Term | Definition |
Stanza | A grouping of lines,separated by a space. |
Rhyme Scheme | A pattern of rhyming words or sound, shown using the lowercase letters of the alphabet. |
End Rhyme | A word at the end of one line rhymes with a word at the end of another line. |
Internal Rhyme | A word inside a line that rhymes with another word on the same line. |
Near Rhyme | Also known as imperfect or "close enough" rhyme.The words share EITHER the same vowel or consonant sound BUT NOT BOTH. |
Figurative Language | Used to make the literature more interesting by using words and expressions that have more than just a literal meaning. |
Alliteration | Consonant sounds repeated at the beginnings of words. |
Allusion | A reference to someone or something famous, used to stimulate ideas,associations,and extra information in a reader's mind with only a word or two. |
Analogy | Comparison of two or more unlike things in order to show a similarity in their characteristics. Main Types are Simile and metephor |
Simile | Comparison of two unlike things using "like" or "as." |
Metaphor | Comparison of two unlike things where one word is used to designate the other (one is the other). |
Extended Metephor | Continues for several lines or possibly the entire length of a work. |
Idiom | the literal meaning of the words is not the meaning of the expressions. It means something other than what it actually says. |
Imagery | Language that provides a sensory experience using sight,sound,smell,touch,taste,or the five senses. |
Hyperbole | An intentional exaggeration or overstatement,often used for emphasis and,often,humor. |
Onomatopoeia | Words that imitate the sound that they are naming. |
Oxymoron | Combines two usually opposite terms in a short paradox (contradictory phrase),as in the word bittersweet or the phrase living death. |
Personification | A nonliving thing or animal is given human or life-like qualities. |
Symbolism | The use of a word or object which represents a deeper meaning than the words themselves.It can be a material or a written sign used to represent something invisible. |
Couplet | A poem of only two lines.Both lines have an end rhyme and the same beat.Often found at the end of a sonnet. |
Haiku | Japanese style poem written in three lines.Focus traditionally on nature.Lines respectively are five syllables,seven syllables ,and five syllables. |
Quatrain | Stanza/short poem containing four lines.Lines 2 and 4 must rhyme,while lines 1 and 3 may/may not rhyme.Variations in rhyming patterns. |
Poet | The author of the poem,the person who actually wrote it. |
Speaker | The narrator of the poem,the voice telling us the thoughts/story. |