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Allusion-a reference to a presumably familiar person, object, place, or event or to a literary, historical,
artistic, mythological or biblical passage or work which the writer expects will be known to his readers
Apostrophe-the direct address to a deceased or absent person as if that person where present, or to an
animal or thing, or an abstract idea or quality as if it could understand you. Apostrophe is sometimes
used with personification
Connotation-an association or suggestions that a word calls to mind in addition to its literal meaning
Figurative language-language that is not meant to be interpreted on a strict literal level because it
would make no sense or little sense if it were
Image-a word or phrase which brings a picture to the reader's mind or appeals to his senses of sight,
hearing, touch, taste, or smell. The collective term for images is imagery.
Irony-a figure of speech in which the writer says something in such a way that the opposite meaning is
implied. Irony may be present in situations as well as words.
Metaphor-a comparison between two dissimilar things without the use of like or as
Parody-the conscious exaggerated imitation of a literary style in individual work with the intention of
achieving humor through distortion
Poetic inversion-words arranged in such a way that they reverse in some manner the normal word
order of a sentence. Often inversion is used for the sake of a rhyme.
Satire-the use of ridicule, sarcasm, wit or irony in order to expose, set right or destroy a vice or folly
Simile-a comparison between two dissimilar things using the words like or as
Symbol-using an object, person, place, event or quality to stand for something other than itself--
something which is not directly compared in the poem.
Theme-the central idea or one of the main ideas underlying a literary work
Tone-the poet's attitude toward the subject or audience. Tone in poetry corresponds to tone in
speaking.
Sound Devices
Alliteration-the repetition of sounds, usually consonant sounds, at the beginning of words in the same
line or in successive lines
Assonance-the repetition of vowel sounds followed by different consonants. The words may appear in
the same line or in successive lines.
Free verse-poetry that does not have a strict or fixed rhythmic pattern or equal line lengths, and which
does not rhyme
Rhyme-the repetition of two or more words reasonably close to each other in which the last vowel sound
and the last consonant sound are the same.
Rhythm-in poetry, the reoccurrence or repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables in a regular
pattern or manner. When rhythm in poetry is so strictly patterned that it can be measured in feet, it is
called meter
Types of Poetry
Ballad-a relatively short poem which tells a story. There are two types of ballads, folk ballads and
literary ballads. Folk ballads were meant to be sung; literary ballads were meant to be printed and read.
Blank verse-unrhymed poetry, in which each line usually has ten syllables. Five of the syllables are
stressed--generally the second, fourth, sixth, eighth, and tenth.
Elegy-a poem mourning the death of an individual. It is often also a melancholy meditation on the trials
and grief of life in general
Epic-a long story-poem which retells the deeds of a heroic character, usually a national hero
Narrative poem-a poem which tells a story, whether briefly as in the ballad or at length as in the epic
Ode-a lyric poem which is lofty and dignified in subject matter and style
Sonnet-a lyric poem of fourteen lines usually written in rhymed iambic pentameter. Sonnets usually
follow on of two types of rhyme schemes, but the rhymes may vary
Poetic Form
Couplet-two successive lines, usually rhymed, which form a single unit of verse
Foot-a unit used in measuring or scanning lines of poetry. Each foot usually contains at least one
stressed syllable. In addition, it usually has one or two unstressed syllables
Meter-an organized rhythmic pattern created by the repetition of the same foot, or group of stressed and
unstressed syllables, throughout a poem. Among the common metrical feet are: