Poetry Vocabulary
This is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem.
What is rhythm?
This is a group of lines in a poem, similar to a paragraph.
What is a stanza?
This appeals to the five senses to create pictures in the reader’s mind.
What is imagery?
This is the voice telling the poem, not necessarily the poet.
Who is the speaker?
What should a reader do first when analyzing a poem?
What is reread the poem carefully?
Why might a poet choose free verse instead of rhyming poetry?
What is to allow more freedom of expression and focus on meaning? ($2000)
This term refers to repeated consonant sounds at the beginning of words.
What is alliteration?
This element refers to the beat or flow of a poem.
What is What is rhythm?
This figurative language states that one thing is another.
What is a metaphor?
This refers to the poet’s attitude toward the subject.
What is tone?
Why is rereading a poem important?
What is because poems often have deeper meanings that become clearer over time?
This literary device gives human qualities to nonhuman things.
What is personification?
This describes the arrangement of lines and stanzas on the page.
What is structure (or form)?
“She danced through the room like a leaf in the wind” is an example of this.
What is a simile?
This is the message or lesson of a poem.
What is theme?
Which text evidence best supports a poem’s theme?
What is lines that show repeated ideas, imagery, or message?
How do imagery and figurative language work together in poetry?
What is imagery creates pictures while figurative language adds deeper meaning? ($4000)
This is the repetition of vowel sounds within words.
What is assonance?
This is the repetition of sounds at the ends of lines.
What is rhyme?
When an object or idea represents something deeper, it is called this.
What is symbolism?
Which clue best helps determine a poem’s tone: punctuation, imagery, or line length?
What is imagery (and word choice)?
How does structure affect meaning in a poem?
What is it can emphasize ideas, create rhythm, or affect tone?
This device compares two unlike things using “like” or “as.”
What is a simile?
This element includes word choice and imagery used by the poet.
What is diction?
Explain why poets use figurative language instead of literal language.
What is to create deeper meaning, imagery, and emotional impact?
How is theme different from the main idea?
What is that theme is a deeper message or lesson, while main idea tells what the poem is mostly about?
What is the best way to answer a constructed-response poetry question?
What is restate the question, answer it clearly, and support with text evidence?
Explain how a poem’s tone can change from beginning to end.
What is through changes in word choice, imagery, or events described in the poem? ($10,000)