| A | B |
|---|
| alliteration | Repetition, at close intervals, of beginning sounds. |
| apostrophe | A speaker directly addresses something or someone not living, as a lady in a tapestry, or the wind. |
| assonance | Repetition at close intervals of vowel sounds. At its most basic, assonance is simple rhyme (cat, hat). Provides a fluency of sound. |
| consonance | Repetition at close intervals of consonant sounds, such as book, plaque, thicker (notice it’s inside the word, not at the beginning). |
| couplet | Two lines that rhyme. Shakespearean sonnets end with a one. Set off, couplets may contain a separate or complete idea. Sometimes a couplet can serve as a stanza. |
| epigram | A short quotation or verse that precedes a poem (or any text) that sets a tone, provides a setting, or give some other context for the poem. |
| fixed form | Some poems have a fixed form, meaning that there are “rules” about numbers of lines, meter, rhyme schemes, etc. |
| iambic pentameter | A line of five iambic feet, or ten syllables |
| metaphor | A comparison of two unlike things in order to show something new. A basic metaphor contains literal term (the thing being compared) and a figurative term (the thing the literal term is being comparted with). |
| imagery | Language that appeals to the senses and evokes emotion. |
| metaphysical conceit | An elaborate, intellectually ingenious metaphor that show that poet’s realm of knowledge; it may be brief or extended. |
| meter | The rhythmic pattern of poetry. |
| personification | To personify is to attribute human qualities or characteristics to nonliving things. To attribute human qualities to animals is called anthropomorphism. |
| pun | A play on words where the juxtaposition of meanings is ironic or humorous. |
| rhyme (internal rhyme) | Words that rhyme within a line of poetry |
| rhyme (rhyme scheme) | A regular pattern of end rhymes. To mark a rhyme scheme, label the first line “a,” the next line if it does not rhyme with the first “b,” and so on. Certain fixed form poems, like sonnets, have specific rhyme schemes. |
| rhythm | The beat or music of a poem. A regular best indicates a metrical pattern. |
| sestet | A stanza of six lines. See other stanza types below. |
| simile | a metaphor that uses comparison words such as “like” or “as.” |
| An epic simile or Homeric simile | An elaborate simile that compares an ordinary event or situation (familiar to the audience) with the idea in the text. These similes are often recognized by the “just as, so then” construction. Dante Aligheri makes extensive use of epic similes. |
| speaker | The narrative voice of a poem, whether consisting of equal or unequal numbers of lines. |
| Stanzaic form | Refers to a poem that has stanzas. A poem without stanzas is a continuous form poem. |
| structure | The way the poem is built, such as three stanzas of terza rima, or one stanza (continuous form) of successive couplets. |
| synechdoche | The use of a part for the whole, such as “all hand on deck” |
| tone | The emotional quality of a poem, such as regretful or contemplative; also refers to the speaker’s attitude (feeling about) a particular thing of idea. |
| unity | the degree to which elements of a poem work together to produce a coherent effect. |
