Poetic Terms to Review for Test:
Alliteration: the repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginnings of several words in a line of poetry. EX: “And swallows calling with their shimmering sound”
Allusion: reference to something with which the reader is likely to be familiar, such as a person, place, or event from history or literature. EX: “Alice” by Shel Silverstein refers to Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
Assonance: repetition like in alliteration only having to do with the vowel sounds in words. EX: “Whirl, whirl, whirl, / Till the world is the size of a pearl”. By Ameen Rihani
Diction: Word choice a poet’s choice of words to convey a certain emotion or feeling.
Hyperbole: an exaggeration EX: “small as a peanut” or “big as a giant”
Idiom: a common phrase made up of words that can’t be understood by their literal or ordinary meanings. EX: “raining cats and dogs” “pass the buck” “teach old dog new tricks”
Imagery: the language that appeals to the senses- touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight. EX: “the distant clocks are striking/…the lamp is burning dimly” by Joseph Eichendorff
Metaphor: a direct comparison between two unlike things. It does NOT use the words like or as.
Mood: the feeling created in the reader by a poem or story. EX: “Once upon a midnight dreary” Edgar Allan Poe
Onomatopoeia: words that sound like the noises they describe EX: zing, pong, poof, clank, thud
Personification: gives an animal, object, or idea human qualities such as the ability to hear, talk, feel, and make decisions. EX: “Summer grass aches and whispers.” Carl Sandburg
Repetition: repeating a sound, word, phrase or sentence throughout a poem. EX: “gently rapping, rapping at my chamber” Edgar Allan Poe
Rhyme Scheme: is the repeated regular pattern of rhymes usually found at the ends of lines of a poem. We mark this by giving letters to the words at the end of the line.
Simile: a comparison between two unlike things using the words like or as. EX: “the ginko’s tune is like a chorus” Eve Merriam
Speaker: The “narrator” of a poem- the person telling us the poem. NEVER assume it s the poet!
Stanza: a group of lines in a poem set off my blank lines. It usually develops one idea.