Poetry Terms

Take notes and add examples!

AlliterationRepetition of consonant sounds

at the beginning or in the middle of successive words

Tongue TwisterSue Sang Songs

Picture Perfect Play

Alliteration - Eat WiselyAlan Loren

Franks and fries, and French fondueBeans and burgers and biscuits tooChicken, chili, and cheddar cheeseWhen I munch too much, I always

sneeze!

AssonanceRepeating of vowel sounds

beat/weeklight/mine icky igloos

AssonanceThe Bells ~ Edgar Allen Poe

Hear the mellow wedding bells -Golden bells!

What a world of happiness their harmony foretells!

Through the balmy air of nightHow they ring out their delight!From the molten-golden notes,

And all in tune,What a liquid ditty floats

To the turtle-dove that listens, while she gloatsOn the moon!

ConsonanceRepetition of consonant

sounds Consonance is the repetition of two or

more consonant sounds within a line. Often the consonant sounds come at the

very end of the word, but they come in the middle as well.

Up/drip

Free Verse Poetry that has not set structure or

pattern Rhythm does not come from rhyme Rhythm comes from repetition

“April Rain Song” – Langston Hughes

April Rain Song Langston Hughes

Let the rain kiss youLet the rain beat upon your head with

silver liquid dropsLet the rain sing you a lullaby

The rain makes still pools on the sidewalkThe rain makes running pools in the gutter

The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night

And I love the rain.

HyperboleBig exaggeration, usually with

humor

These 17-day weeks are a killer! Mile high ice cream cone – yum!

HyperboleMy Dog ~ Sharon Hendricks

His bark breaks the sound barrierHis nose is as cold as an ice box.

A wag of his tail causes hurricanesHis jumping causes falling rocks.He eats a mountain of dog food

And drinks a water fall dry.But though he breaks the bank

He’s the apple of my eye.

ImageryWords a poet uses that appeal

to our sensesHelp create a mental pictureThe fog comes in on little cat

feet (Carl Sandburg)“The Red Wheelbarrow”

The Red WheelbarrowWilliam Carlos Williams

so much dependsupon a red wheel

barrow glazed with rain

water beside the white chickens.

The Way I Play Soccer~ Natasha Niemi

Imagery

Sweat streams down my face,And my skin turns red under the watchful eye of

the sun.The sound of cleats pounding the earth is

deafening As my enemies charge down the field towards me.

I can sense the shooter is going to miss;All at once, the ball collides into my chest.Screams of victory roar across the field.

The grass stained, game ball restsRests lovingly between my two hands.

Line Info… Line–single row of words appearing together in a

line Line Break – place where line of poetry stops Line Length –

number of words in a line, can be 1 word, 5 words, etc. helps create a rhythmic pattern

Poetry is a boatload of fun

MetaphorComparison without using like or as One thing is another

The cat is a shadow.My Reading teachers are geniuses!!

OnomatopoiaNaming a thing or an action

by imitating the sound associated with it

buzz, hiss, roar, woof

The GameNatasha Niemi

Clap! Clap!Stomp! Stomp!Swish! Swish!

This is the way we get throughOur games.

The crowd shouts,”Yahoo!”

The ball soars through the air.Then, bounce, bounce, bounce.The audience holds its breath.

SWISH!The ball goes in;

We win!

PersonificationGiving something human

qualities

The room exhaled a sigh of relief when the ugly carpet was ripped off the walls!

Personification – Dinnertime Chorus ~ Sharon Hendricks

The teapot sang as the water boiledThe ice cubes cackled in their glass

the teacups chattered to one another.While the chairs were passing gas

The gravy gurgled merrily As the oil danced in a pan.Oh my dinnertime chorusWhat a lovely, lovely clan!

RepetitionThe repeating of words, sounds, phrases or lines

Used to emphasize an idea and establish a rhythm

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away…

MayflyMaryAnn Hoberman

Think how fast a year flies by A month flies by A week flies by

Think how fast a day flies by A Mayfly’s life lasts but a day

A single day To live and die A single day

How fast it goes The day

The Mayfly Both of those.

A Mayfly flies a single day The daylight dies and darkness grows

A single day How fast it flies A Mayfly’s life

How fast it goes.

Rhythm/MeterRhythm – the steady beat of the

poem which makes the poem flowMeter – the rhythmic pattern in a

poem

Poetry is a boatload of fun Nothing’s better under the sun

Rhyme Scheme/End RhymeRhyme Verse

Rhyme Scheme ~ The pattern of rhyme scheme in a poem Makes a stanza Identified by lower case letters

End Rhyme ~ Rhyming at the end of the line Makes a rhyme scheme Creates rhythm in rhyme verse

Rhyme Verse ~ Form of poetry whose rhythm is established by rhyme Has a set structure and pattern

Rhyme Scheme, End Rhyme Rhyme Verse

Rain PoemElizabeth Coatsworth

The rain was like a little mouse,Quiet, small, and gray,

It pattered all around the houseAnd then it went away.

It did not come, I understand,Indoors at all, until,

It found an open window andLeft tracks across the sill.

SimileComparison of two things

using like or asShows that one thing is

similar to another

The cat’s fur is as black as night!

StanzaCouplet, Quatrain, Sestet

Stanza ~ Grouping of lines in a poem Usually 2-6 lines Spaces separate stanzas

Couplet (2 lines), Quatrain (4 lines), Sestet (6 lines)

Named for the number of lines in them Set up based on rhyme scheme