Poetry Terminology

1. POETRY

2. Poetry Vocabulary
1. line - a group of words together on one line of the poem
2. stanza - a group of lines arranged together; “poem
paragraphs”
3. free verse (n): poetry without regular patterns of rhyme or
rhythm
4. Rhyme - Words sound alike because they share the same
ending vowel and consonant sounds.
5. rhyme scheme (n): the pattern of end rhyme in a poem
6. onomatopoeia (n): the use of words whose sounds suggests
their meaning
Ex: Buzz, Bam, Zip, Bang

3. 7. alliteration (n): repetition of consonant sounds at the
beginning of words
Ex: Peter Piper picked a pair of pickled peppers
8. lyric poem - A short poem that is usually written in first
person point of view and expresses an emotion; often
musical
9. haiku (n): a traditional form of Japanese poetry that has three
lines:
line one: five syllables each
line two: seven syllables each
line three: five syllables each
10. narrative poems - A poem that tells a story.
11. Concrete poems - a poem in which the words are arranged to
create a picture that relates to the content of the poem.

4. 12. Simile – a comparison of two things using the words “like” or
“as”
Ex: The boy eats like a pig
13. Metaphor – a comparison of two things
Ex: The boy is a pig.
14. hyperbole - Exaggeration often used for emphasis.
Ex: The roller coast was going so fast that it blew my face off!
15. Idiom - An expression where the literal meaning of the words is
not the meaning of the expression.
Ex: It’s raining cats and dogs
16. Personification - An animal given human-like qualities or an object
given life-like qualities
Ex: The tree danced in the wind.

5. POETRY
 A type of literature
that expresses
ideas, feelings, or
tells a story in a
specific form
(usually using lines
and stanzas)

6. POINT OF VIEW IN POETRY
POET
4 The poet is the author
of the poem.
SPEAKER
4 The speaker of the
poem is the “narrator”
of the poem.

7. POETRY FORM
4 FORM - the appearance
of the words on the page
4 1. LINE - a group of
words together on one
line of the poem
4 2. STANZA - a group of
lines arranged together
“poem paragraphs”
A word is dead
When it is said,
Some say.
I say it just
Begins to live
That day.

8. SOUND EFFECTS

9. RHYTHM
4 The beat created by
the sounds of the
words in a poem
4 Rhythm can be created
by meter, rhyme,
alliteration and refrain.

10. 3. FREE VERSE POETRY
4 Unlike metered
poetry, free verse
poetry does NOT have
any repeating patterns
of stressed and
unstressed syllables.
4 Does NOT have
rhyme.
4 Free verse poetry is
very conversational -
sounds like someone
talking with you.
4 A more modern type
of poetry.

11. 4. RHYME
4 Words sound alike
because they share the
same ending vowel
and consonant sounds.
4 (A word always
rhymes with itself.)
LAMP
STAMP
á Share the short “a”
vowel sound
á Share the combined
“mp” consonant sound

12. END RHYME
4 A word at the end of one line rhymes with a
word at the end of another line
Hector the Collector
Collected bits of string.
Collected dolls with broken heads
And rusty bells that would not ring.

13. 5. RHYME SCHEME
4 A rhyme scheme is a pattern of rhyme (usually
end rhyme, but not always).
4 Use the letters of the alphabet to represent sounds
to be able to visually “see” the pattern. (See next
slide for an example.)

14. SAMPLE RHYME SCHEME
The Germ by Ogden Nash
A mighty creature is the germ,
Though smaller than the pachyderm.
His customary dwelling place
Is deep within the human race.
His childish pride he often pleases
By giving people strange diseases.
Do you, my poppet, feel infirm?
You probably contain a germ.
a
a
b
b
c
c
a
a

15. 6. ONOMATOPOEIA
4 Words that imitate the sound they are
naming
BUZZ
4 OR sounds that imitate another sound
“The silken, sad, uncertain, rustling of
each purple curtain . . .”

16. 7. ALLITERATION
4 Consonant sounds repeated at the
beginnings of words
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled
peppers, how many pickled peppers did
Peter Piper pick?

17. CONSONANCE
4 Similar to alliteration EXCEPT . . .
4 The repeated consonant sounds can be
anywhere in the words
“silken, sad, uncertain, rustling . . “

18. SOME TYPES OF POETRY
WE WILL BE STUDYING

19. 8. LYRIC
4 A short poem
4 Usually written in first person point of view
4 Expresses an emotion or an idea or
describes a scene
4 Do not tell a story and are often musical
4 (Many of the poems we read will be lyrics.)

20. 9. HAIKU
A Japanese poem
written in three lines
Five Syllables
Seven Syllables
Five Syllables
An old silent pond . . .
A frog jumps into the pond.
Splash! Silence again.

21. 10. NARRATIVE POEMS
4 A poem that tells a
story.
4 Generally longer than
the lyric styles of
poetry b/c the poet
needs to establish
characters and a plot.
Examples of Narrative
Poems
“The Raven”
“The Highwayman”
“Casey at the Bat”
“The Walrus and the
Carpenter”

22. 11. CONCRETE POEMS
4 In concrete poems, the
words are arranged to
create a picture that
relates to the content
of the poem.
Poetry
Is like
Flames,
Which are
Swift and elusive
Dodging realization
Sparks, like words on the
Paper, leap and dance in the
Flickering firelight. The fiery
Tongues, formless and shifting
Shapes, tease the imiagination.
Yet for those who see,
Through their mind’s
Eye, they burn
Up the page.

23. FIGURATIVE
LANGUAGE

24. 12. SIMILE
4 A comparison of two things using “like, as
than,” or “resembles.”
4 The boy eats like a pig.

25. 13. METAPHOR
4 A direct comparison of two unlike things
– The boy is a pig.

26. 14. Hyperbole
4 Exaggeration often used for emphasis.
– Ex: The roller coast was going so fast that it
blew my face off!

27. 15. Idiom
4 An expression where the literal meaning of
the words is not the meaning of the
expression. It means something other than
what it actually says.
4 Ex. It’s raining cats and dogs.

28. 16. PERSONIFICATION
4 An animal
given human-like
qualities
or an object
given life-like
qualities.
The cat smiled and whispered a secret in
his meow.

29. OTHER
POETIC DEVICES

30. SYMBOLISM
4 When a person, place,
thing, or event that has
meaning in itself also
represents, or stands
for, something else.
= Innocence
= America
= Peace

31. IMAGERY
4 Language that appeals to the senses.
4 Most images are visual, but they can also
appeal to the senses of sound, touch, taste,
or smell.
then with cracked hands that ached
from labor in the weekday weather . . .
from “Those Winter Sundays”