Personification
A figure of speech in which an animal, object, or idea is given human charateristics.
Alliteration
Repetition of initial consonant sounds.
Rhyme
The repetition of the same or similar sounds, usually at the ends of lines.
Rhythm
Beat created by the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in spoken or written language.
Onomatopoeia
The use of words or phrases whose sounds suggest their meanings. The sound of the word boom, for example, suggests an explosion.
End rhyme
Rhyme that occurs at the end of lines.
Internal rhyme
Rhyme that occurs within a single line of poetry.
Stanzas
A group of lines in a poem set off by blank lines.
Simile
A figure of speech that uses like or as to make a direct comparison between two unlike ideas.
Metaphor
Direct comparison between two unlike things. It does not use the words like or as.
Hyberbole
Fiqure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated for emphasis or humorous effect.
Free Verse
Poetry written without a regular rhyme scheme, meter, or form.
Imagery
Language that appeals to the five senses---touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight.
Lyric poem
Short poem that directly expresses the poets thoughts and emotions in a musical way.
Narrative poem
Poem that tells a story.
Rhyme scheme
The sequence in which the rhyme occurs. The first end sound is represented as the letter a, the second b, etc. The ending of certain lines rhyme with each other.
Poetry
A type of writing in which the poet chooses and arranges words to create a strong feeling through meaning, sound, and rhythm.
Sound devices
Techniques used to create a sense of rhythm or to emphasize particular sounds in writing.
Meter
Regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that gives a line of poetry a predictable rhythm.
Figurative language
The use of words to create an image in the reader's mind.
Mood
The feeling or atmosphere created by the writer.
Idiom
A phrase or expression whose meaning is differs from the meaning of the individual words.
Symbolism
The use of an image or thing to stand for something else.
Repetition
A technique in which the same word or line is repeated for emphasis or unity. Helps to reinforce meaning and create an appealing rhythm.
Refrain
Stanza or line that is repeated throughout the poem.
Connotation
The ideas and feelings assosiated with the word as opposed to its dictionary meaning.
Couplet
Two consecutive lines of verse with end rhymes.
Stanza break
A blank line that signals that one stanza has ended and a new stanza is beginning.
Limerick
A humorous, rhyming, 5 line poem with a specific meter and rhyme scheme.
Concrete poem
A poem with a shape that suggests its subject.
Haiku
A Japanese form of poetry, consisting of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables.
Allusion
A reference to another work, such as the Bible or mythology.
Ballad
A short poem with stanzas of two or four lines and a refrain that repeats; tells a story.
Sonnet
A poem that has 14 lines with ten to twelve syllables per line; first eight lines develop one idea, last six lines question that idea.
Ode
A poem that has two or more stanza with similar structures.
Lines
A row of words in a poem.
Denotation
Dictionary definitions of words.