Poetry Terms
Poetry Unit ~ Poetry Terms
Terms
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- Stanza
- lines grouped together to form a division of a poem, separated from other lines by space
- Simile
- comparison using the words like or as ("My love is like a red, red rose")
- Metaphor
- a direct comparison without using like or as. ("The road was a ribbon of moonlight"; road=ribbon of moonlight)
- Connotation
- the implied or suggested meaning of a word; the emotional overtones of the word; what the word suggests to you
- Irony
- an unexpected twist; irony occurs when something turns out the opposite of what the reader or character might expect or desire.
- Allusion
- a reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, work of art that the poet expects the reader to recognize
- Onomatopoeia
- the use of words whose sounds imitate natural sounds
- Lyric poem
- a highly musical verse that expresses the observations and feelings of a single speaker
- Speaker
- the narrator, point of view, or persona through whom the poet is speaking. The speaker of the poem should not be confused with the poet. For example, an older poet might choose to write from the point of view of a teenage girl.
- Line
- words on the same horizontal level
- Rhyme scheme
- the pattern of rhymes at the ends of lines in a poem
- extended metaphor
- a metaphor that extends through several lines, a stanza, or the whole poem.
- Sarcasm
- saying something and meaning the exact opposite; verbal irony
- Couplet
- two consecutive rhyming lines
- Denotation
- the literal meaning of a word
- Symbol
- an object, person, place, event, or quality that stands for something more than itself; something concrete that stands for something abstract
- Figurative language
- a word or phrase that describes something in a way that is not literally true, but may be true in a deeper sense. Metaphor, personification, and simile are specific types of figurative language.
- Imagery
- the use of vivid or figurative language to represent objects, actions, or ideas; specifically using language that appeals to one or more of the five senses to describe objects, actions, or ideas.
- Personification
- giving an object or an animal the qualities or characteristics of a human
- Tone
- the writer's attitude toward the subject he or she is writing about or the speaker's attitude toward the subject he or she is talking about
- Alliteration
- the repetition of initial consonant sounds
- Repetition
- the repeating of a word of phrase to add rhythm or to emphasize an idea