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Poetry: Basic Terms: Poem: Stanza

This document defines many basic terms used in poetry, including poem, stanza, stress, syllable, rhyme, meter, and foot. It also outlines different types of rhyme schemes, meters, and poetic forms such as the sonnet. Additionally, it defines common literary devices and figures of speech found in poetry.

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81 views

Poetry: Basic Terms: Poem: Stanza

This document defines many basic terms used in poetry, including poem, stanza, stress, syllable, rhyme, meter, and foot. It also outlines different types of rhyme schemes, meters, and poetic forms such as the sonnet. Additionally, it defines common literary devices and figures of speech found in poetry.

Uploaded by

papar58954
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Poetry: Basic Terms

Poem:A literary work in verse.

Stanza:A section of a poem consisting of two or more lines

arranged together as a unit.

Stress: The emphasis given to a certain syllable in a word.

Syllable: The smallest unit of speech

Rhyme: The similarity of sounds at the end of two or more

lines of verse.

Masculine Rhyme:A rhyme that occurs in a final stressed

syllable

Feminine Rhyme: A rhyme that occurs in a final unstressed

syllable

Half-Rhyme: It occurs when the final consonants are the same

but the preceding vowels are not. ('love | have').

Eye Rhyme: It occurs when two syllables look the same but are

pronounced differently ('kind / wind').

Meter: The measured pattern of stresses in a line of verse.

Foot: A unit of meter, consisting of a combination of stressed

and unstressed syllables.


Types of Feet:

Iambic (iamb):A foot containing two syllables--the first is

unstressed, while the second is stressed.

Trochaic (trochee): A foot containing two syllables--the first

is stressed, while the second is unstressed.

Spondee: A foot containing two syllables--the first is

stressed, and the second is also stressed.

Anapestic (anapest):A foot containing three syllables--the

first two are unstressed, while the last is stressed.

Dactylic (dactyl): A foot containing three syllables--the first

is stressed, while the last two are unstressed.

Meter: The measured pattern of stresses in a line of verse.

Types of Meter:

Monometer: A line of poetry that has one foot.

Dimeter: A line of poetry that has two feet.

Trimeter: A line of poetry that has three feet.

Tetrameter: A line of poetry that has four feet.

Pentameter: A line of poetry that has five feet.

Hexameter: A line of poetry that has six feet.


Heptameter A line of poetry that has seven feet.

Octameter A line of poetry that has eight feet.

Poetic Diction: The choice of words in poetry.

Couplet: A pair of lines, usually rhymed.

Heroic Couplet: A pair of rhymed lines is iambic pentameter.

Quatrain: A stanza consisting of four lines.

Tercet:A stanza consisting of three lines.

Octave: A stanza consisting of eight lines.

Sonnet: A poem that consists of fourteen lines, usually written

in iambic pentameter.

English (Shakespearean) Sonnet: A sonnet probably made

popular by Shakespeare with the following rhyme scheme: abab

cdcd efef gg.

Italian (Petrarchan) Sonnet: A form of sonnet made popular

by Petrarch, an Italian poet, with the following rhyme scheme:

abba, abba cde, cde OR cd,cd,cd

Blank verse: Unrhymed iambic pentameter.

Free verse:Lines with no prescribed pattern or structure.


Prologue: The introductory section of a poem or literary work.

Paraphrase :A prose restatement of the central ideas of a

poem, in your own language.

Alliteration:The repetition of consonant sounds, at the

beginning of words.

Assonance: The repetition of similar vowel sounds.

Epitaph: A short poem written to be carved on a gravestone.

Refrain: A repeated line, phrase or group of lines,

Caesura:A natural pause or break in a line of poetry.

Elegy:A poem that laments the death of a person, or one that

is simply sad and thoughtful.

Epic:A long, serious poem that tells the story of a heroic

figure.

Figure of Speech

Apostrophe: A direct address, either to someone who is absent

and therefore cannot hear the speaker.

Hyperbole:The use of exaggeration for the purpose of

emphasis.
Paradox: A statement that seems to contradict itself.

Parody: Imitation of a poem or another poet's style for

comic/satiric effect.

Pun: Play on words OR a humorous use of a single word or sound

with two or more implied meanings;

Allegory: A poem in which the characters or descriptions

convey a hidden symbolic or moral message.

Metaphor: A hidden comparison between two unlike things,

without using the word ‘like’ or ‘as’.

Simile: An explicit comparison between two things essentially

unlike using the words “like” or “as.”

Personification: A literary device in which human attributes

are given to a non-human such as an animal, object, or concept.

Onomatopoeia: The use of words to imitate the sounds they

describe

Allusion: A reference to the person, event, or work outside the

poem or the literary work.

Irony: A contradiction of expectation between what is said and

what is meant .
Satire: The use of irony or wit to expose or attack human vice,

foolishness, or stupidity.

Imagery: A word or a sequence of words representing a

sensory

Symbol: Words or images that signify more than they literally

represent .

Tone: The 'tone' of a poem reveals the attitude of the poet

Kinds of Poetry

Lyrical poetry:Poetry that expresses the thoughts and

feelings of the poet. It is usually about love.

Descriptive Poetry: Poetry which describes a scene or paints a

picture of nature.

Narrative Poetry: Poetry which tells a story.

Didactic Poetry:Poetry which instructs or teaches a lesson. .

Pastoral Poetry :Poetry which depicts rural life in a peaceful,

idealized way.

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