Poetry Study Guide

poetry

Type of literature in which words are chosen arranged to created a certain effect

form

The way a poem is laid out on a page. The length and placement of the lines and the grouping of lines into stanzas

alliteration

repitition of initial consonant sounds in words

assonance

The repetition of vowel >sounds< within non-rhyming words

sound

Use of words to their auditory effect that can convey meaning and mood or unify a work

speaker

The voice that talks to the reader, similar to the narrator in fiction. Speaker may not be poet

figurative language

Language that communicates ideas beyond the ordinary, literal meaning of words

imagery

Descriptive words and phrases that recreate sensory experiences for the reader. This is one type of figurative language; uses the 5 senses to help you see, hear, touch, taste, or smell the topic or the poem

free verse

does not have regular meter or rhyme but it tells a story

lines

A phrase or sentences in a stanza

stanzas

Grouping of two or more lines in a pattern which is repeated throughout a poem

rhyme

Occurrence of similar or identical sound at the ends of two or more words

internal rhyme

Rhyme that occurs within a line

end rhyme

Rhyme that occurs at the end of a line

rhyme scheme

a pattern of end rhymes in a poem

rhythm

A pattern of sound created by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed symbols in a line. In some poems the lines have a repeated rhythmic pattern, or meter

meter

Rhythmic pattern

consonance

Repetition of consonant sounds within or at the end of words

onomatopoeia

Use of words that sound like what they refer to; ex: clang, buzz, slap, pop

haiku

KIGO; denoting time of the season with a certain word; a three-line poem, with 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second and 5 syllables in the third line.

personification

Attribution of human qualities to an object; gives animals human like features; a cat talking would be an example

similie

Comparison indicated by the words like or as

metaphor

a direct comparison

denotation

The "dictionary" or standard definition of a word

connotation

The associations a word carries with it

extended metaphor

sustains a direct comparison for several lines or an entire poem

acrostic

a word is written down the side of the paper, and each letter is used to begin a word or phrase describing the up-and-down word.

narrative

Tells a story

lyric

a highly musical verse that expresses the observations of a single speaker

ballad

a songlike poem that tells a story, and often has a refrain; basically a sonnet with lyrics;

nonsense

a poem that uses either nonsensical words, or in a nonsensical order, to convey its meaning

limerick

a rhymed humorous or nonsense poem of five lines, with a set rhyme scheme of a-a-b-b-a

cinquain

a poem consisting of usually unrhymed words distributed with set rules for each line. five line stanza

sonnet

14-line lyrical poem with three 4-line stanzas followed by a couplet

couplet

a pair of rhyming lines, generally the same length and meter, expressing a single idea

rule 1 of poetry:

all poetry is a written expression of shared human experiences; ex: something you can relate to

rule 2 of poetry:

good writing is honest writing

triplet

three line stanza

quatrain

four line stanza

idiom

phrase where the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words. Ex: early bird catches the worm; close but no cigar