Poetry Vocabulary!

1. Poetry Vocabulary!

2. stanza • Definition: a group of lines from a poem • Example: "I'm nobody! Who are you?" by Emily Dickinson I'm nobody! Who are you?Are you nobody, too?Then there's a pair of us — don't tell!They'd banish us, you know. How dreary to be somebody!How public, like a frogTo tell your name the livelong dayTo an admiring bog!

3. couplet • Definition: two consecutive rhyming lines • Examples: "I'm nobody! Who are you?" by Emily Dickinson I'm nobody! Who are you?Are you nobody, too?Then there's a pair of us — don't tell!They'd banish us, you know. How dreary to be somebody!How public, like a frogTo tell your name the livelong dayTo an admiring bog!

4. rhyme scheme • Definition: a pattern of end rhymes in a poem • Examples: • Shakespearean: abab/cdcd/efef/gg • Petrarchan: abba/abba/cdecde "I'm nobody! Who are you?" by Emily Dickinson I'm nobody! Who are you?Are you nobody, too?Then there's a pair of us — don't tell!They'd banish us, you know. How dreary to be somebody!How public, like a frogTo tell your name the livelong dayTo an admiring bog! a a b c d e f ?

5. alliteration • Definition: repetition of consonant sounds in several words that are close together • Examples: • The creepy creature crawled toward Craig.

6. simile • Definition: Comparison of two unlike things using “like” or “as” • Examples: • Fast as a cat • Slow as a turtle • Smelly as manure • Clean as a window • Dangerous as a bomb • Safe as a lock • Jumpy as a kangaroo

7. metaphor • Definition: a comparison of two unlike things without “like” or “as” • Examples: • Her heart is stone. • Her eyes are diamonds.

8. imagery • Definition: Any language using the five senses • Examples: • -Sight: Shiny • -Taste: Sour • -Touch: Rough • -Hear: Whispering • -Smell: Stinky

9. onomatopoeia Definition: Words whose sounds imitate their meaning. Examples: BOOM, CRASH, BANG, RING

10. ballad • Definition: a songlike poem that often tells a sad story • Examples: • “The Dying Cowboy”

11. lyric • Definition: a poem that expresses the personal feelings of the speaker • Examples: • “You Don’t Know What You’re Getting Into” • “Valentine for Ernest Mann”

12. epic • Definition: a long narrative poem about the deeds of a great hero • Examples: • “Beowulf”

13. sonnet • Definition: a 14-line lyric poem that follows strict rules of structure, meter, and rhyme • Examples: • Shakespearean sonnet: “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day”

14. ode • Definition: a long lyric poem, usually praising a person or thing • Examples: • “Ode to My Feet” • “Ode to a Frog”

15. elegy • Definition: a poem mourning a person’s death • Examples: • “An Elegy for Anne Frank” • “O Captain, My Captain”

16. free verse • Definition: a poem without a regular rhyme scheme or meter • Examples: • “I Hear America Singing”

17. theme • Definition: the message or moral of a story or poem • Examples: • Don’t judge a book by its cover. • A brave person can accomplish the unexpected.

18. symbol • Definition: a person, place, or thing that has a deeper meaning • Examples: • Heart = love • Dove = peace

19. hyperbole • Definition: an exaggeration • Examples: • The elephant weighed a million pounds! • She talks on the phone forever!

20. style • Definition: the way a writer uses language • Examples: • Edgar Allen Poe: • Uses lots of dashes & exclamation points

21. tone • Definition: the speaker’s attitude about his/her subject • Examples: In Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech, he speaks passionately about civil rights. I have a dream!

22. mood • Definition: the feelings the reader gets when reading a poem or story • Examples: • The “The Tell-Tale Heart” is scary and intense.