| A | B |
|---|
| alliteration | The repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together. |
| allusion | A reference to someone or something that is known from history, literature, religion, politics, sports, science, or some other branch of culture. |
| anapest(ic) | A metrical foot that has two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable, as in the word coexist. |
| assonance | The repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds, especially in words that are close together. |
| blank verse | Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. |
| couplet | The consecutive rhyming lines of poetry |
| dactyl(ic) | A metrical foot of three syllables in which the first syllable is stressed and the next two syllables are unstressed as in the words tendency. |
| figure of speech | A word or phrase that describes one thing in terms of another and that is not meant to be taken literally. Examples include metaphor, simile, hyperbole, symbol, and personification. |
| iamb(ic) | A metrical foot in poetry that has an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, as in the word protect. |
| iambic pentameter | A line of poetry that contains five iambic feet. |
| internal rhyme | Rhyme that occurs within a line of poetry or within consecutive lines. |
| inversion | The reversal of the normal word order in a sentence or phrase. |
| metaphor | A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without the use of such specific words of comparison as like, as, than, or resembles. |
| meter | A pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry. |
| onomatopoeia | The use of a word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning. |
| rhyme | The repetition of vowel sounds in accented syllables and all succeeding syllables. |
| rhythm | A rise and fall of the voice produced by the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables in language. |
| scanning (scansion) | The analysis of a poem to determine its meter. |
| simile | A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things , using a word such as like, as, than, or resembles. |
| spondee | A metrical foot consisting of two syllables, both of which are stressed. |
| trochee (trochaic) | A metrical foot made up of an accented syllable followed by an unaccented syllable, as in the word taxi. |
| succorless | without assistance; helpless |
| repine | to long for something |
| bereft | to be deprived of, especially a loved one |
| abide | to wait patiently for |
| pelf | wealth or worldly goods gotten dishonestly |
