Poetic Terms Flashcards
(31 cards)
Acrostic
A poem in which the beginning, middle or last letters of each line form a word when read vertically
Alliteration
The repetition of the same consonant sound. It is used to highlight the feeling of sound or movement to intensify meaning:
“Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Pepper”
Assonance
Repetition of identical vowel sounds in order to achieve a particular effect. Long vowel sounds can slow down a line, making it sound sad and weary:
“A four foot box, a foot every year”
Ballad
A simple song written as a narrative poem which tells a story through dialogue. Most commonly written in four-line verse with a regular rhythm
Couplet
A two line stanza
Diction
The Choice of Words or Language Used
Elegy
A slow, thoughtful peom written for someone who has died
End Stopped Lines
A line of poetry with a pause or stop at the end
Enjambment
A running over of the sense and grammatical structure from one line to another, or between stanzas. The enjambed line has no punctuation at the end:
“Small round hard stones click
under my heels”
Form
How a poem is structured or organised
Free Verse
Poetry written with lines of irregular verse and often without rhyme
Hyperbole
A figure of speech which uses exaggeration to emphasise a point
Imagery
Language that appeals to the senses. The use of pictures, figures of speech and description to suggest ideas, feelings, objects and actions which create a vivid picture in your mind
Metaphor
An image where one thing is said to be something else. Like the simile, it is based on a point of similarity, but this image identifies them completely:
“Stick is the whip”
Onomatopoeia
Sounds of words which mime or resemble the sounds of the object being described
Personification
The effect created when a non-human object or quality is written about as if it were a human being
Pun
A play on words. Two different meanings are drawn out of a single word, usually for comedy
Rap
A popular song form which utilises several poetic devices, most notably play of language within a strict rhythmic scheme
Refrain
A recurring line or phrase, especially at the end of a verse
Repetition
Repeating a sound, a word, or a phrase for effect
Rhyme
The use of words with matching sounds, usually at the end of each line
Rhythm
The movement of syllables within a line or verse
Quatrain
A four line stanza (traditionally the most popular)
Simile
A comparison of one thing with another, where the words ‘like’ or ‘as’ are used
