'click' together because of this repetition

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Diction

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Diction refers to the author's choice of words and phrases in a work. The diction of a poem may be described in many ways, such as simple, sophisticated, colloquial, formal, or informal

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Euphemism

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Euphemism refers to the usage of inoffensive or neutral words in the place of harsher, more realistic words. Euphemisms are often used to reduce the risk of offending or upsetting people who are in vulnerable or painful situations. If someone has died, for example, we might describe that person as having passed away.

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Hyperbole

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Hyperbole is the deliberate exaggeration in order to emphasize a fact or feeling. It can be used to create either a comic or serious effect, but, in spite of the exaggeration, there is nearly always some truth expressed in a hyperbole

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Imagery

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Imagery is the technique by which a writer appeals to the sensory experience description. To communicate effectively, poet's must refer to those sensory experiences which most readers have in common

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Irony

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Irony refers to a situation or to a usage of words in which there is a discrepancy between expectation and actuality. For example, it is ironic if a forest is destroyed to produce paper that will be used to criticize to criticize the destructions of forest

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Metaphor

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Metaphor is a figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two things that are basically dissimilar. The metaphor creates an indirect relationship between two objects not normally thought of having similar characteristics. It states that one object is something else.

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Onomatopoeia

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Onomatopoeia is a figure of speech in which a word closely resembles the sound to which it refers. Our language is rich with onomatopoeic words such as hiss, knock, Buzz, fizz, snarl, whirl, and splash. These words, because they are so recognizably close to the sound being described, can be used with octopus effect to enchant meaning and tone

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Oxymoron

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Oxymoron involves a combination of two contradictory or conflicting words. An oxymoron is different from a paradox in that it completely creates the fact through the combination of two successive words, while a paradox involves a complete statement. For example, jumbo shrimp, pretty ugly, Wise Fool, and deafening silence

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Paradox

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A paradox is a statement reads as being contradictory, but upon closer examination reveals some truth

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Personification

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Personification is a specialized form of metaphor in which human characteristics are attributed to things or ideas. Effective use of personification stimulate our imagination and increases our understanding of whatever has been given to these human qualities. It makes the abstract more concrete by reducing it too familiar human forms and behavior

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Simile

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A simile is a comparison between two essentially unlike objects using the words 'like' or 'as'. We often use analogies and evocative similes to clarify thoughts, explain complex ideas, advertise products, and generally make our writing more colorful and appealing

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Symbol

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Assemble is the use of a concrete object to represent an abstract idea or concept. Many symbols have become so much a part of our cultural Traditions that they are immediately identifiable

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Theme

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A theme is the central idea of in a poem, novel, short story, or play