Poetry Terms

alliteration

The repetition of the same or very similar consonant sounds in words that are close together.

figure of speech

A word or phrase that describes one thing in therms of something else and is not literally true.

free verse

poetry without a regular meter or rhyme scheme

imagery

language that appeals to the senses

limerick

a humerous five-line verse that has a regular meter and the rhyme scheme "aabba.

metaphor

An imaginative comparison between two unlike things, which one thing is said to be another thing.

mood

the overall emotion created by a work of literature

onomatopoeia

the use of words with sounds that echo their sense.

personification

a figure of speech in which a nonhuman thing or quality is talked about as if it were human.

poetry

a kind of rythmic, compressed language that uses figures of speech and imagery designed to appeal to emotion and imagination.

refrain

a group of words repeated at intervals in a poem, song, or speech.

rhyme

the repetition of accented vowel sounds and all sounds following them in words close together in a poem

rhythm

a muscial quality produced by the repetition of stressed and unstressed syllable or by the repetition of certain other sound patterns.

simile

a comparison between two unlike things, using a word such as like, as, than, or resembles.

symbol

a person, place, thing, or event that has its own meaning, and it stands for something beyond itself as well.

theme

the idea about life revealed in a work of literature.

tone

The attitude that a writer taked toward the audience, a subject, or a character.

foreshadowing

The use of clues or hints to suggest events that will occur later in the plot.

ode

A poem that pays tribute to someone or something.

end rhyme

rhymes at the end of lines

internal rhyme

rhymes within lines

hyperbole

an extreme exaggeration used to make a point

idiom

2 or more words, that mean something more than the literal meaning of those words

diction

the choice and order of words in a poem

allusion

an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.