Poetic Terms
Poetic Elements
Literal Language uses words in their ordinary sense the opposite of figurative language Example: If you tell someone standing on a diving board to jump, you are speaking literally.
Figurative Language Words or phrases used in such a way as to suggest something more than just their usual dictionary meaning Most figurative speech involves comparisons. Example: If you tell someone standing on a street corner to jump in the lake, you are speaking figuratively. Examples: simile, metaphor, hyperbole and personification
Metaphor a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken about as if it were another, unlike things helps the reader see the similarities between two things Does not use like or as Example: Life is a box of chocolates.
Simile a figure of speech in which like or as is used to make a comparison between two basically unlike ideas Example: Life is like a box of chocolates.
Personification a figure of speech in which a non-human object is given human characteristics Example: My heart is singing for you!
Hyperbole A deliberate exaggeration or overstatement Usually done for comic effect Example: Everyone and their neighbor saw me fall off the stage.
Imagery all images that are created in a poem a mental picture created with words or phrases that appeal to the senses such as sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch Example: drip of ruby teardrops, velvet sky, green grass
Verse a group of lines in a poem that forms a unit similar to that of a prose paragraph Two types - Blank and Free
Blank Verse poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter lines
Free Verse poetry that does not have fixed rhythm, rhyme, meter or line length can also change patterns or use no patterns at all
Tone The attitude the writer takes toward the subject, the reader or the work of literature. Example: serious, funny, sad, uplifting, depressing, happy
Sound Devices
Alliteration the repetition of beginning consonant sounds Example: terrible truths and lullaby lies (Tongue Twisters)
Assonance the repetition of vowel sounds within words Example: mystery disguised within From the molten golden notes
Consonance Repetition of consonant sounds in the middle of the word Example: Gloomy woman
Onomatopoeia A word that imitates the sound its represents Examples: boo, sizzle, thud, hiss, clang and pow
Repetition the use of any element of language - a sound, a word, a phrase, or a sentence that is repeated Example: In Edgar Allan Poe s The Raven the word Nevermore was repeated many times.
Rhyme Repetition of sounds at the ends of words Two types End Rhyme Internal Rhyme
End Rhyme occurs when the rhyming comes at the ends of lines in poetry Example: There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground And the swallows circling with their shimmering sound.
Internal Rhyme Rhyming that occurs within the line (rather than at the end.) Examples: Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary.
Rhyme Scheme A repeated pattern of rhymed words at the end of the line Example Beautiful eyes A Loud cries A Rich blood B Bitter sweat C She loves and dies A Rhyme scheme AABCA
Types of Poems
Dramatic Poetry poetry that utilizes the techniques of drama Example: a poem uses dramatic monologue where the poem is spoken by one person and is engaged in a dramatic situation, such as The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe.
Lyric Poem a poem that has a single speaker and expresses a deeply felt thought or emotion that uses a musical quality the speaker usually is speaking to himself/herself Example: Many songs are actually lyric poetry.
Narrative a poem that tells a story Example: The Raven is also a narrative poem about a man s grief over the loss of a loved one.
Haiku a 3-line poem with 17 syllables The first and third line have 5 syllables each The second line has 7 syllable Example: Spring is refreshing Rain, flowers, warmth and sunlight Let us go outdoors.
Sonnet A sonnet is a 14 line lyric poem usually written in rhymed iambic pentameter Consists of 3 stanzas with 4 lines and one stanza with two lines Rhyme scheme is abab cdcd efef gg Example: Many of Shakespeare s plays were written in sonnets.
Ballad anonymous stories told in song usually passed down through generations
Elegy a melancholy or mournful lyric poem about death
Epic a long narrative poem about the deeds of gods and heroes Example: Homer wrote many epics, such as The Odyssey.
Fable a story usually using symbolic characters or setting used to teach a lesson Example: Aesop s Fables
Other Poetic Terms
Allusion Reference to another piece of literary work or music Example: Bible
Symbolism Anything that represents or stands for something else Examples: Flashy car means wealth Rose represents love Our flag stands for patriotism
Stanza a formal division of lines in a poem, considered as a unit which are often separated by spaces
Couplet a pair of lines in poetry that rhyme Example: And frogs in the pool singing at night And wild plum-trees in tremulous white.
Rhythm a pattern of beats or stresses in spoken or written language some poems have very specific patterns