poetic terms - shelby county schools · poetic terms a reference for poetry analysis. a reference...
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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.