Unit 5: Introduction to Poetry

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  1. poetry
    literature in metrical form
    The above passage is not prose; it is poetry. The language of poetry is musical, and the word choices exact.
  2. line
    a row of text written across a page or computer screen
    A line of poetry is a single row of words.
  3. stanza
    a fixed number of lines of verse forming a unit of a poem
    Stanzas are made up of lines in the same way that paragraphs are made up of sentences. In a poem, each stanza is separated from the next by a space.
  4. lyric
    of or relating to poetry that expresses emotion
    A lyric poem expresses the emotions of the poem’s speaker, or narrator.
  5. speaker
    the narrative voice of a poem (as distinct from the poet)
    A lyric poem expresses the emotions of the poem’s speaker, or narrator.
  6. narrative
    consisting of or characterized by the telling of a story
    Narrative poetry tells a story and is frequently longer than lyric poetry.
  7. sonnet
    a verse form of 14 lines with a fixed rhyme scheme
    A sonnet is a fourteen-line poem that usually explores the theme of romantic love.
  8. haiku
    an epigrammatic Japanese verse form of three short lines
    Originating in Japan, haikus are short three-line poems that describe a single image or scene from nature.
  9. free verse
    poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter
    Free verse does not use consistent rhymes or rhythms. Free verse can take any shape and address any subject.
  10. figurative
    not literal
    Figurative language is anything written or spoken that is not meant to be taken literally.
  11. metaphor
    a figure of speech that suggests a non-literal similarity
    A metaphor is a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken or written about as if it were another.
  12. simile
    a figure of speech expressing a resemblance between things
    A simile also compares one thing to another, but it uses the word like or as.
  13. hyperbole
    extravagant exaggeration
    Hyperbole is an exaggeration used for effect or to make a point.
  14. personification
    representing an abstract quality or idea as a human
    Personification is a figure of speech in which something not human is described as if it were human.
  15. image
    a visual representation produced on a surface
    An image is a concrete representation of an object or an experience.
  16. imagery
    the use of vivid sensory language in literature
    When considered together, the images in a literary work are referred to as imagery.
  17. rhyme
    correspondence in the final sounds of two or more lines
    Rhyme is the repetition of sounds at the ends of words. For example, the word soon rhymes with moon.
  18. rhythm
    alternation of stressed and unstressed elements in speech
    Rhythm is the pattern of beats, or stressed syllables, in a line of poetry.
  19. meter
    a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in verse
    Rhythm is the pattern of beats, or stressed syllables, in a line of poetry. If this pattern is regular, it is called meter.
  20. alliteration
    use of the same consonant at the beginning of each word
    Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words. For example, the repetition of the b sound in bright blue bottle is alliteration.
  21. symbol
    something visible that represents something invisible
    A symbol is a thing that stands for itself and something else. Some traditional symbols include doves for peace and owls for wisdom.
Created on Wed Feb 17 16:02:45 EST 2021 (updated Fri Jun 18 09:43:25 EDT 2021)

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