Poetry Terms

Poetry Terms

Personification: A figure of speech in
which an animal, object, or idea is given
human characteristics.

Alliteration:

Rhyme: The repetition of the same or
similar sounds, usually in stressed syllables
at the ends of lines.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
Rhythm: Musical quality created by a
pattern of beats or stresses in a line of
poetry.

Rhythm:Musical quality created by a
pattern of beats or stresses in a line of
poetry.

Onomatopoeia: The use of words or
phrases whose sounds suggest their
meanings. The sound of the word boom, for
example, suggests an explosion.

When something literally says a word that is
the same as the sound it is an
omemonipedia. Something blew up so it
made a boom sound and the picture shows
that to you.

End rhyme: Rhyme that occurs at the end
of lines.

Internal rhyme: Rhyme that occurs within a
single line of poetry.

Stanzas: A group of lines in a poem set off
by blank lines.

Symbol: A person, place, an object, or an
action that stands for something beyond
itself.

Simile: A comparison using like or as

She is as fast as a cheetah.
They are dumb as bricks.
She is smart like Einstein.
They are like fish when they swim.

Metaphor: Direct comparison between two
unlike things. It does not use the words like
or as

Her heart is a cold iron means that she
broke up with him and he is saying her
heart is cold and she doesn't care.

Hyperbole: Figure of speech in which the
truth is exaggerated for emphasis or
humorous effect.

Kill two birds with one stone.
My parents will kill me when I get home.
My backpack weighs a ton.

Free Verse: Poetry written without a regular
rhyme scheme, meter, or form.

Like a bolt of lighting…
A Softball hits my bat at high speed
It heads towards the blue sky
Or a players leather glove

Like a shock of power…
The softball lands in my glove
It tells the black and white dressed referee that the player is out

When lighting hits…
A softball hits the outfield grass
Or dirt in the infield

When a storm ends…
I put my softball in my bag
After a long game

Imagery: Language that appeals to the five
senses---touch, taste, smell, hearing, and
sight.

Lyric poem: Short poem that directly
expresses the poet’s thoughts and
emotions in a musical way.

Narrative poem: Poem that tells a story.

Rhyme scheme: The sequence in which
the rhyme occurs. The first end sound is
represented as the letter a, the second b,
etc.

Poetry: A form of writing that uses not only
words, but also form, patterns of sound,
imagery, and figurative language to convey
its message.

Sound devices: Techniques used to create
a sense of rhythm or to emphasize
particular sounds in writing.

Meter: Regular pattern of stressed and
unstressed syllables that gives a line of
poetry a predictable rhythm.

Figurative language: The use of words to
create an image in the reader's mind.

Mood: The feeling or atmosphere created
by the writer

Idiom: A phrase or expression whose
meaning is different from what the words
say literally.

Symbolism: A literary device where a
physical object represents something else.

Repetition: A technique in which the same
word or line is repeated for emphasis or
unity. Helps to reinforce meaning and
create an appealing rhythm.

Refrain:Stanza or line that is repeated
throughout the poem.

Couplet: Rhymed pair of lines in a poem.

That's the end of our Poetry Terms
Book. Hopefully this helped you
understand poetry terms better.

Made By:

Bodie

Mary

Ryan

Ruth