POETRY TERMS / DEFINITIONS Poetry: writing intended to elicit an emotional response from the reader without conventions of prose; includes ballad, sonnet, limerick, eulogy, free verse, haiku, lyrics, narrative poems, shape / concrete poems, syllable / word count poems, formula poems, etc.. Poetic Devices: Terms used to describe features of poetry writing (e.g., alliteration, simile, meter, etc.. ***TYPE VS FORM Students must realize that TYPE AND FORM ARE NOT THE SAME*** TYPES OF POETRY There are various types of poems that exist in our literature. The type of poem can be defined as the class or category in which the poem is placed in. There are 3 types of poetry: What type of poetry is it? 1: Narrative poetry: Tells a story 2: Descriptive poetry: Describes a person, place, or thing. 3: Lyrical poetry: Expresses the writer s inner feelings on a topic FORMS OF POETRY Form is the generic term for the organizing principle of a literary work. In poetry, form is described in terms elements like rhyme, meter, and stanzaic pattern. There are other forms of poetry that you will study later in high school. Free verse: No rhyme scheme in the poem, (there is no internal or external rhyme) and does not have controlled rhythm.. Usually the stanzas are written in different lengths. Blank verse: Poetry which does not rhyme but has controlled rhythm. Ballad: A narrative poem which is meant to be sung. Characteristics are: It is a narrative poem which is meant to be sung. It contains very little description or characterization. The action is brief, to the point, and often developed by dialogue. It usually involves basic subjects such as love, honor, or death. It is usually written in a four line stanza in which the second and fourth lines rhyme. It usually has a refrain which means it has a line or lines repeated for musical effect. Haiku: Sonnet: A very descriptive poem which has17 syllables (5, 7, 5) in 3 lines. A lyrical poem often about love, consists of 14 lines and follows a distinct pattern of either the Italian or English. 1
Italian sonnet: English Sonnet: Cinquain Acrostic Limerick Concrete / shape Found Also called the Petrarchan sonnet. Consists of an octave (8 line stanza) which presents a problem/conflict and a sestet (6 line stanza) which presents a solution/ answer to the problem. Also called the Shakespearian sonnet. Consists of 3 four-line stanzas and a two line stanza called rhyming couplet (two lines which rhyme). A short poem consisting of five, unrhymed lines containing, respectively two, four, six, eight, and two syllables Poem where the first letter of each line spells out a significant word. A limerick is a five-line poem written with one couplet and one triplet. The rhyme pattern is a a b b a with lines 1, 2 and 5 containing 3 beats and rhyming, and lines 3 and 4 having two beats and rhyming. Limericks are meant to be funny, often contain hyperbole, onomatopoeia, puns and other figurative devices. The last line of a good limerick contains the PUNCH LINE or "heart of the joke.". A poem whose meaning is conveyed through its graphic shape or pattern on the printed page. A passage within prose that unintentionally reads like poetry. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE Figurative that uses figures of speech, such as simile, metaphor, personification, and alliteration used extensively to crate imagery in which the true sense of the phrase is not what the audience is intended to get, for example, go fly a kite. Simile: Metaphor: Personification: Apostrophe: A comparison between two unlike things using like or as, for example: Her love was like a red rose. A comparison between two unlike things not using like or as, for example, The ship plows the sea. A special type of comparison in which inhuman objects are given human characteristics, for example, the wind danced Animate or inanimate objects are addressed as if they were present or alive, for example, Death be not proud!. 2
Hyperbole: Understatement: Oxymoron An over exaggeration to show intensity of feeling, for example, My heart is broken, She nearly died laughing, She bawled her eyes out. Saying less than what is actually meant. Figure of speech containing two seemingly contradictory expressions e.g. 'Bitter sweet, walking dead, pretty ugly, etc... SOUND DEVICES Sound devices are resources used by poets to reinforce the meaning of poetry through skillful use of sound. Alliteration: Assonance: Rhyme: Couplet: Dialect: Internal rhyme: External rhyme: Rhyme scheme: Rhythm: A poetic device using the repetition of the initial consonant sound in a line of verse to create a special effect. Ex, Peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. Repetition of the same vowel sounds in words in the same line to create internal rhyme - Ex: Jack Sprat could eat no fat. Is the repetition of sounds in accented syllables of two or more words. For example, rat / cat, history / mystery and cheese / wheeze are rhyming word pairs. Rhyme often occurs at the ends of lines, but it can occur in the middle of lines also. Two lines of verse with similar end-rhymes The way a language is spoken in a particular region or place Two or more words in the same line rhyme Ex: The rain in Spain fell mostly on the plain. Two different words at the end of two different lines rhyme. ex: The fox went out on a chilly night He prayed for the moon to give him some light Alphabetical pattern of the external rhyme: (abcd...) Ex: The camel has a single hump; A Some may think it has two; B Or else the other way around, C I m never sure, are you? B The beat or tempo of a poem, determined by the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in each line. 3
Refrain: Repetition: Rephrasing: Onomatopoeia Cacophony: Euphony: Is a word, phrase, line, or stanza repeated exactly or almost exactly throughout the poem. It is used to create rhythm, build suspense, or emphasize important words or ideas. The deliberate use of the same word, words, or events to create an effect To repeat a phrase again in a similar or different manner: Sound device in which the word is pronounced or imitates the sound of the thing it describes, Ex, hissing, buzz, slap, bang, or the words choo, choo to represent train. The use of words that have a harsh or discordant sound due to the presence of letters such as c, k, g, b, and p: for example, clobber, squawk, gutteral. The use of words that have a pleasing or melodic sound due to the letters such as s, l, m, w, and v. For example, slumber, mellow, winsome. GENERAL TERMS IN POETRY: Allegory: Allusion: Analogy: Anecdote: Atmosphere: Audience: Carpe Diem: Character: Characterization: Cliché A poem in which the characters or descriptions convey a hidden symbolic or moral message Where a poem makes reference to another poem or text. A comparison between two things sharing some similar qualities, usually for the purpose of explanation or clarification. A usually short narrative of an amusing, interesting or biographical incident. The overall mood of the selection The people for which a selection of literature is written. Latin for 'seize the day'. A person or a forced presented in a selection. The method the writer uses to reveal the personality of a character in a selection. An expression that has been around for years, for example, read between the lines & cat got your tongue. 4
Complication: Conflict: A dilemma, difficulty or obstacle in the plot that creates a problem in the resolution of the conflict. A struggle between opposing forces there are three types: Internal: Man vs himself Interpersonal: Man vs Man External: Man vs nature or the outside world Connotation: Deconstruction: Elegy: Ellipsis: Irony: Juxtaposition: Memoir: Mood: Parody Paradox Parallelism: Point of View: A meaning that is associated with a word over time not the actual literal diction meaning. Breaking a text down into its components to see what message an assumptions it carries Poem written to lament the dead Three spaced dots (...) That indicate the interruption or omission of words. Use ellipsis when the quote / reference you are referring to is long in which you write out the beginning of the quote use your dots for the middle and write the last three words of the quote and then close your quote and state where you found it. Figure of speech in which the ordinary meaning of the words is more or less the opposite of what the poet intends. Placing two or more ideas or concepts side-byside for purposes of comparison. A work written about events from the actual life of a real person. That particular person is writing / telling about something significant that he or she has experienced The overall feeling of the poem Imitation of a poem or another poet's style for comic/satiric effect. Seemingly absurd statement which, on closer examination, reveals an important truth, ex, wise fool, the beginning of the end. Phrases or sentences placed side by side which exhibit repetition of structure or meaning. The perspective from which a selection is told in: Types: First Person Point of view: The narrator tells the story from the I point of view. 5
Second Person: Third Person Limited: Third Person Omniscient: Purpose: Satirical verse: Stanza: Symbolism: Theme: The narrator tells the story to another character using the pronoun you The narrator reveals the thoughts and feelings of a character that is not the narrator and uses the pronoun he or she. The narrator reveals the thoughts and feelings of many characters. What the writer wants to accomplish with a particular piece of writing. Verse which employs wit and ridicule to attack hypocrisy, pomposity or social injustice. Etc. A division in a poem The use of a concrete object to stand for an abstract or more complicated idea. The main idea in a poem Tone: The way in which a writer s choice of words reveals his/her attitude / emotion on the subject or for the characters and reader. Wit Intellectual humor Imagery: Language that appeals to the senses (touch, smell, taste, sight and sound. Creates mental pictures through the use of vivid description. This helps suggest additional meanings and feelings. Specific types of imagery include: Visual imagery - represented through sight Auditory imagery -represented through sound Olfactory imagery -represented through smell Gustatory imagery -represented through taste Tactile imagery -represented through touch: - hardness, softness, etc. Organic imagery -represented through internal sensation hunger, thirst, fatigue Kinesthetic imagery -represented through movement physical tension Thermal imagery -represented through heat and cold 6