Poetry Terms Prep

The process of marking beats in a poem to establish the prevailing metrical pattern.

A six-line stanza or unit of poetry

Two successive rhyming lines.

A comparison between two unlike things, this describes one thing as if it were something else.

A blending of consonant and vowel sounds designed to imitate the activity being described

A line ending in a full pause, usually indicated with a period or semicolon.

Usually used to describe the level of formality that a speaker uses.

A complete and detailed analysis of a work of literature, often word-by-word and line-by-line.

A sonnet (14 lines of rhyming iambic pentameter) that divides into an octave (8) and sestet (6)

A rhetorical figure embodying a seeming contradiction that is nonetheless true

A group of poetic lines corresponding to paragraphs in prose

Repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of a line in all or part of the poem

References that trigger the melding memories of sight, sounds, tastes, smells, and touch

The repetition of identical consonant sounds, most often the sounds beginning words

Attributing human characteristics to nonhuman things or abstractions.

The number of feet within a line of traditional verse.

Unrhymed iambic pentameter.

Who wrote the Quote of the Week

Repeated word or series of words in response or counterpoint to the main verse, as in a ballad.

A 14-line poem composed of three quatrains and a couplet rhyming abab cdcd efef gg

What is the Word of the Day

Overstatement; exaggeration for effect

Usually used to describe the level of formality that a speaker uses

a person not present, an animal, inanimate object, or concept is addressed like it's a person

The partial or total identity of consonants in words whose main vowels differ.

An exact rhyme (rather than rhyming vowel sounds, as with assonance) within a line of poetry

A type of poem, from drama, in which a speaker addresses an internal listener or the reader.

An unstressed stressed foot.The most natural and common kind of meter in English.

The first eight lines of an Italian or Petrarchan sonnet, unified by rhythm, rhyme, and topic

Word order and sentence structure.

A direct comparison between two dissimilar things; uses "like" or "as" to make the comparison

Iambic tetrameter alternating with iambic trimeter.

The repetition of identical vowel sounds in different words in close proximity.

A measured combination of heavy and light stresses.

The "turning" point of a Petrarchan sonnet, usually occurring between the octave and the sestet

A line having no end punctuation but running over to the next line.

The repetition of identical concluding syllables in different words, often at the ends of lines

Unacknowledged reference and quotations that authors assume their readers will recognize

A narrative poem composed of quatrains (iambic tetrameter alternating with iambic trimeter)