Literary terms for poetry

Alliteration

the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds with non-rhyming words within a line(s) of poetry

Consonance

The repetition of sounds among consonants or groups of consonants especially at end of words

Onomatopoeia

The use of words that suggest their meanings

Repetition

A technique in which a sound, word, phrase, or line is repeated for effect of emphasis

Refrain

The repeating of one or more lines (usually) in each stanza of a poem

Couplet

Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme(at the end of the line)

Analogy

A comparison between two different things in order to highlight some point of similarity

Metaphor

A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things that are basically unalike

Simile

A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things by using the words like or as

Allision

A reference to a (probably famous) text, historical place, or event

Connotation

A meaning that is implied by a word apart from the thing which it describes explicitly; this is based on the concept that words carry cultural and emotion association or meaning in addition to denotation or "dictionary definition

Denotation

The literal or dictionary meaning(s) of a word

figurative language

Language that communicated beyond the ordinary, literal meaning of words

Hyperbole

A figure of speech in which the truth is exasperated for emphasis or for humorous effect

Personification

A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

Oxymoron

A word or expression that contradicts itself

Parallelism

The use of similar grammatical construction to express ideas that are related or equal in importance

Inversion

A poet technique in which the normal (speaking) order if words is altered

Apostrophe

A rhetorical technique in someone or something is directly addressed

Imagery

Descriptive words and phrases that re-create sensory experiences for the reader; usually appeals to one or more of the five senses

Lineation

How words are divided into line in a particular poem(a technique almost exclusively in poetry; vary rarely used in prose)

Stanza

A grouping of two or more lines in a pattern that is repeated throughout a poem

Speaker

The voice of the poem

Symbol

Something that exists as a thing in its own right but also represents something/ someone else; usually, especially good symbol will mean different thing to different people

Lyric poetry

Usually short poetry in which a single speaker expresses personal thought and feelings just about everything

Narrative poetry

Poetry that tells a story

Idiom

A common expression understood as a figurative meaning because the literal meaning makes no sense