Poetry Terms
Poetry's version of a paragraph
stanza
A comparison of two unlike things using comparative words.
Simile
An extreme exaggeration
Hyperbole
The general occurrence of the same words or phrases to make an idea clearer or more memorable.
Repetition
A word that imitates the sound it describes
onomatopoeia
The words rhyme at the ends of the lines
End rhyme
A direct comparison of two unlike things
Metaphor
The practice of attaching human traits and characteristics with inanimate objects, phenomena and animals
Personification
The use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or similar in their construction, sound, meaning, or meter.
Ex.: In the night, he cried. As of morning, she'd died.
Parallelism
The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of adjacent words in order to bring the reader’s attention to an idea.
Ex.: The wicked witch of the west whipped wildly through the wind on her broom.
alliteration
The words at the end of the lines look like they should rhyme, but they don't; sounds are often similar, but not identical.
slant rhyme
Using an object or action that means something more than its literal meaning; replacing the literal idea with an object that represents it instead.
Symbol
The literal definition/meaning of a word
Denotation
In writing or speech, the deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect.
Ex.: “My life is my purpose. My life is my goal. My life is my inspiration.”
Anaphora
The repetition of the same vowel sound within a sentence or phrase in order to bring the reader’s attention to an idea.
Ex.: My sighs arise while his eyes dry.
Assonance
Two lines of verse, usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme, that form a unit.
Couplet
A speaker's attitude toward the subject of the work
Tone
The implied/understood meaning of a word.
Ex.: Consequence can be positive or negative, but we usually mean it is a negative.
Connotation
Repetition occurs in the last part of successive clauses and sentences
Ex.: “I am an American, he is an American, and everybody here is an American."
Epiphora
Repetition of sounds in quick succession produced by consonants within a sentence or phrase. The repetitive sound is often found at the end of a word.
He struck a streak of bad luck.
Consonance
A stanza of four lines, especially one having alternate rhymes.
Quatrain
When tone changes, often dramatically, in a work to show a change in the attitude of the speaker.
Shift
An author's specific word choices that help create tone in a work
Diction
A construction in poetry wherein the last word of one clause or phrase becomes the first of the next, and so on.
Ex.:"Who controls Berlin, controls Germany; who controls Germany controls Europe; who controls Europe controls the world"
Gradatio
The use of words and phrases that imply strong, harsh sounds within the phrase. These words have jarring and dissonant sounds that create a disturbing, objectionable atmosphere.
Ex.: His fingers rapped and pounded the door, and his foot thumped against the yellowing wood.
Cacophony