Fundamental Poetic Elements
Terms
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- Poetry
- a patterned form of verbal or written expression of ideas in concentrated, imaginative, and rhythmical terms. Contains Rhyme and a specific meter, but not necessarily.
- Verse
- an arrangement of words in a regular metrical pattern
- Meter
- the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables established in a line of poetry. In identifying the meter of a line or verse, the type and the number of feet are considered.
- Monometer
- one foot line
- Dimeter
- two foot line
- Trimeter
- three foot line
- tetrameter
- four foot line
- Pentameter
- five foot line
- Hexameter
- six foot line
- Heptamether
- seven foot line
- Octometer
- eight foot line
- Foot
- a unit of meter. can have 2 or 3 syllables. Generally cosists of one stressed and one or more unstressed syllables. Poetic lines are classified according to this.
- Iambic Foot
- one unstressed and one stressed syllable
- Trochaic Foot
- One stressed and one unstressed syllable
- Anapestic
- two unstressed followed bye one stressed syllable
- Dactylic foot
- one stressed followed by 2 unstressed syllables
- Spondaic foot
- two unstressed syllables
- Rhymed Verse
- consists of verse with end rhyme and usually with a regular meter.
- Blank Verse
- Consists of lines of iambic pentameter without end rhyme
- Free Verse
- consists of lines that do not have regular meter and do not contain rhyme
- rhyme
- similarity or likenss of sound existing at the end of the two words.
- End Rhyme
- Rhyme at end of line
- Internal Rhyme
- Rhyme inside of line
- Masculine Rhyme
- occurs when one syllable word rhymes with another (head, bed)
- Feminine Rhyme
- when last two syllables of a word rhyme with last two of another (lawful, awful)
- Triple Rhyme
- three syllalbes of words rhyme (victorious, glorious)
- Rhyme Scheme
- the pattern or sequence in which the rhyme occurs
- Alliteration
- is the repitition of the initial letter or sound in two or more words in a line or verse
- Onomatopoeia
- the use of a word to represent or imitate natural sounds. (buzz, crunch)
- Assonance
- the similarity or repetition of a vowel sound in two or more words. Sometimes called partial or near rhymes.(lake, fate)
- Consonance
- the repetition of consonant sounds within a line or verse. Similiar to alliteration except it does not have to be the initial letter
- Refrain
- the repetition of one or more phrases or lines at intervals in a poem, usually at the end of a stanza. takes form as chorus
- Repetition
- the repeating of a word or phrase within a poem
- Euphony
- poetic language characterized by a smooth, pleasant arrangement of sound
- Cacophony
- harsh, discordant language with unpleasant sound
- Figure of Speech
- an expression in which words are used in a non literal sense to present a figure, picture or image
- Simile
- Comparison between 2 usually unrelated things indicating a likeness between some attribute found in both things (uses like or as)
- Metaphor
- an implied comparison between two unlike things (no like or as)
- Personification
- giving of human characteristics to inanimate objects, ideas, or animals
- Synecdoche
- the technique of mentioning a part of something to represent the whole
- Metonymy
- the substitution of something closely associated with an object for the object itself
- Hyperbole
- an exaggeration for the sake of emphasis and is not meant to be taken literally
- Antithesis
- the balancing, or contrasting one term against another.
- Apostrophe
- the addressing directly of someone or something usually not present or alive as though it were present or alive
- Symbol
- a word or image that signifies something other than what is literally represented
- Understatement
- the deliberate representation of something as less than it is for the purpose of ironic contrast
- Allegory
- a poem that has a second meaning beneath the surface one
- Paradox
- statement or situation which contains an apparently contradictory element, but on further examination yields some truth
- Oxymoron
- a two word paradox
- Irony
- a situation or use of language involving some kind of incongruity or discrepancy (verbal, dramatic, situational)
- Satire
- deliberately pokes fun at something with the intention of bringing about change.
- Denotation
- the literal or dictionary meaning of a word
- Connotation
- what a word suggests beyond its literal meaning
- Imagery
- the representation through language of sense experience
- Allusion
- a reference to another work of literature or a previous event in history
- Tone
- the writer's or speaker's attitude toward his subject, audience or himself.
- Structure
- Internal organization of a poem's content
- Form
- the external patter or shape of a poem
- stanzaic
- written in stanza
- continuous form
- no stanza breaks
- Fixed form
- established pattern such as a ballad, sonnet, or terza rima
- Grammatical Pause/ Caesura
- a pause introduced into the reading of a line by a mark of punctuation
- Theme
- the central meaning or idea of the poem
- Stanza
- the division oof a poem based on thought or form. Based on form and are marked bye their rhyme scheme
- couplet
- two lines of verse that rhyme
- triplet/ tercet
- three line stanza, or three lines of verse within a larger unit that generally rhyme
- quatrain
- four line stanza with the rhyme scheme often being a,b,a,b
- quintet
- five line stanza
- seset
- six line stanza/ last part of an italian sonnet
- septet
- seven line stanza
- octave/ octet
- eight line stanza/ first part of an italian sonnet
- Heroic Couplet
- consists of 2 succesive rhyming lines that contain a complete thought within the two lines of poetry.
- Rime Royal
- seven line stanza of iambic pentameter (a,b,a,b,b,c,c)
- Narrative Poetry
- poetry that tells a story
- Epic
- long story telilng poem, usually written in grave and stately language.
- Meieval Romance
- long narrative poem, usually dealing with chivalric adventure, courtship and love
- Ballad
- a short narrative poem with swift action. Often meant to be sung, story line is simple and direct. Written in quatrains.
- Lyric Poetry
- short poem which stirs the emotion and the imagination, musical in nature
- Ode
- a poem in praise of someone or something
- Elegy
- a lament or in memory of someone or something
- Epitaph
- a short elegy inscribed on a tombstone or monument
- Epigram
- Short witty poem expressing a single thought or observation
- Pastoral
- poem extolling virues of country life
- Sonnet
- 14 line poem written in iambic pentameter. italian has an octave and a seset. Elizabethan has 3 quatrains and a couplet. First part of poem often presents a problem or question which is resolved in the sesttet or the couplet
- dramatic poetry
- tells a story through speeches of characters
- satirical poetry
- poetry that attacks throught ridicule
- Parody
- humorous imitation of another work