ballad
songlike poem that tells a story; simple language; 4-6 line stanzas; regular meter
epic
long narrative telling of a hero's deeds
lyric
melodic poem that expresses observations and feelings of a single speaker; focus on producing a single, unified effect
narrative
tells a story; includes ballads & epics
ode
long, formal lyric poem with a serious theme; may have traditional stanza structure; can honor people, commemorate events, respond to natural scenes, consider problems
idyll
poem about pastoral/country life
pastoral
poem dealing with rural settings; idealized views of rural life
sonnet
14 line lyric poem focused on a single theme; usually iambic pentameter following either Petrarchan or Shakespearean style
soliloquy
monologue spoken by a character who is alone--contemplating and talking to himself
stanza
group of lines in a poem that are considered to be a unit; function like paragraphs; each one states and develops a single main idea
refrain
repeated line or group of lines in poem or song; most end stanzas
alliteration
repitition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words or accented syllables
assonance
repitition of vowel sounds in conjunction with dissimilar consonant sounds
consonance
repitition of similar final consonant sounds at ends of words or accented syllables
onomatopoeia
use of words that imitate sounds
rhyme
repition of sounds at ends of words; identical vowel sounds in final accented syllables
sight rhyme
agreement in spelling but not sound
slant rhyme
similar but not exact rhyming; ex: prove & glove
end rhyme
rhyme of terminal syllables
internal rhyme
rhyme of 2 or more words in the same line of a verse
rhyme scheme
regular pattern of rhyming words in a poem
allusion
reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or a work of art; often to materials with which authors can expect their readers to be familiar
apostrophe
figure of speech in which speaker directly addresses an absent person or personified quality, object, or idea
hyperbole
exaggeration
metaphor
figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else; suggests comparison between 2 things
paradox
statement that seems to be contradictory but actually presents the truth
personification
figure of speech in which a nonhuman subject is given human characteristics
pun
play on words having more than one meaning
simile
figure of speech that makes direct comparison between 2 subjects using "like" or "as
synecdoche
figure of speech where part is substituted for a whole or vice versa
imagery
descriptive/figurative language used to create word pictures for the reader
synesthesia
using 1 sensory image to describe another
meter
rhythmical pattern of a poem determined by the number and types of stresses/beats in each line
scansion
process of marking stressed and unstressed syllables
foot
groups dividing by weak/strong stresses
monometer
verse written in 1 foot lines
dimeter
verse written in 2 foot lines
trimeter
verse written in 3 foot lines
tetrameter
verse written in 4 foot lines
pentameter
verse written in 5 foot lines
iamb
poet foot consisting of 1 weak stress followed by 1 strong stress
free verse
poetry that lacks a regular rhythmic pattern or meter
blank verse
poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter
iambic pentameter
each line has alternating stressed and unstressed beats with 5 each
trochee
foot with 1 stressed syllable followed by 1 unstressed
ex: Irish poets earn your trade.
anapest
foot with 2 unstressed syllables followed by 1 stressed syllable
ex: As I came to the edge of the woods
dactyl
foot with 1 stressed syllable followed by 2 unstressed
ex: Half a league, half a league, half a league onward
spondee
foot with 2 stressed syllables
Edgar Allan Poe
1809-1849; had a troubled childhood (his father deserted and his mother died); his poem "The Raven" met with enthusiasm, but he remained poor; battled depression & madness; known as the inventor of the detective story
Emily Dickinson
1830-1886; wrote 1,775 poems but only 7 were published while she was alive; normal childhood, led an isolated adult life; gave instructions for her poems to be burned after she died; regarded as one of America's greatest poets
Walt Whitman
1819-1892; published "Leaves of Grass", a collection of 383 poems which is regarded to be one of the best collections of poetry ever written; known as "the Good Gray Poet" and "the Bard of Democracy
Langston Hughes
1902-1967; came out of the Harlem Renaissance; regarded as the most successful African American writer during this time; often tried to recreate the rhythms of jazz through his poetry
Angela de Hoyos
born 1940; celebrates her Mexican heritage through her poems; published 5 collections
Paul Laurence Dunbar
1872-1906; first African American to gain national attention for his writing; wrote in a formal style or a regional dialect
Edwin Arlington Robinson
1869-1950; successful in the 1920s; worked as a subway inspector; focused on inner struggles; received 3 Pulitzer Prizes
Edgar Lee Masters
1868-1950; worked as a criminal lawyer; published "Spoon River Anthology" in 1915 about 244 characters in a cemetery and their personal lives
Archibald MacLeish
1892-1982; trained as a lawyer but turned to poetry; explored political and social issues through his poems; won 3 Pulitzer Prizes
Carl Sandburg
1878-1967; wrote about ordinary Americans and industrial America; son of Swedish immigrants; started a career as a folk singer; awarded with the Presidential Medal in 1964; regarded as an optimist
Robert Frost
1874-1963; America's most beloved poet; wrote about New England life; his poems are filled with deeper meaning
Jean Toomer
1894-1967; during the Harlem Renaissance; expressed pride in African American heritage