Alliteration
The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words
Assonance
The repetition of similar vowel sounds in a line of poetry or prose
Consonance
The repetition of consonant sounds
Connotation
The emotional associations called up by a word that goes beyond its dictionary meaning
Free verse
Poetry without a regular pattern of meter or rhyme
Figurative language
A form of language use in which writers and speakers convey something other than the literal meaning of their words
Metaphor
A comparison between essentially unlike things without an explicitly comparative word such as "like" or "as
Personification
The endowment of inanimate objects or abstract concepts with living/human qualities
Imagery
Descriptions that appeal to any one of or combination of the five senses
Rhyme
The repetition of sounds in words usually, but not exclusively, at the end lines of poetry
Simile
A figure of speech involving a comparison between unlike things using "like," "as," or "as though
Symbol
An object or action in a literary work that means more than itself, that stands for something beyond itself, usually for something abstract
Rhythm
The beat of words which gives poetry a musical quality
Onomatopoeia
The use of words to imitate the sounds they describe
Tone
The attitude of the writer or speaker toward the subject or audience
Allusion
A brief reference to a historical or literary figure, event, or object
Blank verse
Unrhymed verse having a regular meter
Couplet
Two lines of verse that rhyme and have the same meter
Diction
Choice and use of words in speech or writing
Meter
The rhythm established by a poem
Repetition
A word, phrase, or sound that is used more than once for emphasis
Rhyme scheme
The pattern of rhyme between lines of a poem or song
Sonnet
A lyric poem with 14 lines of equal length
Stanza
A fixed number of lines of verse forming a unit of a poem
Theme
The topic of a poem
Verse
A single metrical line in a poetic composition