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