Poetry Definitions and Examples

Metaphor
One thing is compared to something very different

Simile
Comparison of two dissimilar things using as, like, or than

Metonymy
Metaphor in which the things aren’t that different (figurative language and literal are similar)

Synecdoche
Part of a thing used in place of a whole

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Conceit
Surprising and unusual comparison between two very different things

Pun
Word play in which a phrase or word has two different meanings of have the same sound

Personification
Human characteristics given to nonhuman thing

Apostrophe
Addressing an absent person or a personified thing (“i can’t wait to see you again, it’s only a matter of time…..”

Symbol
Anything that represents something else, usually an idea or abstraction

Onomatopeia
Words that imitate sounds

Irony
Technique that involves interesting contradictions; verbal irony uses the opposite meanings of words

Paradox
Statement that seems contradictory but actually contains truth

Oxymoron
Juxtaposing two contradictory terms

Hyperbole
Exaggeration on purpose

Litotes
An affirmation expressed by the negation of its opposite (“This is no small problem”)

Tone
Writers attitude toward subject

Mood
Atmosphere created by words

Diction
Word choice

Rhyme
Repetition of sounds at the ends of words

Masculine rhyme
Single stressed ending syllable (the cat in the hat)

Feminine rhyme
Rhyme with two sounds that rhyme with the second syllable unstressed (pleasure and treasure)

Internal rhyme
Rhyme within a single line of poetry

Near, slant, approximate rhyme
Similar but not identical sounds

Alliteration
Repetition of initial consonant sounds

Assonance
Repetition of similar vowel sounds with different consonant sounds

Consonance
Religion of consonant sounds with different vowel sounds preceding

Sonnet
A 14-line poem usually composed of a statement and a resolution

English/Shakespearean sonnet
3 quatrains and a couplet (ABAB CDCD EFEF GG)

Italian/petrachan sonnet
Octave and sestet (ABBA ABBA CDE)

Ballad
Narrative poem intended to be sung and broken into refrains

Epic
Long narrative poem about adventure of gods or hero

Folk epic
Anonymous author, passed down by talking

Literary epic
Crafted by one poet

Elegy
Lyric poem about death

Lyric
Poem that expresses feelings of single speaker but does not tell full story

Allegory
Work with two levels of meaning, one literal and one symbolic

Narrative
Tells a story in verse

Didactic
It’s purpose is to teach a moral lesson

Villanelle
19-line French verse form with lots of refrains and lastly and ABA rhyme scheme

Pastoral
Poem which deals with pleasures of simple rural lofe

Ode
Long and formal poem with serious theme

Dramatic monologue
Poem in which an imaginary character speaks to a silent listener

Stanza
Group of lines in a poem considered a unit

Couplet
2 lines

Tercet
3 lines

Quatrain
4 lines

Sestet
6 lines

Octave
8 lines

Blank verse
Unrhymed iambic pentameter

Free verse
Poetry not written in regular meter

Antithesis
Contrasting or paradoxical ideas presented in parallel form

Allusion
Reference to a well known thing like the bible

Aphorism/epigram
A general truth or observation about life, usually stated pointedly

Denotation
The object meaning of a word independent of any associations one may make with it

Connotations
The associations one makes with a word

Heroic/closed couplet
Rhymed pair of iambic pentameter lines that form a complete thought

Imagery
Descriptive language used to recreate the sensory experience

Mock epic
Poem about a trivial matter written in serious epic style

Run on line
Line of poetry that does not stop at the end of the line

Scansion
Process of analyzing the metrical pattern of a poem

Speaker
The imaginary voice assumed by the writer of the poem

Sibilant
Characterized by use of z or s sounds

Theme
A central idea, concern, or purpose in a literary work

Foot
Combination of stressed and unstressed syllables

Dissonance/cacophony
Harsh or disagreeable sounds

Plosive
Sounds like D or PT

Euphony
Agreeable sounds

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Metaphor example
“Death, that long sleep.

Simile example
“The two sisters were like blossoms on a stem.”

Metonym example
“For a handful of silver he betrayed me.”

Synecdoche example
“O, beautiful, for pilgrims feet…

Conceit example
Dionne’s comparison of God to a gypsy thinker

Pun example
“She used to be Snow White but she drifted.”

Personification example
“Bright star, would I were as steadfast as thou art.”

Apostrophe example
“Brought star, would I were steadfast…”

Symbol example
Red rose = love

Onomatopoeia example
“My mother set up sounds that slugged and thumped for hours.”

Irony example
“Yes, curious and quaint war is.

Paradox example
“Unless you imprison me, I shall never become free.”

Oxymoron example
“Darkness visisble”

Hyperbole example
“I will love thee, my dear, till the seas run dry.”

Litotes example
“This is no small problem.

Feminine rhyme example
Pleasure and treasure

Masculine rhyme example
The cat in the hat

Internal rhyme example
“All is seared with trade, blender, smeared with toll.”

Near/slant/approximate rhyme example
Love and prove

Assonance example
“In XandU did KUbla Khan…” Geez what kind of example is that

Consonance example
“Over hill and dale”

Sibilant example
“Soft in the moon the white road lies.”

Plosive example
“Batter my heart, three-personed God.

Folk epic example
Beowulf

Literary epic
Paradise lost

Allegory example
Lord of the flies

Narrative example
The rime of the ancient mariner” (apparently that’s a book?)

Villanelle example
“Do not go gentle into that good night”

Dramatic monologue
Mary robt. Browning poems

Antithesis example
“To err is human, to forgive, divine.”

Allusion example
“By cupid’s strongest bow…”

Heroic/closed couplet example
“True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, As those move easiest have learned to dance.”