Meter/feet
a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry
Meter
a speaker or writer’s choice of words (formal, informal, colloquial, full of slang, poetic, ornate, plain, abstract, concrete, and so on).
Diction
the repetition of constant sounds in words that are close together
Alliteration
a fourteen-line poem, usually written in iambic pentameter, that has one
sonnet
a figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes.
Personification
a metrical unit of poetry
Foot
the associations and emotional overtones that have become attached to a word or phrase, in addition to its strict dictionary definition.
Connotation
the use of a word whose sound imitates or suggests its use or meaning
Onomatopoeia
a poem in which the words are arranged on a page to suggest a visual representation of the subject;
concrete poem
a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two, unlike things without the use of such specific words of comparison as like, as, than, or resembles
Metaphor
a metrical foot in poetry that has an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable
Iamb
a pause or break within a line of poetry (indicated by punctuation phrasing or meaning).
Caesura
a word, phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated, for effect, several times in
Refrain
a song or poem that tells a story
ballad
a figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two unlike things, using a word such as, like, as, than, or resembles.
Simile
is a line of poetry that contains five iambic feet.
Iambic Pentameter
the natural, rhythmic rise and fall of a language as it is normally spoken.
Cadence
the repetition of the same or similar final consonant sounds on accented syllables or in important words.
Consonance
a long narrative poem, written in heightened language, which recounts the deeds of a heroic character who embodies the values of a particular society;
epic
a figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase. “Sweet sorrow,” “deafening silence,” and “living death” are common
oxymorons
Italian poem structure divides the 14 lines into two sections: an eight-line stanza (octave) rhyming and a six-line stanza (sestet) rhyming
The Petrarchan sonnet
short, comedic poems, which can be crude and are largely trivial in nature
Limrick
the repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds, especially in words close together
Assonance
a lyric poem, usually long, on a serious subject and written in dignified language
ode
an elaborate metaphor or other figure of speech that compares two things that are startlingly different.
Conceit