A repeated word or phrase at the beginning of a successive clause, sentence or verse used for emphasis.

The contrasting of two opposing words or phrases.

The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.

A brief reference to a real or fictional person, event, place, or work of art.

An idea or feeling that a word invokes beyond its literal meaning; figurative associations.

Repetition of consonant sounds in a text.

The literal meaning of a word; dictionary definition.

Word choice (consider connotations).

Rhyme that occurs at the end of a line of verse.

When one line ends without a pause or punctuation and continues onto the next line.

When a line concludes with a natural pause, marked by punctuation (comma, period, colon, or semicolon) or the end of a sentence/phrase; it slows the poem’s pace and emphasizes the line’s end.

Poetry that doesn’t rhyme or have a measurable meter.

Rhymed words that occur within a single line of verse.

A figure of speech comparing two things that does not use like or as.

The measured arrangement of sounds in a poem, including placement of emphasis and number of syllables per line.

A word that sounds like what it means.

The pattern of rhymed lines in a poem, usually denoted by letters (e.g., ababcdcdefefgg).

The beat and pace of a poem from the recurrence of stressed and unstressed sounds.

A figure of speech comparing two things using like or as.

The voice that conveys the poem’s message (similar to a narrator in fiction).

A unified group of lines in poetry marked by spacing between sections.

An object or action that represents more than its literal meaning.

The central message that the author/poet delivers.

The attitude the poem’s speaker takes toward their subject.

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ACTUAL POETIC TERMS

Term	Definition	Example
Anaphora	A repeated word or phrase at the beginning of a successive clause, sentence or verse used for emphasis.	Ex: Hard Times by Charles Dickens: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity.
Antithesis	The contrasting of two opposing words or phrases.	Ex: War and Peace, Love and Hate, Life and Death, Fire and Ice
Alliteration	The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.	Example: Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”: Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, / Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, / While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping.
Allusion	A brief reference to a real or fictional person, event, place, or work of art.	Example: From Nothing Gold Can Stay (by Robert Frost): “So Eden sank to grief, / So dawn goes down to day. / Nothing gold can stay.”
Assonance	Repetition of vowel sounds.	Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, / Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore — / While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, / As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
Connotation	An idea or feeling that a word invokes beyond its literal meaning; figurative associations.	Ex: “Plants” has a neutral connotation, whereas “weeds” are viewed as unwanted, ugly, pests, etc.; the color blue has connotations of sadness, sky, etc.
Consonance	Repetition of consonant sounds in a text.	Ex: From Emily Dickinson’s “Poem 315” (1862): Your breath has time to straighten, / Your brain to bubble cool, / Deals one imperial thunderbolt / That scalps your naked soul.
Denotation	The literal meaning of a word; dictionary definition.	Ex: “Denotation” is the dictionary definition of a word.
Diction	Word choice (consider connotations).	Ex: shoved the desk vs. moved the desk; weed vs. plant
End Rhyme	Rhyme that occurs at the end of a line of verse.	Ex: From Dr. Seuss’s “Horton Hears a Who!”: On the fifteenth of May, in the jungle of Nool, / In the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool…
Enjambment	When one line ends without a pause or punctuation and continues onto the next line.	Ex: From “The Red Wheelbarrow” (W.C. Williams): so much depends / upon / a red wheel / barrow
End stopped	When a line concludes with a natural pause, marked by punctuation (comma, period, colon, or semicolon) or the end of a sentence/phrase; it slows the poem’s pace and emphasizes the line’s end.	Ex: Dickinson’s “Fame is a bee.”: Fame is a bee. / It has a song— / It has a sting— / Ah, too, it has a wing.
Free Verse	Poetry that doesn’t rhyme or have a measurable meter.	Ex: Poems written without rhyme or regular meter are free verse.
Internal Rhyme	Rhymed words that occur within a single line of verse.	Ex: The Beatles, “Hey Jude”: Hey Jude, don’t make it bad / Take a sad song and make it better
Metaphor	A figure of speech comparing two things that does not use like or as.	Ex: Sylvia Plath’s “Metaphors”: I’m a riddle in nine syllables, / An elephant, a ponderous house
Meter	The measured arrangement of sounds in a poem, including placement of emphasis and number of syllables per line.	Ex: Macbeth in iambic pentameter: “So foul and fair a day I have not seen.”; witches in trochaic tetrameter: “Double, double, toil and trouble: / Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.”
Onomatopoeia	A word that sounds like what it means.	Ex: buzz, splat, boom, tick tock
Rhyme scheme	The pattern of rhymed lines in a poem, usually denoted by letters (e.g., ababcdcdefefgg).	Ex: ABAB: Roses are red. / Violets are blue. / Shakespeare is dead? / I had no clue.
Rhythm	The beat and pace of a poem from the recurrence of stressed and unstressed sounds.	Ex: “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, / How I wonder what you are!”
Simile	A figure of speech comparing two things using like or as.	Ex: Denise Rogers, “Your Teeth”: Your teeth are like stars; / They come out at night. / They come back at dawn / When they’re ready to bite.
Speaker	The voice that conveys the poem’s message (similar to a narrator in fiction).	Ex: The “I” or narrating voice in a poem is the speaker.
Stanza	A unified group of lines in poetry marked by spacing between sections.	Ex: Margaret Atwood’s “You Fit Into Me”: you fit into me / like a hook into an eye / a fish hook / an open eye
Symbol	An object or action that represents more than its literal meaning.	Ex: Blood in Macbeth symbolizes consequences and guilt
Theme	The central message that the author/poet delivers.	Ex: The necessity of hope for survival
Tone	The attitude the poem’s speaker takes toward their subject.	Ex: angry, sarcastic, joyful
Verse	A single line of poetry.	Ex: Whose woods these are I think I know

Created by: Rainbow Fungus

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