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Poetry Terminology
1.
Alliteration:
Musical device; repetition of the same consonant sound; usually at the
beginning of words [i.e. She sells sea-shells by the sea shore] 2. Assertion: A positive statement made with great confidence but with little or no proof to support it
3.
Assonance:
musical device; repetition of vowel sounds [i.e. a fleet of street
weeping geeks]
4.
Concrete
Poetry: Poetry in
which the words are arranged to look like or suggest something about the
subject being presented 5. Connotation: The emotions and associations that a word suggests, beyond its dictionary meaning 6.
7.
Denotation:
Dictionary definition of a word 8. Couplet: Two rhymed lines a. [i.e. Hickory dickory, dock
The mouse ran up the clock]
9.
Dramatic
Poetry: Poetry in
which the speaker is clearly someone other than the poet. 10. Exaggeration: To take an idea to ridiculous limits
11.
Hyperbole
(HI-per-bowl-ee):
super exaggeration;
exaggeration on steroids
12.
Figurative
Language:
Opposite of literal language; uses figures of speech ; crafted language,
exaggeration, comparison, simile, metaphor, etc. [i.e. my students’
faces rise above the horizon of their desks as they stare toward the
brightness of knowledge]
13.
Literal
Language: facts
& true observation [i.e. my students sit in their desks taking notes off
the overhead]
14.
Free Verse:
Verse written without a regular arrangement of accented and unaccented
syllables 15. Haiku: Consists of 3 lines of verse; 1st & 3rd line have 5 syllables; 2nd line has 7 syllables a. [i.e. My students sit down They take notes and smile now
When will the bell ring]
16.
Imagery:
The use of words to create pictures 17. Limerick: Humorous 5-lined poem following rhyme scheme: aabba a. [i.e. There once was a teacher named Borger Whose students did not quite adore her She bored them with notes They acted like goats
And she never again regained order] 18. Metaphor: Directly compares one thing to another without using “like” or “as” [i.e. she is the sun brightening my day]
19.
Simile:
Compares one thing to another using the words “like” or “as” [i.e. he is
like the moon that changes all month long] 20. Meter: The pattern of accented and unaccented syllables that form the basis of a poem’s rhythm
21. Scansion: a way to mark the metrical patterns of poetry; usually based on stressed and unstressed syllables [i.e. What light through yonder window breaks?]
22. Rhythm: The pattern of accented and unaccented syllables in a poem—its beat
23.
Musical
Devices: Refers
to the various ways poets use the sounds of words to enrich their poetry
24.
Mood:
The feeling that the poem creates
25.
Narrative
Poetry: Poetry
that tells a story
26.
Onomatopoeia:
Use of words whose sound imitates or suggests sound [i.e. Bang. Poof.
Screech.] 27. Personification: A figure of speech in which human qualities are given to nonhuman objects or ideas [i.e. the desk hunkered in the corner; the clock ate minutes]
28.
Point of
View: the
speaker’s attitudes, opinions, and ways of looking at reality or the
situation presented in the poem
29.
Poetry:
One of the three major types of literature, the others being prose and
drama
30.
Paraphrase:
Restatement of a poem in the reader’s own words [i.e. summary]
31.
Quatrain:
Stanza of four lines
32.
Repetition:
Refers to the repeated use of a word or phrase 33. Refrain: A repeated word or phrase that occurs in the same position in each stanza
34.
Sensory
Words: Words that
appeal to one or more of the five senses
35.
Sonnet:
Consists of 14 lines
36.
Speaker:
The “voice” that talks to the reader—may be that of the poet or a
character
37.
Stanza:
A group of verse separated from other such groups in a poem often
sharing a common rhyme scheme.
38.
Structure:
May be described in terms of its stanza, form and its meter
39.
Symbol:
Something (word, item, person) that has its own meaning but that also
represents something else [i.e. Red rose = love/romance, white
dove=peace] 40. Tone: The attitude that a poet takes toward his or her subject and readers
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