Alliteration
The repetition of identical or similar consonant sounds, normally at the beginning
Allusion
A reference in a work of literature to something outside the work
Antithesis
A figure of speech characterized by strongly contrasting words, clauses, sentences or ideas
Apostrophe
A figure of speech in which someone, some abstract quality or a nonexistent personage is directly addressed as though present
Assonance
The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds
Ballad meter
A four line stanza rhymed ABCD with 4 feet in lines 1 and three and 3 feet in lines 2 and four
Blank verse
Unrhymed iambic pentameter
Cacophony
A harsh, unpleasant combination of sounds or tones
Caesura
A pause, usually near the middle of the line of verse, usually indicated by the sense of the line, and often greater than the normal pause
Conceit
An ingenious and fanciful notion or conception, usually expressed through an elaborate analogy and pointing to a striking parallel between two seemingly dissimilar things
Consonance
The repetition of similar consonant sounds in a group of words. The term usually refers to words in which the ending consonants are the same but the vowels that precede them are different. “Add” and “read”
Couplet
A two line stanza usually with end rhymes the same
Devices of sound
The techniques of deploying the sound words, especially in poetry
Diction
The use of words in a literary work.
Diction may be described as formal, informal, colloquial or slang
Didactic poem
A poem which is intended primarily to teach a lesson
Dramatic poem
A poem which employs a dramatic form or some element or elements of dramatic techniques as a means of achieving poetic ends
Elegy
A sustained and formal poem setting forth the poets meditations upon death or another solemn theme
End-stopped
A line with a pause at the end
Enjambment
The continuation of the sense and grammatical construction from one line of poetry to the next
Extended metaphor
An implied analogy or comparison which is carried throughout a stanza or an entire poem
Euphony
A style in which combinations of words pleasant to the ear predominate. Opposite of cacophony
Eye rhyme
Rhyme that appears correct from spelling but is half rhyme or slant rhyme from the pronunciation “match” “watch”
Feminine rhyme
A rhyme of two syllables one stressed and one unstressed as “waken” and “forsaken”
Figurative language
Writing that uses figures of speech such as metaphor irony and simile
Free verse
Poetry which is not written in a traditional meter but is still rhythmical
Heroic couplet
Two end-stopped iambic pentameter lines rhymed AA BB CC with the thought usually completed in the two unit
Hyperbole
A deliberate extravagant and often outrageous exaggeration
Imagery
The images of a literary work; the sensory details of the work; the figurative language of the work
Irony
The contrast between actual meaning and the suggestion of another meaning
Internal rhyme
Rhyme that occurs within a line rather than at the end