Poetry 10 Terminology Jaya Kailley
TYPES OF POEMS
Ballad A poem that is typically long and tells a story. Often used for lyrics in a song. Ex: 'La Belle Dame sans Merci: A Ballad' by John Keats "O what can ail thee, knight-at-arms, Alone and pallet loitering? The sedge has withered from the lake, And no birds sing."
Concrete A poem where the words are arranged to show a picture, the visual component is more important than the actual words themselves. Ex. 'Sonnet in the Shape of a Potted Christmas Tree' by George Starbuck
Free Verse A form of modern poetry that doesn't have any patterns in rhyme, line length, or rhythm. Ex. 'Plenty' by Kevin Connolly "The sky, lit up like a question or An applause meter, is beautiful Like everything else today..."
Lyric A poem short in length that has a lot of emotion. Ex. 'Greetings From The Incredible Shrinking Woman' by Pat Lowther "It's not that i'm getting smaller (I thought so at first) But that the continent's..."
Narrative A poem that tells a story. Can be free verse. Ex. 'Love in the Silence of the Soul' by David Meade "As a young boy Sitting in a pew The winter darkness pressing down Candlelight waves from hidden drafts Shadows danced on the walls"
Sonnet A poem of fourteen lines that is written in iambic pentameter. A typical rhyme scheme for a sonnet is abab cdcd efef gg, which is the form of a Shakespearean sonnet. Ex. 'Sonnet XV' by Shakespeare "When I consider everything that grows Holds in perfection but a little moment..."
POETIC DEVICES: A - sound
Alliteration The same consonant sound repeated at the beginning of a series of words. Ex. '"...on the way, which with your luck," from 'Plenty' by Connolly
Assonance The same vowel sound contained in a series of words. Ex. "As he takes from you, I engraft you new." From 'Sonnet XV' by Shakespeare
Consonance Similar to alliteration, except the consonant sound is in the middle of the words rather than at the beginning. Ex. "Some rocks were large as buckets, others..." from 'Scavenging the Wall' by R. T. Smith
Euphony Sounds that are pleasant to the ear. Ex. "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness" from 'Ode to Autumn' by John Keats
Onomatopoeia Words that sounds like what they mean. Ex. "...waiting maybe to be flicked off, to thrash like a fish in the saltchuck" from 'Greetings from the Incredible Shrinking Woman' by Lowther
B - comparison
Metaphor A comparison of two unlike things without using 'like' or 'as'. Ex. "It is the star to every wand'ring bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his heigh be taken." From 'Sonnet CXVI' by Shakespeare. (He is referring to love)
Personification A comparison between something that isn't human and a human. Ex. "Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks" from 'Sonnet CXVI' by Shakespeare
Simile A comparison between two unlike things using 'like' or 'as'. Ex. "When I perceive that men as plants increase," from 'Sonnet XV' by Shakespeare
C - word play
Allusion Making a reference to something from one piece of literature in another piece of literature. Ex. "The girl at the IGA who looks just like Julie Delpy, but you don't tell her --" from 'Plenty' by Connolly
Figurative Language Could also be called 'flowery language'. Used to provide rich imagery. Often contains metaphors and personification. Ex. "My lost memory White and frozen Now melts colour Ready to refract" from 'Mediterranean' by Sudeep Sen
Hyperbole An extreme exaggeration. Ex. "The continent's expanding, stretching like silly putty" from 'Greetings from the Incredible Shrinking Woman' by Lowther
Imagery Creating a picture in the reader's mind by appealing to the four senses. Ex. "Only random woods and snores Of two distant dogs On.a very cold night Clears fog that is unresolved." From 'Winter' by Sudeep Sen
Literal Language The opposite of figurative language. Means exactly what it sounds like, the language is literal. Ex. "Even lightening can be beautiful in a scary kind of way (there's a word for that but let's forget it for the moment). From 'Plenty' by Connolly.
Mood The feeling that the poem gives to the reader, the atmosphere of the poem. Ex. 'Plenty' by Connolly makes the reader feel happy, appreciative, etc.
Oxymoron Two opposite words placed side by side. Ex: "darkness visible" from 'Book 1 of Paradise Lost' by John Milton
Paradox A large oxymoron, or a contradictory statement. Used in a phrase. Ex. 'Sweet like a Crow' by Michael Ondaatje
Repetition Repetition is used to make a point, or to emphasize a certain sound, word, phrase, or stanza. Ex: "...and watch the beautiful sky, beautiful storm, the people with their beautiful names..." from 'Plenty' by Connolly
Symbol Something that has a deeper meaning or represents something else. Ex. "Beside a humble stone, a tree Floats in the cemetery's air, Not planted in memoriam there, But growing wild, uncultured, free." From 'Last Hope' by Paul Verlaine
Tone The author's attitude towards a piece of writing. Ex. The tone of 'Sweet like a Crow' by Ondaatje would be sarcastic, dry, etc.
Understatement The opposite of hyperbole, usually sarcastic. Ex: the whole poem of 'This is Just to Say' by William Carlos Williams (seems like a heartfelt apologetic letter, ends up being about him eating plums in the icebox)
VERSE FORMS
Couplet Two lines of poetry that may rhyme. Ex: "The maggot dreams of the ear and The wound, that welcome dark between" From 'Sonnet 146' by R.A. Villanueva
Octave Eight lines of poetry. Ex: "She was in love with the same danger Everybody is. Dangerous..." (+6 more lines) From 'Triolet' by Sandra Mcpherson
Quatrain Four lines of poetry (usually have an abab or abcb rhyme scheme) Ex: "The late Gracie Allen was a very lucid comedienne..." (+3 more lines in this stanza) From 'Sonnet' by Alice Notley
Sestet Six lines of poetry Ex: 'The Mortician in San Francisco' by Randall Mann "This may sound queer, But in 1985 I held the delicate hands Of Dan White: I prepared him for burial; by then, Harvey Milk Was made monument - no, myth - by the years Since he was shot."
Stanza Another term for 'verse'. Ex: "expanding, stretching Like silly putty Or like a movie Seen in a dream" from 'Greetings' by Lowther
Verse A paragraph of writing within a poem (aka stanza) Ex: "it's not that I'm getting smaller (I thought so at first) But that the continent's" From 'Greetings...' by Lowther
RHYTHM & RHYME
Blank Verse Unrhymed iambic pentameter. Shakespeare's plays used this technique. Ex: "your voice sounds like a scorpion..." from 'Sweet like a Crow' by Ondaatje
Iambic Pentameter Five iambs in a row is considered iambic pentameter. An iamb is two syllables, with the first one unstressed and the second one stressed. Ex: "within his bending sickle's compass come" from 'Sonnet CXVI' by Shakespeare
Rhyme Words/lines that have the same sounds at the end. Ex: "And all in war with Time for love of you, As he takes from you, I engraft you new." From 'Sonnet XV' by Shakespeare
Rhythm The pattern of sound within a poem. Ex: iambic pentameter. "If this be error and upon me prov'd'" from 'Sonnet CXVI' by Shakespeare
Rhyme Scheme The pattern of rhyme occurring in a poem. Rhyme schemes are shown with letters (ex. ABAB) Ex: all Shakespearean sonnets have a rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. (Such as Sonnet XV)