Refrain
A line or set of lines repeated several times over the course of a poem.
Repetition
The reappearance of a sound, a word, a phrase, a stanza, or other structure in any literary work.
End Rhyme
A word at the end of one line rhymes with a word at the end of another line
External Rhyme
Two words that ryhme at the ends of seperate lines
Feminine Rhyme
Lines rhymed by their final two syllables.
Internal Rhyme
A word inside a line rhymes with another word on the same line
Masculine Rhyme
A rhyme ending on the final stressed syllable
Stress
A syllable given more prominence in pronunciation than its neighbors is said to be accented.
Alliteration
Repetition of initial consonant sounds
Assonance
Repetition of a vowel sound within two or more words in close proximity
Blank verse
Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter
Cacophony
(n) harsh-sounding mixture of words, voices, or sounds
Cadence
(n) rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds or words
Caesura
A natural pause or break in a line of poetry, usually near the middle of the line.
Controlling image
an image or metaphor that runs throughout and determines the form or nature of a literary work
Couplet
A pair of lines that end in rhyme
Dirge
a funeral hymn or mournful speech
Dissonance
a harsh and disagreeable combination, especially of sounds
Elegy
a sorrowful poem or speech
End-stopped line
A line that ends with a natural speech pause, usually marked by punctuation
Enjambment
A run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next.
Euphony
pleasant, harmonious sound
Foot
A unit of rhythm or meter; the division in verse of a group of syllables, one of which is long or accented.
Free verse
Poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme
Image
Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)
Imagery
Language that appeals to the five senses
Lyric
A type of poetry that explores the poet's personal interpretation of and feelings about the world (or the part that his poem is about).
Meter
A regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry
Octave
8 line stanza
Ode
A lyric poem usually marked by serious, respectful, and exalted feelings toward the subject.
Pentameter
A line of poetry that has five metrical feet.
Proximate rhyme
ones in which the ending vowel sound is the same, but the ending consonantal sounds differ
Quatrain
4 line stanza