Poetic Terms

1. Poetic Terms A small selection

2. Alliteration—repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words. i.e.: wet, wild, and wooly Allusion - a reference, implicit or explicit to something in literature or history Anaphora – repetition of opening word or phrase in a series of lines Apostrophe – someone who is dead/absent/non-human is addressed as if alive, present, and capable of reply Assonance—repetition of vowel sounds without the repetition of consonants . i.e.: “… my words like silent raindrops fell...”

3. Blank Verse—an unrhymed form of poetry which normally consists of ten syllables in which every other syllable is stressed. (iambic pentameter) • Canto—division of a long poem. • Caesura—pause or sudden break in a line of poetry. • Consonance—repetition of consonant sounds especially in poetry. i.e.: girls with smooth skin smile • Couplet - two consecutivelines of poetry that rhyme. A couplet that presents a complete thought is called a closed couplet. Shakespeare used closed couplets to end his sonnets.

4. Euphony – a smooth, pleasant-sounding choice and arrangement of sounds • Figurative Language – language that cannot be taken literally or only literally • Foot – basic unit in measurement of metrical verse • Free Verse—poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme. • Heroic Couplet—2 successive rhyming lines which contain complete thoughts • Lyric—a short verse intended to express emotions of the author; most often lyrics are set to music.

5. Meter—repetition of stressed an unstressed syllables in a line of poetry. • Ode—lyric poem written to someone or something > serious and elevated tone. • Paradox—statement which at first seems contradictory but which turns out to have a profound meaning. i.e. : Bob Dylan’s lyric: “I was so much older then; I’m younger than that now.” • Psalm—a sacred or religious song or lyric. • Quatrain – a four line stanza or poem, or a group of four lines unified by a rhyme scheme.

6. Refrain—repetition of a line or a phrase of a poem at regular intervals, especially at the end of each stanza. Refrain of a song=chorus. • Repetition—repeating of a word or a phrase within a poem or a prose to create a sense of rhyme. • Rhyme—similarity or likeness of sound existing between two words. • Rhyme Scheme – A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyming lines in a poem or in lyrics for music. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme. A change from one rhyme scheme to another often signifies a change in subject matter • Rhymed Verse—verse with end rhyme; it usually has a regular meter.

7. Sonnet – 14 line poem, usually in iambic pentameter with a rhyme scheme following either Italian or English • Stanza—the division of poetry named for the # of lines it contains. • Couplet: 2 line stanza • Triplet: 3 line stanza • Quatrain: 4 line stanza • Quintet: 5 line stanza • Sestet, Septet, Octave • All others are called 9, 10, 11 line stanzas, etc. • Tone – the speaker’s attitude toward the subject; emotional coloring • Verse—Metrical language; the opposite of prose (Blank, Free, or Rhymed)

8. Sonnets • A fourteen line lyric poem usually written in iambic pentameter, that has one of several rhyme schemes. • Three types of sonnets: • Petrarchan Sonnet (Italian Sonnet) • Shakespeaean Sonnet or English Sonnet • Spensarian Sonnet

9. Petrarchan Sonnet • Named after 14th century Italian poet Francis Pretrarch. • Divided into two parts. • Octave (octet) – the first eight lines of the poem. They usually represent a problem, pose a question, on express an idea. • Rhyme scheme of the octave is abbaabba. • Sestet (turn) – the last six lines of the poem. They usually resolve the problem, answer the question, or drive home the point. • Rhyme scheme of the sestet is cdcdcd or cdecde.

10. Shakespearean Sonnet or English Sonnet • Has three four-line units (quatrains) usually followed by a concluding two-line unit (couplet). • The three quatrains often express related ideas or examples. • The couplet sums up the poets conclusion or message. • The rhyme scheme is most usually abab cdcd efef gg.

11. Spensarian Sonnet • Developed by Edmund Spenser • Divided into three quatrains and a couplet • The three quatrains develop three distinct but closely related ideas, with a different idea (or commentary) in the couplet. • The rhyme scheme links the quatrains abab bcbc cdcd ee