POETIC TERMSPOETIC TERMS

You will have a test on this on Thursday. Take

good notes.

A reference to a well- A reference to a well- known historical known historical

figure, place, literary figure, place, literary work, work of art, or work, work of art, or

eventevent.

Example: The teams competed in a David and

Goliath struggle.

A broad comparison between two basically

different things that have some points in common.

Aspirations toward space are not new. Consider the worm that becomes a butterfly.

A figure of speech that makes a direct comparison

between two basically different things. A simile

is introduced by the words “like” or “as”.

My love is like a red, red

rose.

An implied comparison between two basically different things. Is not

introduced with the words “like” or “as”.

His eyes were

daggers that cut

right through

me.

A great exaggeration to emphasize strong

feeling.

I will love you until all the seas go dry.

Human characteristics are given to non-human

animals, objects, or ideas.

My stereo walked out of

my car.

An absent person or inanimate object is

directly spoken to as though they were

present.

Brutus: “Ceasar, now

be still. I killed not thee with

half so good a will.”

A formal division of lines in a poem considered as a

unit.

Hints given to the reader of what is

to come.

“The stalwart hero was

doomed to suffer the

destined end of his days.”

A word or phrase that appeals to one or more of the five

senses.

Cold, wet leaves

floating on moss-

colored water.

A contrast between what is said and what is meant.

Also, when things turn out different than what is

expected.

“The treacherous instrument is in

thy hand, unbated and envenomed. The foul practice has turned itself on me.” Laertes

The feeling created in the reader by a literary work.

“It was the best of

times, it was the worst of

times.”

A story that is told in verse.

A song-like

poem that

tells a story.

Poetry written in unrhymed, ten-syllable lines.

Highly musical verse that

expresses the observations and

feelings of a single speaker.

A poem written with a shape that suggests its

subject.

Poetry not written in a regular rhythmical pattern or meter.

The repetition of identical sounds at the ends of lines of

poetry.

“He clasps the crag with

crooked handsClose to the sun in lonely lands”

from “The Eagle”

The repetition of identical sounds within a line of

poetry.

“We three shall flee across the sea to Italy.”

Or“Hold infinity in the palm of your hand

And eternity in an hour.”

A slant rhyme or half rhyme occurs when

the vowel sounds are not quite identical.

“And on that cheek and o’er that brow”

A mind at peace with all below”

A regular pattern of rhyming words in a

poem.

Whose woods these are I think I know,

His house is in the village though, He will not see me stopping here,

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

The repeating of a sound, word, phrase,

or more in a given literary work.

“I sprang to the stirrup, and Jarvis, and he;I galloped, Derrick galloped, we galloped all

three”

The pattern of beats or stresses in written or spoken language.

The repetition of consonant sounds

at the beginnings of words.

“Swiftly, swiftly

flew the ship”

The repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different

consonant.

“. . .that hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not

me.”

The repetition of consonant sounds

that are preceded by different vowel

sounds.

“Wherever we go

Silence will fall like dews”

The use of words that imitate sounds.

“Blind eyes could

blaze like meteors”

Other examples:

buzz, hum, kiss

Other examples:

buzz, hum, kiss

Something concrete, such as an object, action, character,

or scene that stands for something abstract such as a

concept or an idea.

“Do not go gentle into that good nightRage, Rage against the dying of the

light”

Both phrases are symbols that

stand for death.

Both phrases are symbols that

stand for death.

The main idea or underlying

meaning of a literary work.

“Don’t judge a

man until you’ve

walked a mile in his

shoes”

Comparing two very dissimilar things. Usually involves cleverness and

ingenuity.

“Our love is like

parallel lines”

This is also a simile.This is also a simile.

Writing that is not meant to be taken literally.

A three-lined Japanese verse with a syllable count

of 5-7-5.

A pair of rhymed verse lines that

contain a complete thought.

“But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,All losses are restor’d and sorrows end.”

Cinquain Five line formula poetry with the

following pattern:One wordTwo words describing the first wordThree words describing actions of the

first wordFour words that convey feelings of the

first wordOne word that renames the first word

CinquainExample:

MoonHeaven’s lightGleaming, shining, glowingObject of deep mysteryJewel

SonnetA fourteen line poem with a definite

meter and rhyme.Italian sonnets have eight lines

expressing the theme and 6 lines commenting on it.

English sonnets have three four-line stanzas and one couplet.