Random Poetry

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Anapest

Back 1

a poetic meter: 2 unstressed syllables are followed by one stressed syllable as in in•ter•VENE.
single anapestic foot=anapest.

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atmosphere

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a pervasive element of influence. For example, there can be an atmosphere of melancholy, of gaiety, and so forth.

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ballad

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a relatively short poem which tells a story. 2 types of ballads- folk ballads & literary ballads. Folk ballads were meant to be sung; literary ballads were meant to be printed and read.

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ballad stanza

Back 4

: the most common stanza – or grouping of lines – used in ballads. quatrain(4 lined stanza) - second and the fourth lines rhyming. Generally, each quatrain has four stressed syllables in the first and third lines, and three stressed syllables in the second and fourth lines
There LIVED a WIFE at USHer’s WELL,
And a WEALthy WIFE was SHE:
She HAD three STOUT and STALwart SONS,
And SENT them O’ER the SEA

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blank verse

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unrhymed poetry in which each line usually has ten syllables. Five of the syllables are stressed – generally the second, fourth, sixth, eighth, and tenth syllables.

But SOFT! What LIGHT through YONder WINdow BREAKS?
It IS the EAST and JULiet IS the SUN!
ARISE, fair SUN and KILL the Envious MOON
Who is alREADy SICK and PALE with GRIEF
That THOU her MAID art FAR more FAIR than SHE.

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light verse

Back 6

verse which is primarily humorous or entertaining.

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scansion

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the method of determining the meter of a poem. When one scans a line, one counts the number and determines the type of poetic feet in that line.

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trochee

Back 8

Trochaic meter is comprised of feet wherein one stressed syllable is followed by one unstressed syllable, as in ES•say. A single trochaic foot is called a trochee.

Front 9

anapestic

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two unstressed syllables are followed by one stressed syllable:
in•ter•VENE.

Front 10

dactylic

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one stressed syllable is followed by two unstressed syllables
HIS•to•ry.

Front 11

iambic

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one unstressed syllable is followed by one stressed syllable
de•FEND.

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sonnet

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A fixed form consisting of fourteen lines of 5-foot verse verse

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English/Shakespearean sonnet

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lines are grouped in 3 quatrains (so six alternating rhymes) followed by a detached rhymed couplet, usually epigrammatic.

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Italian sonnet

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14 lines divided into an octave of two rhyme-sounds:abba abba & a sestet of two additional rhyme sounds which may be variously arranged.
tends to divide the thought into two opposing or complementary phases of an idea

Front 15

elegy

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response to death of person/group

3 stages of loss involved:
1) there is a lament-- grief and sorrow expressed
2) praise /admiration of the dead
3) consolation and solace

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dramatic monologue

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one-way conversation by a character/persona, usually directed to a second person or imaginary audience.
critical moment, unintentional revelation of the character

Front 17

villanelle

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19 line poem w/ 2 repeating rhymes & 2 refrains

five tercets followed by a quatrain

first and third lines of the opening tercet repeated alternately in the last lines of the succeeding stanzas; then in the final stanza, the refrain serves as the poem's two concluding lines

Front 18

sestina

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The sestina is a complex form that achieves its often spectacular effects through intricate repetition.

words are switched around

Front 19

Ode

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intense expression of an elevated thought, often addressed to a praised person or object.

classic structure divided in 3 parts

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pastoral

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poem treating of shepherd and rustic life

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pantoum

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poem of any length, composed of four-line stanzas in which the second and fourth lines of each stanza serve as the first and third lines of the next stanza. The last line of a pantoum is often the same as the first

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blank verse

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unrhymed iambic pentameter....closest to human speech

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heroic couplet

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rhyming pair of lines, usually in iambic pentameter, but sometimes in tetrameter

There is frequently a pause/caesura in the middle of the line

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spondee

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two unstressed syllables