Literary Terms

poetry: highly concise, musical, and emotionally charged language

stanza: a group of lines in a poem

speaker: the imaginary voice assumed by the writer of the poem

lyric poetry: highly musical poetry achieved through the use of many sound devices

narrative poetry: poetry that tells a story

symbol: something that stands for (or represents) something else. Typically, something concrete that represents something abstract. Ex: flag=freedom

imagery: the use of descriptive language (use of 5 senses) to create “word pictures” for the reader

figurative language: used by a writer to create vivid impressions by setting up comparisons; NOT meant to be taken literally (figure of speech)

simile: a figure of speech in which like or as is used to make a comparison of two basically unlike ideasExample: “Life is like a box of chocolate; you never know whatcha gonna get.” –Forrest Gump

metaphor: a figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as if it were something else (also a comparison- without using like or as)Example: Life is a box of chocolate… or the wrinkled sea

personification: a device used to give a non-human

subject human characteristics (i.e. Death walks through the door or Trees cry in the wind)

hyperbole: a deliberate exaggeration or overstatement. Example: Jim will follow a bug as far as Mexico to win a bet. OR Do you ever feel so paper thin?

sound devices: used by a writer to create a musical quality◦ onomatopoeia: the use of words that imitate

sounds (i.e. pop, buzz, ring, boom)

◦ repetition: the use of a word or group of words more than once

◦ alliteration: a sound device that involves the repetition of the first consonant sound (i.e. Sally sells seashells by the seashore or the forest’s ferny floor)

◦ rhyme: the repetition of the ending sounds of words (mop & top, hat & cat, mend & bend)

◦ rhythm: formed by the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables used within the lines of a poem (beat)