POETIC TERMS

A reference for poetry analysis

A reference to a well-known historical figure,

place, literary work, work of art, or event.

Example: The teams competed in a David and Goliath

struggle.

A broad comparison between two basically different things

that have some points in common.

Aspirations toward space are

not new. Consider the worm that becomes a butterfly.

A figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two basically different things. A simile is introduced by the

words “like” or “as”.

My love is like a red, red

rose.

An implied comparison between two basically different things. Is not

introduced with the words “like” or “as”.

His eyes were

daggers that cut right

through me.

A great exaggeration to emphasize strong

feeling.

I will love you until all the

seas go dry.

Human characteristics are given to non-human

animals, objects, or ideas.

My stereo walked

out of my car.

An absent person or inanimate object is directly spoken to as though they

were present.

Brutus: “Ceasar, now

be still. I killed not thee with half so good a

will.”

A formal division of lines in a poem

considered as a unit.

Hints given to the reader of what is to

come.

“The stalwart hero was

doomed to suffer the destined end

of his days.”

A word or phrase that appeals to one or more

of the five senses.

Cold, wet leaves floating

on moss-colored water.

A contrast between what is said and what is meant. Also, when things turn out different

than what is expected.

“The treacherous instrument is in thy hand, unbated and envenomed. The foul practice has

turned itself on me.” Laertes

The feeling created in the reader by a literary

work.

“It was the best of times,

it was the worst of times.”

A story that is told in verse.

A song-like poem that tells a story.

Poetry written in unrhymed, ten-syllable

lines.

Highly musical verse that expresses the observations and

feelings of a single speaker.

A poem written with a shape that suggests its subject.

Poetry not written in a regular rhythmical pattern or meter.

The repetition of identical sounds at the ends of lines of poetry.

“He clasps the crag with crooked hands

Close to the sun in lonely lands”

from “The Eagle”

The repetition of identical sounds within

a line of poetry.

“We three shall flee across the sea to Italy.”

Or

“Hold infinity in the palm of your hand

And eternity in an hour.”

A slant rhyme or half rhyme occurs when the vowel sounds are not

quite identical.

“And on that cheek and o’er that brow”

A mind at peace with all below”

A regular pattern of rhyming words in a poem.

Whose woods these are I think I know,

His house is in the village though,

He will not see me stopping here,

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

The repeating of a sound, word, phrase, or more in a given literary

work.

“I sprang to the stirrup, and Jarvis, and he;

I galloped, Derrick galloped, we galloped all three”

The pattern of beats or stresses in written or spoken language.

The repetition of consonant sounds at

the beginnings of words.

“Swiftly, swiftly flew the ship”

The repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant.

“. . .that hoard, and sleep, and feed, and

know not me.”

The repetition of consonant sounds that

are preceded by different vowel sounds.

“Wherever we go

Silence willfall like dews”

The use of words that imitate sounds.

“Blind eyes could blaze like meteors”

Other examples:

buzz, hum, kiss

Something concrete, such as an object, action, character, or

scene that stands for something abstract such as a concept or an

idea.

“Do not go gentle into that good night

Rage, Rage against the dying of the light”

Both phrases are symbols that

stand for death.

The main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work.

“Don’t judge a man until

you’ve walked a mile in his

shoes”

Comparing two very dissimilar things. Usually involves cleverness and

ingenuity.

“Our love is like parallel

lines”

This is also a simile.

Writing that is not meant to be taken literally.

A three-lined Japanese verse with a syllable count of 5-7-5.

A pair of rhymed verse lines that contain a complete thought.

“But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,

All losses are restor’d and sorrows end.”

CinquainFive line formula poetry with the following pattern:

One word

Two words describing the first word

Three words describing actions of the first word

Four words that convey feelings of the first word

One word that renames the first word

CinquainExample:

Moon

Heaven’s light

Gleaming, shining, glowing

Object of deep mystery

Jewel

SonnetA fourteen line poem with a definite

meter and rhyme.

Italian sonnets have eight lines expressing the theme and 6 lines commenting on it.

English sonnets have three four-line stanzas and one couplet.