Poetry Terms
English I G/T
2011-2012
Poetry
A highly charged form of literature in which every word is packed with meaning. It has a musical quality that may be achieved through meter, rhyme, repetition, and sound devices.
Poetic Forms
Form
A poem’s structure – the way the words are arranged on the page
Two Primary Poetic Forms
Traditional Organic
CharacteristicsFollows fixed rules such as a specified number of linesHas a regular pattern of rhyme and rhythm
CharacteristicsDoesn’t follow established rules for form.Doesn’t have a regular pattern of rhythm and may not rhyme at allMay use unconventional spelling, grammar, and punctuation
Formsepic, ode, ballad, sonnet, limerick, haiku, villanelle
Formsfree verse, concrete poetry
Lines & Stanzas
LineEach individual line of a poem; the length of lines,
where they break, and how they are punctuated all contribute to a poem’s rhythm and meaning.
StanzaA grouping of consecutive in a poem that form a single
unit; analogous to a paragraph in prose
Line FormatEnd-Stopped Lines Lines in which both the grammatical structure and the sense reach
completion at the end of the line.Ex. He was my friend, faithful and just to me; / But Brutus says he was ambitious, / And Brutus is an honorable man.
Run-On LinesThe carrying over of grammatical structure from one line to the next.
Enjambment The continuation of the sense and grammatical construction of a line on
to the next line.Ex. I will not eat green eggs / And ham, I will not eat them Sam I Am.
Two of the Main Types of Poetry
Narrative Poem Tells a story in verse
Ex. Odyssey (an epic)
Lyric PoemA brief poem in which the writer expresses feelings of
a single speaker, creating a single effect on the reader. Lyrics are notable for their musical qualities, achieved through rhyme and rhythm.
Sound Devices
Rhythm and Meter
RhythmA pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line
of poetry.
MeterA regular pattern of rhythm
FootThe unit of measuring rhythm.
Feet
Iamb A metrical foot that contains one unstressed
followed by one stressed syllable
Ex. But soft!; alone
Trochee
A metrical foot that contains one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable
Ex. absent
Meter
Trimeter
Three feet per line
Tetrameter
Four feet per line
Pentameter
Five feet per line
Iambic Pentameter
A line of poetry that consists of five iambs/feet
Ex. But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?
Scansion
The charting of meter, in which stressed syllables are marked with a ‘ and unstressed syllables with a ᵕ.
Rhyme
Rhyme
The occurrence of similar or identical sounds at the end of two or more words.
Ex. suite, heat, and complete
Types of Rhyme
Internal Rhyme Rhyme that occurs within a single line of
poetry
Ex. It dropped so low – in my Regard - / I heard it hit the Ground
Types of Rhyme
Slant Rhyme Approximate rhyme; occurs when authors
attempt to rhyme words that simply do not rhyme exactly
Ex. What immortal hand or eye / Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
Types of Rhyme
End Rhyme Rhyme that occurs at the ends of lines of
poetry
Ex. And be one traveler, long I stood / And looked down one as far as I could.
Rhyme Scheme A pattern of end rhymes in a poem. A rhyme scheme is noted by
assigning a letter of the alphabet, beginning with a, to each line. Lines that rhyme are given the same letter.Ex. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, a
And sorry I could not travel both bAnd be one traveler, long I stood aAnd looked down one as far as I could aTo where it bent in the undergrowth b
Repetition
Repetition
A sound, word, phrase, or line that is repeated for emphasis and unity.
Ex. back off from this poem / it has drawn in yr feet / back off from this poem
Refrain
Repeated word, phrase, line, or group of lines.
Alliteration
Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words
Ex. Which circle slowly with a silken swish
Assonance
Repetition of similar vowel sounds in words that don’t end with the same consonant.
Ex. young love; deep-eyed deer
Consonance
Repetition of similar consonant sounds within and at the ends of words
Ex. The archetypal arachnid attacked the critical acrobat’s katydid.
Anaphora
The same expression (word or words) is repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences.
Ex. I have been one acquainted with the night / I have outwalked the farthest city light.
Sound
Cacophony
Rough, harsh-sounding, discordant sounds
Ex. I’ll look to like if looking liking move.
Euphony
Grouping together or harmonic, pleasing sounds (opposite of cacophony)
Ex. Hear all, all see, / And like her most whose merit most shall be; / Which, on more view of many, mine, being one, ‘ May stand in number, though in reck’ning none.
Onomatopoeia
Words that sound like their meaning
Ex. swoosh, zip, click, zoom, pop, crackle