Poetry Terms Flashcards
(28 cards)
Stanza
A section of poem demarcated by extra line spacing
Speaker
The person, not necessarily the author, who is the voice of the poem
Tone
The attitude a literary work takes toward its subject and theme
Diction
Word choice; note whether it is formal or colloquial, among other things
Syntax
The way words are put together to form phrases, clauses, and sentences
Imagery
Any sensory detail in a work
Allusion
A reference, whether explicit or implicit, to history, the Bible, myth, literature, paintings, etc. that adds to the meaning in a work
Alliteration
The repetition of initial consonant sounds in a sequence of words
Meter
The more or less regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry
Iambic Pentameter
A metrical form consisting of five stresses in a line of poetry, following the pattern of unstressed then stressed syllables
Blank Verse
Unrhymed iambic pentameter
Free Verse
Poetry characterized by irregular line lengths, and the absences of regular meter and rhyme
Anaphora
The repetition of the initial word or phrase in successive lines of poetry
Enjambment
Running over from one line to the next without puncuation
Caesura
A short pause within a line of poetry, often with punctuation
Lyric Poetry
Poetry in which the speaker expresses intense personal emotion
Narrative Poetry
Poetry that tells a story
Metaphor
A figure of speech that makes an implicit comparison between two unlike things
Similie
A figure of speech that makes an explicit comparison between two unlike things using like or as
Metonymy
A figure of speech that substitutes a word with a different but closely associated word
Personification
A figure of speech in which an abstraction or something that isn’t human is given human qualities
Paradox
A figure of speech in which there is a seeming contradiction that somehow reveals a truth
Verbal Irony
A figure of speech in which the speaker says the opposite of what he/she means
Dramatic Irony
When the speaker says one thing but the author implies another
