Question | Answer |
Couplet | is two successive lines of poetry, especially those of the same length, that rhyme. Often used in humorous poems because they pack a quick punch. Example: "Casey at the Bat" is written in four line stanzas consisting of two couplets in each. |
Dactyl | is a metrical foot of three syllables, the first accented and the next two unaccented. |
Heptameter | is a line of verse with seven (7) metrical feet. |
Hexameter | is a line of verse with six (6) metrical feet. |
Iamb | is a metrical foot of two syllables, the first unaccented and the second accented. |
Ode | is a lyric poem addressed to a specific person or thing with lofty feeling, elaborate form, and dignified style. |
Pentameter | is a line of verse with five (5) metrical feet. |
Sonnet | is a poem of exactly fourteen (14) Iambic pentameter verses with a specific rhyme scheme (Italian, also known as Petrarchan, or British, also known as Shakespearean). |
Spondee | is a metrical foot of two syllables, both accented. |
Verse | is a single line of poetry |
Ballad | A song or songlike poem that tells a story. Ballads usually tell stories of tragedy, love, or adventure, using simple language and a great deal of repitition. They generally have regular rhythm and rhyme patterns that make them easy to memorize. |
Free verse | Poetry without a regular meter or rhyme scheme. Captures natural rhythms of ordinary conversing or unusual conversation. May use internal rhyme, repetition, alliteration, onomatopoeia, and other sound effects. Often use vivid imagery, metaphors & similes |
Lyric poem | A poem that expresses the feelings or thoughts of a speaker rather than telling a story. Can express a wide range of feelings or thoughts. Usually short and imply, rather than directly state, a single strong emotion or idea. |
Meter | A pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry. It is common practice to show this pattern in writing by using two symbols. |
Poetry | A rhythmic, compressed language that uses figures of speech and imagery designed to appeal to our emotions and imagination. Usually arranged in lines. Often has a regular pattern of rhythm & may have regular rhyme scheme. lyric,narrative,epic,ballad. |
Refrain | A repeated sound, word, phrase, line, or group of lines. Usually associated with songs & poems. Also used in speeches & other forms of literature. Often used to build rhythm. May also provide emphasis,commentary,create suspense,or help hold work together. |
Rhyme | The repetition of accented vowel sounds and all sounds following them in words that are close together in a poem. Purposes include building rhythm,lending songlike quality,emphasizing ideas,organizing poems (ie stanzas or couplets), humor,pleasure,memory. |
Rhythm | A musical quality produced by the repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables or by the repetition of certain other sound patterns. Rhythm occurs in all forms of language, both written & spoken, but is particularly important in poetry. |
Speaker | The voice talking to us in a poem. The speaker is sometimes, not always, the poet. It is best to think of the voice in the poem as belonging to a character the poet has created. The character may be a child, a woman, a man, an animal, or even an object. |
Stanza | A group of consecutive lines in a poem that form a single unit.In a poem it is something like a paragraph in prose:It often expresses a unit of thought.It may consist of a number of lines; even a single line.The word Stanza is italian for "stopping place" |
Theme | The general idea or insight about life taht a work of literature reveals. A theme is not the same as a subject. Subject can usually be expressed in a word or two. Theme is idea or message the writer wishes to convey about the subject. |
Tone | The attitude a writer takes toward his or her subject, characters, and audience. ie a writers tone might be humorous or passionate and sincere. When people speak, their tone of voice gives added meaning to what they say. |