Poetry Titles
Often hint at the subject matter of the work to prepare the reader.
Line
A group of words arranged into a row. Number poetry lines successively on the right side.
Stanza
Two or more lines of poetry that form one of the divisions of a poem.
Syntax
A poet's choice of sentence, complexity, including line length, punctuation, and sentence combining.
Diction
The poet's word choices (can be formal, informational, etc.)
Denotation
The exact meaning of the word (Dictionary definition).
Connotation
The meaning suggested beyond a word's exact definition. Emotional feelings and ideas associated with the word.
Meter
A rhythm established by a certain number of beats or syllables per line: a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.
Form
The arrangement of the poem.
Speaker
The voice or "persona" of a poem. A speaker is to a poem what a narrator is to a story.
Audience
The audience for a piece for writing is the person or persons intended to read it.
Rhyme
Words that sound alike or similar.
Rhyme Scheme
The pattern of rhyming end lines of a poem; usually indicated by using letters.
Repetition / Refrain
Repetition is a literary technique in which a sound, word, phrase, or line is repeated for emphasis.
Anaphora
The repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of lines.
Tone
The speaker's attitude towards the subject.
Shift
A change in the mood, tone, or subject matter of a piece.
Theme
Expresses a poet's vision about the world, and/or the unity and truth of the human experience.
Figurative Language
When writing goes beyond the actual meaning of words so that the reader gains new insights into the objects or subjects in the work: similes, metaphors, etc.
Alliteration
The repetition of beginning sounds in words.
Assonance
The repetition or pattern of the same vowel sounds in words.
Consonance
The repetition of consonant sounds in the middle or the end of words in phrase or line.
Imagery
Using words that appeal to our five senses; the use of pictures, figures of speech, and description to evoke ideas, feelings, actions and state of mind.
Symbolism
When a word, phrase, or image repeats an idea or theme.
Simile
A comparison of two or more things using the words "like" or "as.
Metaphor
A direct comparison between unlike things whose purpose is to show something in a different way.
Extended Metaphor
A metaphor extended over several lines or throughout an entire poem.
Hyperbole
A figure of speech in which is a deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis.
Onomatopoeia
A figure of speech in which the sound of a word imitates its meaning.
Oxymoron
A combination of contradictory or opposite words.
Personification
A figure of speech in which non-human or inanimate objects are given human qualities.
Idiom
An expression that is clear to those who are familiar with the language of its origin; cannot be understood based on its literal meaning.