ALLITERATION
repetition of consonant sounds in words that are close to one another (at beginning of words or on accented syllables)
ALLUSION
reference to a statement, person, place, event, or thing that is known from literature, history, religion, myth, etc.
ASSONANCE
repetition of similar vowel sounds in words that are close together.
BALLAD
a song or song-like poem that tells a story. Most have rhythm, rhyme, repetition, and a refrain (repeating lines or words).
COUPLET
two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme
QUATRAIN
stanza with four lines
ALTERNATING QUATRAIN
ABAB rhyme scheme
ENVELOPE QUATRAIN
ABBA rhyme scheme
FIGURE OF SPEECH
a word or phrase that describes one thing in terms of another and is not meant to be taken literally.
FREE VERSE
poetry with no regular meter or rhyme scheme
IMAGERY
language that appeals to the senses
VISUAL
how it looks
OLFACTORY
how it smells
AUDITORY
how it sounds
TACTILE
how it feels
GUSTATORY
how it tastes
METAPHOR
a comparison between two seemingly unlike things without using a connective word (no like, as, then).
ONOMATOPOEIA
use of a word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning.
PERSONIFICATION
a nonhuman thing or quality is talked about as if it were human
POETRY
a kind of rhythmic, compressed language that uses figures of speech and imagery to appeal to emotions and imaginations. Written in lines and stanzas. Very hard to define
PUN
a play on the many meanings of a word or on two words that sound alike but have different meanings
REFRAIN
a repeated word, phrase, line, or group of lines.
SIMILE
comparison between two seemingly unlike things by using a connective word such as like, as, than, or resembles
SONNET
a 14 line poem that usually follows a rhyme scheme
STANZA
a group of lines in a poem that form a single unit