Poetry Terms

Repetition

Sound: repeating a word, phrase, or idea for emphasis or rhythmic effect

end rhyme

Sound: the rhyming of words that appear at the end of two or more lines

rhyme scheme

Sound: a consistent pattern in the end rhymes of an entire poem

internal rhyme

Sound: rhyming words that appear within the same line of poetry

couplet

Sound: a pair of lines that rhyme (usually) and have the same length

alliteration

Sound: repetition of initial consonant sounds in words near each other

consonance

Sound: repetition of consonant sounds (like alliterations, but not limited to just the initial sounds of the words)

assonance

Sound: the repetition of vowel sounds without repeating consonants

rhythm

Sound: the regular (meter)or random (free verse) occurrence of sound in poetry

meter

Sound: the patterned repetition (of stressed and unstressed) syllables in a line of poetry (ex. Iambic pentameter)

free verse

Sound:poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme

figurative language

Figurative language: language used to create a special effect or feeling (using a type of interesting or creative comparison)

metaphor

Figurative language: a comparison of two unlike things in which one thing is said to be another thing (ex. Life is a bowl of cherries)

extended metaphor

Figurative language :a metaphor that is carried out throughout the entire poem

simile

Figurative language: comparison of two unlike things using like or as (ex. life is like a box of chocolates)

personification

Figurative language: describing an animal, object or idea as if it were a person; giving human qualities to something non-human

hyperbole

Figurative language: an extreme exaggeration

understatement

Figurative language: a way of emphasizing an idea by talking about it in a restrained manner

imagery

Strong words: the use of words (based on the five senses) to create a certain picture in the reader's mind

enjambment

Form: Ending a line on a word that creates an unnatural or awkward pause or break in the thought (in the clause or phrase).