structure
a poem's organization of images, ideas, words, and lines
Stanzas
the "paragraphs" of poetry
lines
rows of words in poetry that may or may not form sentences
imagery
descriptive language, word pictures often appealing to the senses
figurative language
when words are used differently from their ordinary meaning
figure of speech
expression not meant to be taken literally (simile, metaphor)
onomatopoeia
words that sound like their meaning (hiss, meow, swish)
melody
the pleasing sound of music or poetry (created by the sound devices, which are alliteration, assonance, and rhyme)
alliteration
repetition of the beginning sounds of words
assonance
repetition of the interior sounds of words (vowel sounds)
rhyme
repetition of the ends sounds of words
rhythm
the beats per line, creating the sound of the poem
meter
regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables
rhyme scheme
pattern of end sounds for the lines in a stanza
beat
an accented syllable or stressed word
simile
comparison of unlike items using like or as
metaphor
comparison of unlike items that is stated directly
personification
gives human qualities to non-humans
literary allusion
reference to something well-known in literature
verbal irony
saying one thing but meaning the opposite; sarcasm
situational irony
when the result is the opposite of what we expect to happen
understatement
states an extremely smaller amount than in reality
hyperbole
exaggeration for emphasis
narrative poem
poem that tells a story
lyric poem
a usually short poem that has a musical quality and expresses the poet's thoughts and feelings about something or someone
free verse
poem that has no strict stanza pattern or rhyme
limerick
a 5-line humorous poem in which lines 1, 2, and 5 have three beats and rhyme, and lines 3 and 4 have two beats and rhyme
haiku
ancient poetry style, originating in Japan, usually describing nature, and traditionally having 3 lines and 17 syllables (5-7-5)
cinquain
short, non-rhyming poem with 5 lines and structured pattern (2,4,6,8,2)
ballad
one of oldest forms of poetry centering around event, hero, emotion, or cause
couplet�
two lines of poetry that express a complete thought
quatrain
four lines of poetry in which the rhyme scheme is AABB or ABCB
oxymoron
a combination of two seemingly contradictory words
parallelism
words, phrases, or sentences arranged in a similar structure
paradox�
two seemingly contradictory statements that are both true