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Poetry 10 Terminology
Jaya Kailley
TYPES OF POEMS
Ballad
A poem that is typically long and tells a story. Often used for lyrics in a song.Ex: 'La Belle Dame sans Merci: A Ballad' by John
Keats"O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
Alone and pallet loitering?The sedge has withered from the lake,
And no birds sing."
Concrete
A poem where the words are arranged to show a picture, the visual component is more important than the actual words themselves.
Ex. 'Sonnet in the Shape of a Potted
Christmas Tree' by George Starbuck
Free Verse
A form of modern poetry that doesn't have any patterns in rhyme, line length, or rhythm.
Ex. 'Plenty' by Kevin Connolly"The sky, lit up like a question orAn applause meter, is beautifulLike everything else today..."
Lyric
A poem short in length that has a lot of emotion.
Ex. 'Greetings From The Incredible Shrinking Woman' by Pat Lowther"It's not that
i'm getting smaller(I thought so at first)
But that the continent's..."
Narrative
A poem that tells a story. Can be free verse.
Ex. 'Love in the Silence of the Soul' by David Meade"As a young boySitting in a pew
The winter darkness pressing down Candlelight waves from hidden drafts
Shadows danced on the walls"
Sonnet
A poem of fourteen lines that is written in iambic pentameter. A typical rhyme scheme for a sonnet is abab cdcd efef gg, which is the form of a Shakespearean sonnet.
Ex. 'Sonnet XV' by Shakespeare"When I consider everything that growsHolds in perfection but a little moment..."
POETIC DEVICES: A - sound
Alliteration
The same consonant sound repeated at the beginning of a series of words.
Ex. '"...on the way, which with your luck," from 'Plenty' by Connolly
Assonance
The same vowel sound contained in a series of words.
Ex. "As he takes from you, I engraft you new." From 'Sonnet XV' by Shakespeare
Consonance
Similar to alliteration, except the consonant sound is in the middle of the words rather than at the beginning.
Ex. "Some rocks were large as buckets, others..." from 'Scavenging the Wall' by R. T. Smith
Euphony
Sounds that are pleasant to the ear.
Ex. "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness" from 'Ode to Autumn' by John Keats
Onomatopoeia
Words that sounds like what they mean.
Ex. "...waiting maybe to be flicked off, to thrash like a fish in the saltchuck" from
'Greetings from the Incredible Shrinking Woman' by Lowther
B - comparison
Metaphor
A comparison of two unlike things without using 'like' or 'as'.
Ex. "It is the star to every wand'ring bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his heigh be taken." From 'Sonnet CXVI' by Shakespeare.
(He is referring to love)
Personification
A comparison between something that isn't human and a human.
Ex. "Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks" from 'Sonnet CXVI' by
Shakespeare
Simile
A comparison between two unlike things using 'like' or 'as'.
Ex. "When I perceive that men as plants increase," from 'Sonnet XV' by
Shakespeare
C - word play
Allusion
Making a reference to something from one piece of literature in another piece of literature.
Ex. "The girl at the IGA who looks just like Julie Delpy, but you don't tell her --" from
'Plenty' by Connolly
Figurative Language
Could also be called 'flowery language'. Used to provide rich imagery. Often contains metaphors and personification.
Ex. "My lost memoryWhite and frozenNow melts colourReady to refract"
from 'Mediterranean' by Sudeep Sen
Hyperbole
An extreme exaggeration.
Ex. "The continent's expanding, stretching like silly putty" from 'Greetings from the Incredible
Shrinking Woman' by Lowther
Imagery
Creating a picture in the reader's mind by appealing to the four senses.
Ex. "Only random woods and snores Of two distant dogsOn.a very cold night
Clears fog that is unresolved." From 'Winter' by Sudeep Sen
Literal Language
The opposite of figurative language. Means exactly what it sounds like, the language is literal.
Ex. "Even lightening can be beautiful in a scary kind of way (there's a word for that but let's forget it for the moment). From 'Plenty'
by Connolly.
Mood
The feeling that the poem gives to the reader, the atmosphere of the poem.
Ex. 'Plenty' by Connolly makes the reader feel happy, appreciative, etc.
Oxymoron
Two opposite words placed side by side.
Ex: "darkness visible" from 'Book 1 of Paradise Lost' by John Milton
Paradox
A large oxymoron, or a contradictory statement. Used in a phrase.
Ex. 'Sweet like a Crow' by Michael Ondaatje
Repetition
Repetition is used to make a point, or to emphasize a certain sound, word, phrase, or stanza.
Ex: "...and watch the beautiful sky, beautiful storm, the people with their beautiful names..." from 'Plenty'
by Connolly
Symbol
Something that has a deeper meaning or represents something else.
Ex. "Beside a humble stone, a treeFloats in the cemetery's air,
Not planted in memoriam there,But growing wild, uncultured, free." From 'Last Hope' by Paul Verlaine
Tone
The author's attitude towards a piece of writing.
Ex. The tone of 'Sweet like a Crow' by Ondaatje would be sarcastic, dry, etc.
Understatement
The opposite of hyperbole, usually sarcastic.
Ex: the whole poem of 'This is Just to Say' by William Carlos Williams (seems like a heartfelt apologetic letter, ends up being about him eating
plums in the icebox)
VERSE FORMS
Couplet
Two lines of poetry that may rhyme.
Ex: "The maggot dreams of the ear andThe wound, that welcome dark between"
From 'Sonnet 146' by R.A. Villanueva
Octave
Eight lines of poetry.
Ex: "She was in love with the same dangerEverybody is. Dangerous..."
(+6 more lines)From 'Triolet' by Sandra Mcpherson
Quatrain
Four lines of poetry (usually have an abab or abcb rhyme scheme)
Ex: "The late Gracie Allen was a very lucid comedienne..."(+3 more lines in this stanza)
From 'Sonnet' by Alice Notley
Sestet
Six lines of poetry
Ex: 'The Mortician in San Francisco' by Randall Mann"This may sound queer,
But in 1985 I held the delicate handsOf Dan White:
I prepared him for burial; by then, Harvey MilkWas made monument - no, myth - by the years
Since he was shot."
Stanza
Another term for 'verse'.
Ex: "expanding, stretchingLike silly puttyOr like a movie
Seen in a dream" from 'Greetings' by Lowther
Verse
A paragraph of writing within a poem (aka stanza)
Ex: "it's not thatI'm getting smaller(I thought so at first)
But that the continent's"From 'Greetings...' by Lowther
RHYTHM & RHYME
Blank Verse
Unrhymed iambic pentameter. Shakespeare's plays used this technique.
Ex: "your voice sounds like a scorpion..." from 'Sweet like a Crow' by Ondaatje
Iambic Pentameter
Five iambs in a row is considered iambic pentameter. An iamb is two syllables, with the first one unstressed and the second one stressed.
Ex: "within his bending sickle's compass come" from 'Sonnet CXVI' by Shakespeare
Rhyme
Words/lines that have the same sounds at the end.
Ex: "And all in war with Time for love of you,As he takes from you, I engraft you new."
From 'Sonnet XV' by Shakespeare
Rhythm
The pattern of sound within a poem.
Ex: iambic pentameter. "If this be error and upon me prov'd'" from 'Sonnet CXVI' by Shakespeare
Rhyme Scheme
The pattern of rhyme occurring in a poem. Rhyme schemes are shown with letters (ex. ABAB)
Ex: all Shakespearean sonnets have a rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF
GG. (Such as Sonnet XV)
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