Stanza
A group of consecutive lines in a poem that form a single unit; a division of a poem that is often referred to as a “paragraph of poetry”
Couplet
2 lines
Triplet
3 lines
Quatrain
4 lines
Quintet
5 lines
Sestet
6 lines
Septet
7 lines
Octave
8 lines
Rhyme
The similarity of likeness of sound in two or more words
Perfect/exact Rhyme
Rhyme involving sounds that are exactly the same
Imperfect/Approximate Rhyme
Rhyme involving words that sound similar but are not exactly the same like sun/gone
Eye rhyme
Rhyme that depends on spelling rather than sound, words that look like they should rhyme but don’t
Internal Rhyme
A rhyme between words in one line of poetry
End Rhyme
Rhyme between words at the end of 2 or more lines in a poem
Rhyme Scheme
The pattern or sequence in which end rhyme occurs throughout a poem
Rhythm
The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in words in a line of poetry; rhythm may be regular or irregular
Meter
A regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry
Foot
A unit of meter; can consist of 2 or 3 syllables
Scansion
The process of marking lines of poetry to show the type of feet and number of feet they contain
Iambic*
U/
Trochaic*
/U
Spondaic
//
Pyrric
UU
Anapestic*
UU/
Dactylic*
/UU
Number of feet in a line
Mono
Di
Tri
Tetra
Penta
Hex
Hept
Oct
Di
Tri
Tetra
Penta
Hex
Hept
Oct
Verse Forms
Rhymed
Blank
Free
Blank
Free
Rhymed verse
End rhyme and regular meter
Blank Verse
Unrhymed iambic pentameter
Free verse
No regular rhythm, no rhyme
