Poetry Glossary PDF

General poetic terms +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | **Term** | Definition | Example | Effect | +=================+=================+=================+=================+ | **Stanza** | A division of a | Poetic |...

General poetic terms +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | **Term** | Definition | Example | Effect | +=================+=================+=================+=================+ | **Stanza** | A division of a | Poetic | The poet is | | | poem consisting | Structure \| | able to develop | | | of two or more | English | and introduce | | | lines arranged | Composition II | new ideas | | | together as a | | through the | | | unit. |   | poem, in the | | | | | same way | | | | | paragraphs do | | | | | in a narrative. | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | **Couplet** | A pair of lines | Double, double, | The poet | | | in a verse. | toil and | emphasises | | | They typically | trouble; fire | these lines, | | | rhyme. | burn and | which can often | | | | cauldron | serve as a | | | | bubble. | final message | | | | | to the reader. | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | **Quatrain** | A stanza of | The curfew | Helps the poet | | | poetry that | tolls the knell | convey or | | | consists of | of parting day, | develop an idea | | | four lines. And | the lowing herd | in a brief | | | makes one | wind slowly | stanza. | | | stanza of poem. | o\'er the lea, | | | | | the plowman | | | | | homeward plods | | | | | his weary way, | | | | | and leaves the | | | | | world to | | | | | darkness and to | | | | | me. | | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | **Meter** | Describes the |  | create mood. | | | | | | | | |   | | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+ | **Persona** | A poem in which | Today\'s Little | The poet is | | | the poet speaks | Ditty: Laura | able to give a | | | through an | Shovan: Writing | voice and | | | assumed voice. | Persona Poems | perspective to | | | | | whoever is | | | |   | experiencing | | | | | the feeling or | | | | | event being | | | | | described. | +-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+     Poetic techniques **Term** Definition Example Effect --------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- **Alliteration** The repetition of beginning consonant sounds in multiple words in a single line, sentence, or phrase. The slippery snake slithered past the slippery slide. Impacts the mood of a poem. **Allusion** A figure of speech in which a writer makes a reference to a famous story, person, object, or event. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes to day. The poet can make connections between their work and the work of others, or influential events. **Assonance** The repetition of the vowel sounds across words within the lines of the poem creating internal rhymes. The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain. Appeals to our sense of hearing and creates rhythm within a poem. **Connotation** A common association with a word or phrase and the feeling that it subsequently invokes. Swan - love/ hope. Poet can select vocabulary that conveys particular emotions to guide the audience in their reading. **Internal rhyme** A rhyme that occurs within the same line of verse. While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping; As of some one gently rapping at my chamber door. Emphasise rhythm in a poem, and shift the rhythm and unsettle the reader as they read. **Metaphor** A comparison between two things by using the words \'is\' or \'are\'. Hope is the thing with feathers. The comparison between objects becomes even stronger, creating a vivid image for the reader. **Onomatopoeia** Words that look like the sounds that they make and we can hear those sounds as we read. Splish-splash Imitates sounds within the events of the poem. **Personification** A comparison between a non-human item and a human so that the non-human items are given human characteristics. A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Poet enhances the qualities of the object and develops mood and atmosphere. **Refrain** Using repetition to place emphasis on a set of words or an idea within a poem. And miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep. Emphasise the key idea or message of the poem to the audience. **Simile** A comparison between unlike objects that incorporated the words \'like\' or \'as\'. She was as funny as a car full of clowns. The comparison highlights the similar qualities, enhancing the reader\'s understanding and creating a clear mental image. **Symbol** Something that is generally recognised to represent a certain idea. Rose - love. Helps the poet develop abstract, complex ideas in a direct way that is recognised by the reader.   Poetic styles **Term** Definition Example ----------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- **Blank verse** Poetry written in unrhymed but metered lines. Mending wall **Free verse** Poetry that does not have a set meter or rhyme scheme. The red wheelbarrow **Ode** A poem written to praise a certain subject and to explore the writer\'s feelings about that subject. Ode to a nightingale **Pastoral** Poetry that features imagery of nature, shepherds, and shepherdesses in an idealised portrayal of life in the countryside. The passionate shepherd to his love **Bush ballad** A rhyming, narrative based poem that has been adapted for singing. Click go the shears **Elegy** A poem with a particular kind of emotion driving it. In memorian