| A | B |
|---|
| Topic | What the poem is about, the subject of the poem |
| Theme | The statement the poem is making about its subject |
| Rhyme | Repetition of the ending (terminal) sounds of words |
| Alliteration | Repetition of an initial consonant sound |
| Assonance | Repetition of a vowel sound (the sound, a particular vowel) |
| Consonance | Words that have similar consonance sounds but different vowels |
| Free verse | Poetry with no regular rhyme, meter, or prescribed form. |
| Narrative poem | Any poem that tells a story |
| Ballad | A narrative poem intended to be sung, with stanzas and a refrain. |
| Lyric poem | A poem that expresses thoughts and/or feelings. |
| Figurative language | Language that isn't to be taken literally—includes simile, metaphor, symbol, and allegory |
| Simile | A type of figurative language that compares two unlike things using "like," "as," or "than" |
| Metaphor | A type of figurative language comparing two unlike things as if one IS another—doesn't use "like" or "as" |
| Personification | A metaphor that gives human characteristics to nonhuman things |
| Hyperbole | An overstatement, or exaggeration |
| Haiku | A three-line Japanese form of poetry (5–7–5 syllables) |
| Onomatopoeia | Words that imitate sounds (hiss, sizzle) |
| Meter | The rhythmical pattern in a poem |
| Repetition | Repeated words, phrases, or sentences |
