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Poetry Unit Terms & Definitions: A Guide to Understanding Poetic Techniques

Explore common poetry terms and definitions such as dialect, onomatopoeia, alliteration, atmosphere, rhyme, rhyme scheme, assonance, concrete poetry, quatrain, tercet, hyperbole, symbol, theme, personification, ambiguity, and figurative language. Learn how poets use these techniques to create impactful and meaningful poetry.

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Poetry Unit Terms & Definitions: A Guide to Understanding Poetic Techniques

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  1. Poetry Unit Terms, Definitions and Examples

  2. Dialect- a version of a language spoken by the people of a particular place, time, or social group • Ex: ya’ll, yun’z • Onomatopoeia- the use of words or phrases that sound like the things to which they refer • Ex: bang, pop, buzz

  3. Alliteration- the repetition of initial consonant sounds • Ex: sally sells sea shells, tip of the tongue • Atmosphere- that emotion created in the reader by all or part of a literary work, also known as “mood” or “tone” • Ex: Dark and eeriness of “Emmett Till” by James A. Emanuel: “I hear a whistling / Through the water / Little Emmett / Won’t be still. / He keeps floating / Round the darkness, / Edging through / The silent chill.”

  4. Rhyme- the repetition of sounds at the ends of words • Ex: mine and pine • Rhyme Scheme- a regular pattern of end rhymes • Ex: ABAB, ABBA, ABBB, AABB, AABA, ABCA…etc. • Assonance – repetition of the same vowel sounds • Ex: “The crumbling thunder of the seas”

  5. Concrete - printed or written in a shape that suggests its subject matter • Ex: • Action- the sequence of events that occur in a literary work, as opposed to those that occur off-scene or precede or follow the events in the work itself. • Ex: “My love is like a red, red rose” • Takes place RIGHT NOW

  6. Analyze - To discover something through detailed examination of a text; an analysis is that examination • Ex: Through usage, tone, and symbolism, Margaret Atwood discusses the position of women in society in her poem “Siren Song.” • Quatrain- four-line stanzas Ex: “’Hope’ is the thing with feathers – That perches in the soul And sings the tune without the words – And never stops – at all” • Tercet- three-line stanzas • Ex: Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day Rage, rage against the dying of the light

  7. Hyperbole – an extreme exaggeration • Ex: “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!” • Symbol- a thing that stands for or represents both itself and something else • Ex: Dove = peace, rose = love • Theme – a central idea in a work • Ex: Good is better than evil

  8. Personification – giving inanimate objects human-like qualities • Ex: “The fog comes / on little cat feet. / It sits looking / over harbor and city / on silent haunches / and then moves on.” • Ambiguity– word or phrase that can be read one in more than one way • Ex: “The whiskey on your breath / could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death: / Such waltzing was not easy.” • Figurative language– tool that an author uses to help the reader visualize what is happening • Ex: Simile, metaphor, etc.

  9. Appositive-a grammatical form in which a thing is renamed, in different words, in a word or phrase • Sandra, my best friend, writes nature poetry. • Lovely, dark and deep • Simile- a comparison using like or as • Example: “O my love is like a red, red rose / That’s newly sprung in June.” • Metaphor- a comparison that is directly stated • Example: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? / Thou art more lovely and more temperate.”

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