Poetry Terms

1. Poetry Terms Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar.  Percy Bysshe Shelley 

2. Theme The central idea of the literary work Topic + Author’s Opinion = Theme Example: The theme of The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost, is that one always considers options when choosing and hopes that the choice he or she made is the most beneficial.

3. Figurative Language Writing or speech meant to be understood imaginatively instead of literally Examples: Similes, Metaphors, Personification, Hyperbole

4. Metaphor A comparison for 2 unlike things Example: Morning is a new sheet of paper.

5. Simile Comparison using like or as Example: He has courage like a lion.

6. Personification A figure of speech in which an animal or thing is described as if it were a person Example: Dawn spread out her fingertips of rose.

7. Imagery A vivid mental picture created in the reader’s mind by the language used in the poem Example: Hot like an orange, blazing sun

8. Tone The emotional attitude towards the reader or towards the subject implied by a literary work Example: The tone of a poem might be described as ironic, playful, sarcastic, serious (an emotion of some sort)

9. Speaker The voice assumed by the writer of the poem Example: The speaker is like the narrator of the poem. S/he will have a specific tone.

10. Stanza A group of lines in a poem Example: In the sun, the rain is misty and bright. Warm and often relaxing. In the dark, the rain is hazy and black. Cold and often threatening.

11. Rhyme The repetition of sounds at the end of words Example: Cat _________________ Fish ________________ Smile ________________

12. Rhyme Scheme A pattern of end rhymes Example: On the way to the lake, ________ I came across a snake, ________ It slithered around, ________ A touched the ground. ________

13. Symbolism Using an object to represent an idea Example: A heart stands for ? A dove stands for? A four-leaf clover stands for?

14. Onomatopoeia The use of words or phrases that sound like the things which they refer to Example: Buzz, Click, Pop

15. Hyperbole Gross exaggeration used to describe something Example: I have TONS of homework. I slept in ALL DAY. She is 1,000 years old.

16. Alliteration Repetition of initial consonant sounds Example: To fling my arms wide in the face of the sun.

17. Free Verse Poetry that avoids use of regular rhyme, meter, or division Example: Most of Shakespeare’s writing (minus the speeches that are sonnets, of course)

18. Repetition Repeating a line or phrase in a poem to draw emphasis to it Always pay attention to repeated words and phrases! They are key to figuring out the poem’s meaning!

19. Irony When the opposite of what is expected to happen, happens. Example: A man robs a bank and then is robbed by another robber while trying to escape the police.