A LIST OF POETIC TERMS LEARN THEM COMMIT

A LIST OF POETIC TERMS LEARN THEM!!!! COMMIT THEM TO MEMORY

ALLITERATION n The repetition of the consonant sounds in a sentence n Example – Sally sells sea shells at the sea shore. n They will not always be as obvious as a tongue twister.

ASSONANCE n The repetition of similar vowel sounds in a sentence. n Example – “Till rising and gliding out I wandered off by myself. ”

BALLAD n. A narrative poem written in four-line stanzas characterized by swift action and narrated in a direct style.

CAESURA You should remember this from Beowulf. It was written with caesuras. n A strong pause within a line of verse. n Example: He thought he’d ‘list, perhaps, Off-hand-like—just as I— Was out of work-had sold his traps— No other reason why. n

COUPLET n. A pair of rhymed lines that may or may not constitute a separate stanza in a poem. n Shakespeare’s sonnets end in rhymed couplets. n Example: “For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings That then I scorn to change my state with kings. ”

ELEGY n. A lyric poem that laments the dead.

ENJAMBMENT n. A run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next. n Example: “That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall, Looking as if she were alive. I call That piece a wonder, now…

EPIGRAM n. A brief witty poem, often satirical. n Satire is to criticize human misconduct n What T. V. shows would be examples of satire? ? ?

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE n When writers use literary terms in their work. n Examples – metaphors, similes, imagery, etc.

HYPERBOLE n. A figure of speech involving exaggeration. n Example: “I’ve told you a million times not to do that!”

IMAGERY n Using words to create images (pictures) in your mind. n What kind of words are so descriptive that they can create images in your mind? ?

LYRIC POEM n. A type of poem with a single speaker who is telling his/her feelings on a subject or subjects. n Example: “Western wind, when will thou blow, The small rain down can rain? Christ, if my love were in my arms And I in my bed again!”

METAPHOR n. A comparison between two unlike things without using like or as. n Example: “My love is a red, red rose. ”

NARRATIVE POEM n. A poem that tells a story. n Easy enough!

NARRATOR n The voice and implied speaker of a fictional work. n Implied - suggested

OCTAVE n Eight beginning lines of a poem, which may constitute a stanza.

ODE n. A long, stately poem in stanzas of varied length. n Could be a serious poem (Ode to My Dying Mother). n Or a light-hearted poem (Ode to My Socks)

ONOMATOPOEIA n The use of words to imitate the sounds they describe. n Example: Buzz Crack Pop Zap n Can you think of any others? ?

PERSONIFICATION n When you give a human quality to an inanimate object. n Example: “The yellow leaves flaunted their color happily in the breeze. ” “The lonely cloud swept across the radiant blue sky. ”

QUATRAIN n. A four-line stanza in a poem n A Shakespearean sonnet contains three quatrains followed by a couplet. n So how many lines is a Shakespearean sonnet? ?

RHYME n The matching of final vowel or consonant sounds in two or more words. n This example contains alternate rhyme: “Whenever Richard Coy went down town, We people on the pavement looked at him; He was a gentleman from sole to crown Clean favored and imperially slim. ”

RHYTHM n The recurrence of accent or stress in lines of verse. n Think of a song. n Example: “I said to my baby, Baby take it slow… Lulu said to Leonard I want a diamond ring”

SESTET n. A six-line stanza n These lines are a solution or a call to action. n The first eight lines of a poem establish a problem (What are these lines called again? ) n The last six lines of a poem (sestet) find a solution and describe how he/she feels about that problem.

SIMILE n. A comparison between two unlike things using like or as. n Example: “My love is like a red, red rose. ”

SONNET n n n A fourteen-line poem in iambic pentameter. A Shakespearean or English sonnet is arranged as three quatrains and a final couplet (How many lines again? ) Rhyming is abab cdcd efef gg. The Petrarchan or Italian sonnet divides into two parts: an eight-line octave and a six-line sestet. Rhyming is abba cde or abba cd cd cd

STANZA n. A division or unit of a poem.

STYLE n The way an author chooses words, arranges them in sentences or in lines of verse. n The use of figurative language: metaphors, similes, irony, imagery, etc.

SYMBOL n Something that represents or stands for something else. n What does money symbolize? n What does love symbolize? n What does the fig tree symbolize in The Bell Jar? n What does bullfighting symbolize in The Sun Also Rises

TERCET n. A three-line stanza

TONE n The implied attitude of a write toward the subject and characters of a work. n Think feelings n Example of tone words: Joyful, Angry, Sorrowful, Depressed… n Can you think of any more? ? ?

THAT’S IT!!!!!!!!! n NOW START MEMORIZING THESE WORDS n I WILL GIVE YOU POP QUIZZES OVER THEM