alliteration
the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words (big bad bully)
apostrophe
when poets direct speech to an abstract concept or a person who is not physically present, they're writing _________ poetry (twinkle twinkle little star)
assonance
repetition of vowel sounds (try to light the fire)
caesura
a break in a line of poetry (Beowulf)
conceit
an unconventional or logically complex metaphor whose delights are more intellectual than sensual (marriage is like getting a root canal OR plath's pregnancy poem)
connotation
refers to an implied meaning that's associated with a word in addition to its literal meaning (she's feeling blue)
diction
refers to the operating language of poetry, language employed in a manner that sets poetry apart from other kinds of speech or writing
elegy
usually a lament, sad and serious poem
enjambment
incomplete syntax at the end of a line; the meaning runs over from one poetic line to the next, without terminal punctuation (I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I / Did, till we loved?)
figure of speech
an expressive, nonliteral use of language, include tropes and schemes
foot
a basic repeated sequence of meter composed of two or more accented or unaccented syllables
hyperbole
exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally ("the god Mars cried out as loudly as nine or ten thousand men")
imagery
a vivid and vibrant form of description that appeals to readers' senses and imagination (fluttering and dancing in the breeze)
metaphor
a comparison between two things that states one thing is another, in order help explain an idea or show hidden similarities (the curtain of night fell upon us)
meter
the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse
onomatopoeia
a word that sounds like what it refers to. the combination of letter sounds in the word imitate the natural sounds of that object or action (honk beep, vroom)
personification
assigns human qualities and attributes to object or other non-human things
pun
play on words (The cyclist was two tired to win the race)
simile
type of metaphor that compares two different things using the words "like" or "as." (as heavy as a bag of bricks)
tone
the poet's attitude toward the poem's speaker, reader, and subject matter, as interpreted by the reader (serious, humorous, amused, angry, playful, cheerful, sad, gloomy, etc.)
pathetic fallacy
a literary term for the attribution of human emotion and conduct to things found in nature that are not human (clouds seem sullen)
dramatic monologue
written in the form of a speech of an individual character
satire
a literary device for the artful ridicule of a folly or vice as a means of exposing or correcting it (political cartoons, The Colbert Report)
allusion
a reference to another work of literature, person, or event
soliloquy
a monologue spoken by a theatrical character which expresses the character's inner thoughts and emotions
aside
a dramatic device in which a character speaks to the audience
English (Shakespearean) Sonnet
- rhyme pattern: abab, cdcd, efef, gg
- 3 quatrains (4 lines) then couplet (which restates or refines the theme)
Italian (Petrarchan) Sonnet
- 8 line octave with a rhyming pattern of abaabba
- followed by a sestet: a six line rhyming pattern of cdecde
- often the octave posed a problem that is answered in the sestet
iamb
unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable (and walked with inward glory crowned)
trochee
stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable