Poetic Terms Flashcards
Simile
a comparison using “like”, “as”, and sometimes “than”.
ex. “My parents are like the moon and the sun.”
Metaphor
a direct comparison that does not use “like” or “as”.
ex. “The man was a house.”
Personification
the lending of human characteristics to non-human things
ex. “The cedar tree shook its ragged coat.”
Oxymoron
two opposing terms that still make sense when placed together
ex. Jumbo shrimp, pretty ugly, silent scream, military intelligence
Onomatopoeia
any word that sounds like a sound.
ex. buzz, bang, woof, poof, kaboom, crackle, pop
Hyperbole
a gross or excessive exaggeration for effect.
ex. “I could eat a whole cow.”
Metre
the measurement of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.
ex. I/wan/dered/lone/ly/as/a/cloud
Blank verse
poetry that has metre, but no rhyme
Free verse
poetry that has neither ryhme nor metre
Sonnet
14 line poem with alternating rhyme scheme and ten syllables in each line.
Haiku
3 line poem with 5-7-5 syllables respectively in each line.
Imagery
words that appeal the senses and often create an image in our minds
ex. “On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair.”
Couplet
two consecutive rhyming lines of poetry
ex. “I had a cat.” “who lived in a hat”
Alliteration
repetition of the same initial consonant in a line of poetry
ex. “peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers”, “twin towers”, “double-down decker”, “she sells sea shells”
Assonance
repetition of the same vowel sound in a line (or lines) of poetry
ex. “seepin in deep and then you end of thinkin”
