Poetry Unit

Literary Terms
Sophomore English
Ms. Gersten
2014-2015

Narrative poetry: a form of poetry that tells a story
Dramatic poetry: a poem in which one or more characters
speak; it can be a dialogue or a monologue
Lyric poetry: poetry that expresses a speakers emotions or
thoughts and does not tell a story
Alliteration: repetition of the same or similar consonant
sounds in words that are close together
Assonance: repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by
different consonant sounds in words that are close together


Figurative language: describes one thing in terms another; is
not meant to be understood on a literal level
Hyperbole: figurative language that uses exaggeration to
express strong emotion or create a comic effect
Metaphor: figurative language that makes a comparison
between two unlike things (without using like, as, or than)
Simile : figurative language that makes a comparison between
two unlike things (using like, as, or than)
Allusion: reference to a statement, persona, place, event, or
thing that is known from literature, history, religion, myth,
politics, sports, science, or the arts


Onomatopoeia: use of a word whose sound imitates or
suggests its meaning
Personification: metaphor in which a nonhuman thing or
quality is talked about as if it were human
Imagery: language that appeals to the senses
Symbol: person, place, thing, or even that stands for
something beyond itself
Inversion: reversal of normal words in order in a sentence
Open here I flung the shutter, when, with
many a flit and flutter,
In there stepped a stately Raven. . .


Rhythm: musical quality in language, produced by repetition
Rhyme: repetition of accented vowel sound and all sounds
following them in words that are close together in a poem
Approximate rhyme/slant rhyme: words that sound similar
but do not rhyme exactly
Rhyme scheme: the pattern of rhymed lines in a poem
Shall I compare thee to a summers day? A
Thou art more lovely and more temperate. B
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, A
And summers lease hath all too short a date. B
End rhyme: occurs at the end of the lines of a poem
Internal rhyme: occurs within lines
Free verse: poetry that does not have a regular meter or
rhyme scheme
Blank verse: poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter
Iambic Pentameter: line of poetry made up of five iambs
iamb: metrical foot consisting of one unstressed syllable
followed by a stressed syllable (ex: deny, expect, Elaine)
Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,
From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,
Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

Stanza: group of consecutive lines that form a single unit in a
poem
Speaker: the voice that is speaking in the poem (NOT always
the author)
Sonnet: 14-line lyric poem, usually written in iambic
pentameter
Denotation: literal meaning; dictionary definition
Connotation: all the meanings, associations, or emotions that
word suggests
Ex: youngster, child, kid, little one, small fry, brat, urchin,
juvenile, minor. Some of these words have favorable
connotations, others unfavorable, and others neutral.
Refrain: repeated word, phrase, line, or group of lines
Atmosphere/mood: mood or feeling in a work of literature
Theme: the central idea of insight revealed by the work of
literature (the moral of the story)
Tone: the attitude a writer takes toward the reader, a subject,
or a character