VOC
The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.
Ex: “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes; A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life.”
Alliteration
The attitude the poem’s narrator (this may or may not be the actual poet) takes towards a subject or character: serious, humorous, sarcastic, ironic, concerned, tongue-in-cheek, solemn, objective, etc.
Tone
Poetry that does not rhyme or have a measurable meter.
Free Verse
The measured arrangement of sounds/beats in a poem, including the poet’s placement of emphasis and the number of syllables per line.
Meter
A brief reference to a real or fictional person, event, place, or work of art.
Allusion
The repetition of consonant sounds, but not vowels, in a chunk of text.
Ex: A worm named Maurice took the garden by storm
Consonance
This occurs when one line ends without a pause or any punctuation and continues onto the next line.
Ex: If this were a poem, this would be an example of the technique.
Enjambment
The recurrence of stressed and unstressed sounds in poetry. Depending on how sounds are arranged, the _____ of a poem may be fast or slow, choppy or smooth.
Rhythm
The repetition of vowel sounds in a chunk of text. Ex: “Ivan will try to light the fire.”
Assonance
The central meaning or dominant message the poet is trying to deliver to the reader.
Theme
A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things using connecting words, such as “like” or “as.”
Ex: Love is like a battlefield.
Simile
Bonus*
exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.
hyperbole
A story/narrative in poetic form
Ballad
The author’s specific word choice.
Diction
A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things without using connecting words, such as “like” or “as.”
Ex: Love is a battlefield
Metaphor
Bonus*
The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.
personification
A single line of poetry.
Verse
A unified group of lines in poetry. This is often marked by spacing between sections of the poem.
Stanza
A word that sounds like what it means.
Ex: buzz, click, bang, sizzle
Onomatopoeia
Bonus*
A phrase or expression that usually presents a figurative, non-literal meaning attached to the phrase.
Idiom