A Glossary of
© Cian Hogan English Notes 2012
Literary
Terms
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A G l o s s ar y of L iter ar y Ter ms
A d jective: A word th at is u sed to descr ibe a n ou n (th e n ame of a
per son, place , thing or abstr act idea).
A e st het ics: T h e s t u d y o f t h e n a t u r e o f b e a u t y, e s p e c i a l ly a s i t i s p e r c e i ve d
th rou gh ar t or liter atu re . Mu ch of th e poetr y on th e cou r se can be
appreciated from an aesthetic point of view.
A l l it eration : S ometimes kn own as in itial rhyme , alliter ation is u sed to
c r e a t e po e t ic e f fe c t t h r ough the r epetiti on of the i niti al sound s of
seve r a l wo rds in s u c c e s si on. Alliter ation usually r efer s to the r epeti ti on
o f c o n s o n a n t s o u n ds .
A l l us ion : An in direct referen ce in on e piece of liter atu re to a ch ar acter,
theme or idea found in a histor ical per iod or another liter ar y wor k.
A m big uity : Wh en a lin e of poetr y con tain s more th an on e mean in g, i t i s
sa id t o be a mbig u o u s .
A n alog y : A l i ke n e s s o r a n a g r e e m e n t t h a t i s m a d e b e t we e n t h i n g s t h a t
ar e oth erwise dissimilar. An alogies are regu lar ly fou n d in Metaphy s i c al
poetr y.
A n ap hora : The repetition of the same word or phr ase at the beginning of
c o n secu tive sen ten ces, lin es or ver ses, u su ally for emph asis or rh eto r i c al
e f fe c t .
A p o s trop he : A figure of speech where something obviously non-human
o r a bs t r a c t is s po ke n t o di r ectly.
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A ssonance: T h e repetition of vowel sou n ds. T h e ef fect of asson an c e i s
gener ally to create a lonely or haunting quality. By appealing to the ear,
i t also in creases ou r sen se of immediacy, as it makes th e exper i e n c e
m o re a c c e s s ible .
A sy ndet ic: An adjective u sed to descr ibe th e act of omittin g con ju n cti o n s
i n s e n t e n c e c o n s t r u c t io ns i n w hich they woul d usually be used. Ger ar d
Man ley H opkin s makes exten sive u se of asyn deton in many of h is po e m s
on the cour se .
A t m os p here : T h e over all mood created in a poem.
A u bade : A po e m o r s o n g th at e i th e r addr e s s e s o r an n o u n c e s th e daw n .
J o h n D o n n e ’s ‘ Th e Su n R ising’ i s one of the best- know n and, ind eed ,
beautiful aubades.
Ballad : A stor y in poetic for m, often about tr agic love and usually sung.
Tr a d i t i o n a l ly p a s s e d d ow n f r o m g e n e r a t i o n t o g e n e r a t i o n i n o r a l fo r m ,
ballads are especially common within the Ir ish tr adition.
Blank ver se : A po e m w r i tte n i n u n r hy m e d i am bi c pe n tam e te r. Po e ts te n d
to f avou r iambic pen tameter, as it is n or mally th e amou n t of words th e
aver age per son can get ou t in a sin gle breath . By u sin g u n rhymed iam bi c
pentameter, the poet can create a natur al and conver sational feel to a
po em. T h is, of cou r se , h as th e ef fect of ren der in g th e piece m o r e
ac cessible to th e reader. (S ee also Iambic pen tameter an d Metre fo r
m o re in fo r ma t io n . )
Cacophony/euphony : Cacophony is an unpleasant combination of sounds.
E u p h o ny, t h e o p p o s i t e , i s a p l e a s a n t c o m b i n a t i o n o f s o u n d s . T h e s e s o u n d
e f fects can be u sed in ten tion ally to create an ef fect th at wor ks to
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e n h an ce th e mean in g of th e poem. Cacoph on ou s sou n ds ten d to gr ate
o n t h e e a r a n d o f t e n c o nsist of har sh k or c sounds.
Cadence : T h i s i s t h e r i s e a n d f a l l i n r hy t h m t h a t n a t u r a l ly o c c u r s w h e n
we speak. T h e caden ce of a poem can be more powerf u l th an th e
o bv io u s me t re o r rhy ming.
Caesura : A p a u s e w i t h i n a l i n e o f p o e t r y, w h i c h m ay o r m ay n o t a f fe c t
the metr ical count. A caesur a is usually indicated by the following
symbo l (/ / ). Howe ve r, t h is i s not alw ays necessar i ly so.
Chiasmus : A type of rh etor ical con str u ction in wh ich th e order of th e
words in th e secon d of two paired ph r ases is th e rever se of th e o r de r
i n th e fir st. Perh aps th e most f amou s example of th is device is to be
fo u n d in S h akespeare’s Macbeth , wh en th e witch es u tter th eir f am o u s
c h an t , ‘ Fa ir is fo u l a n d foul i s fair ’.
Cinematic : A po e m i s sai d to be ci nemati c i f i t pr esents i ts sub j ect
m atter in a man n er th at recalls th e movemen t of a camer a in a movi e o r
i f t h e s c e n e pre s e n t e d is str ongly r emi niscent of the ci nema in gener al .
Colloquial language/colloquialism : A for m of lan gu age u sed in ever y day
sp e e c h .
Compar ison : T h e ac t o f c o m par i n g. N o r m al ly i n po e tr y, a c o m par i s o n
f a l l s i n t o t wo c a t e g o r i e s : s i m i l e a n d m e t a p h o r.
Conceit : A f ar-fetch ed simile or metaph or. A liter ar y con ceit oc c u r s
w h e n t h e s pe a ke r c o mpar es two hi ghly dissimilar things.
Concrete poetr y : A poem wr itten in th e sh ape of its su bject matter.
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Confessional style : A p o e m i s s a i d t o h ave a c o n fe s s i o n a l s t y l e i f i t
r e ve a ls de t a ils a bo u t t h e poet’s per sonal l i fe . T he ter m is usual ly app l i ed
to cer tain poets of the United States from the late 1950s and 1960s.
Consciousness : T h e perceptive qu alities of th e speaker in a poem.
Consonance : T h e repetition of con son an t sou n ds with dif fer in g vowe l
s o u n ds in words n ear each oth er in a lin e or lin es of poetr y. Con s i de r
the following example from Eavan Boland’s ‘The War Hor se’: ‘the clip,
c l op, c a s u a l | Iro n o f h is shoes’. T he r epetiti on of the c sound i n ‘cl i p ’,
‘clop’ and ‘casual’ creates consonance . The result is that something of
the nature of the hor se’s movement is captured. Consonance is often
associated with onomatopoeia.
Continuous present : A for m of th e presen t ten se u sed to desc r i be
c o n t inu o u s a c t io n s , e . g . ‘ I am si ngi ng.’
Contrast : To set in opposition in order to sh ow or emph asise dif fere n c e s
between two ideas or two physical objects.
Couplet : A stan za of two lin es th at u su ally rhymes. R hymed cou plets ar e
kn own as h eroic cou plets. In R ober t E ager’s opin ion , su ch h e r o i c
c o u ple t s o f t e n ‘ a im a t a cl ear tr ansmission of sense’. F or this to succ eed ,
the heroic couplet must be suppor ted by alliter ation, assonance and
c o n t ro lle d rhy t h m. (Se e also Stanza.)
Counterpoint : In a piece of mu sic , th e sou n din g togeth er of two or m o r e
m e lo dic lin e s , e a c h o f whi ch di splays an i ndi vidual and di ffer entiated
m e lo dic c o n t o u r a n d rhythmi c pr ofile .Ger ar d Manley Hopki ns bor r owed
this ter m to descr ibe the rever sal of two successive feet in a line .
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Cour tly love poem : A h igh ly cr af ted an d stylised type of poem. Nor mally,
i n t h e fin a l s t a n za o f s uch a poem, human love is r epr esented as an
e n no blin g fo rc e .
Cur tailed or contracted sonnet : R efer s to a son n et of ju st 11 lin es,
n or mally u sin g an abcabc dcbdc or abcabc dbcdc rhymin g sch eme . T h e
fi n al lin e of a cu r tailed son n et is a h alf lin e . T h e ter m was coin e d by
G er ard Man ley H opkin s to descr ibe th e for m th at h e u sed in th e po e m
‘Pied Beauty’.
Dactyls : S tressed syllables followed by u n stressed syllables.
Dirge: A song of mour ning for someone’s death.
Dramatic monologue : A t y p e o f p o e m d e ve l o p e d d u r i n g t h e V i c t o r i a n
per iod in which a fictitious or histor ical char acter deliver s a speech
e x plain in g h is or h er feelin gs, action s or motives. T h is speech o r
m on ologu e is u su ally directed toward a silen t au dien ce , with th e
s peaker’s words in f lu en ced by a dr amatic or cr itical situ ation . E xam pl e s
o f t h e dr a ma t ic mo n o lo gue can be seen i n the poems ‘T he Love Son g of
J . Alf red Pr u f rock’ by T.S . E liot, ‘L ady L azar u s’ by S ylvia Plath an d m o r e
r e cen tly in ‘T h e Captain of th e 1964 Top of th e For m Team’ by Car o l
A n n D u f f y.
Elegy : A lyr ic poem lamen tin g th e death of someon e or someth in g.
Enjambment : A ter m des cr ibin g th e con tinu in g of th e sen se f rom lin e to
l i n e in a poem, to th e e xten t th at it becomes u n n atu r al in speakin g th e
l i n es t o ma ke a pa u s e a t the l i ne endi ng.
Envoi : S o m e ti m e s kn ow n as a to r n ada, an e nvo i i s th e s h o r t s tan z a at
the end of a poem, used for summing up or as a dedication.
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Epic : In liter ature gener ally, a major wor k dealing with an impor tant
theme that usually incor por ates events of univer sal impor tance .
Epigraph : A br ief qu otation wh ich appear s at th e begin n in g of a lite r ar y
wor k.
Epiphany : A n ear-spir itu al tu r n in g poin t or momen t in a poem wh en th e
s peaker becomes aware of tr u th s th at h e or sh e h ad n ot previo u s ly
thought about.
Epithalamium : A p o e m o r s o n g w r i t t e n o r p e r fo r m e d i n c e l e b r a t i o n o f a
wedding.
Euphemism : A word or ph r ase th at is su bstitu ted for an oth er word o r
phr ase that might be more unpleasant or offensive .
Fe m i n i s m : T h i s t e r m i s u s e d t o d e s c r i b e t h e m ove m e n t fo r t h e
advan cemen t an d th e eman cipation of women . T h is movemen t bec am e
par ticular ly vocal in the 1960s and 1970s. The poet Adr ienne Rich can
be descr ibed as being par ticular ly feminist in her outlook.
Femme fatale : A woman wh o is con sidered to be h igh ly attr active an d to
h ave a destr u ctive ef fect on th ose wh o su ccu mb to h er ch ar ms. Ke ats ’s
‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’ provides us with an example of such a
dangerously seductive woman.
F i gurat ive lang uage : In liter atu re or poetr y, th is is a way of sayin g o n e
thing and meaning something else . In her poem ‘Tr ying to Talk with a
Man’, Rich compares her relationship to a nuclear test site . Of cour se ,
sh e do e s n o t me a n t h at i t is liter al ly bur ned and scor ched or even
r adioactive . The compar ison is intended to improve our under standing
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o f h ow sh e feels. Wh ile figu r ative lan gu age provides a wr iter with th e
sco pe t o wr it e ima g in a t i vely, i t al so tests the imaginati on of the r ead er,
fo rcin g th e reader to go below th e su rf ace of th e poem an d expl o r e
deeper, hidden meanings.
F i g u r e o f s p e e c h : A n e x a m p l e o f fi g u r a t i v e l a n g u a g e t h a t s t a t e s
some t h in g t h a t is n o t a ctually tr ue in or der to cr eate an effect. Si m i l es,
m e t a ph o r s a n d pe r s o n ificati on ar e fi gur es of speech that ar e based on
c o mpa r is o n s . Me t o ny my, synecdoche , synesthesia, apostr ophe , oxymo r on
and hyperbole are other commonly used figures of speech.
Foot : T h e basic u n it of measu remen t in a lin e of poetr y. T h e metre in a
poem is classified according to both its patter n and the number of feet
to the line . Below is a list of classifications:
Monometer = one foot to a line
Dimeter = two feet to a line
Tr imeter = three feet to a line
Tetr ameter = four feet to a line
Pentameter = five feet to a line
If a lin e of poetr y is wr itten in iambic metre with fou r feet to th e
line , the line would be refer red to as iambic tetr ameter. Poets tend
t o f avo u r i a m b i c p e n t a m e t e r, a s i t i s n o r m a l ly t h e nu m b e r o f wo r d s
that an aver age per son can get out in a single breath. This can create
a natur al and conver sational feel to a poem that in tur n render s the
piece more accessible .
Formalistic : A poem is said to be for malistic if it cu ltivates ar ti s ti c
technique even at the expense of its subject matter.
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Free ver se : U n rhymed poetr y with lin es of var yin g len gth s an d con tain in g
n o s p e c i fi c m e t r i c a l p a t t e r n .
G enre : O n e of th e categor ies th at ar tistic wor ks of all kin ds can be
di vided in to on th e basis of for m, style or th eme . For example , detec ti ve
n ovels are a gen re of fiction , wh ile Keats’s ‘L a Belle D ame san s Mer c i ’ i s
w r it t e n in t h e g e n re o f the l i ter ar y bal l ad.
G u s tat or y im ager y : The representation through language of the sensation
of taste .
H e n d i a d y s: T h e su bstitu tion of a con ju n ction for a su bordin ation , w h e r e
a con ju n ction is u sed to lin k two words to express a sin gle com pl e x
i dea. Nor mally, a n ou n an d adjective pair in g is tr an sfor med in to two
n o u n s j o i n e d by a c o n j u n c t i o n . Pe r h a p s t h e b e s t - k n ow n e x a m p l e o f
h e n d i a d y s c a n b e f o u n d i n S h a k e s p e a r e ’s M a c b e t h , w h e r e t h e
pr otagon ist speaks of th e ‘sou n d an d f u r y’ of life . T h is provides th e
r e a de r wit h a f a r mo re str i king image than, say, ‘fur ious sound’ wou l d
h ave . E n g l i s h n a m e s fo r h e n d i a d y s i n c l u d e ‘ t wo fo r o n e ’ a n d ‘ fi g u r e o f
twinnes’.
Hyperbole: A
figure
of
speech
in
which
an
over statement
or
e x a g g e r a t io n o c c u r s .
I a m b : A metr ical patter n of on e u n stressed syllable , followed by o n e
st r e s s e d s y lla ble .
I a m b i c p e n t a m e t e r: A l i n e o f po e tr y th at i s m ade u p o f fi ve u n i ts o f
r hyt h m, e . g . five pa ir s of str essed and unstr essed syllabl es. El i zab eth
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Bishop’s favour ite example of iambic pentameter was ‘I hate to see that
e ven in ’ s u n g o down ’ .
I a m b i c t e t ra m e t e r: A lin e of ver se th at h as fou r metr ical feet.
I m a ge r y : A word or grou p of words in a poem wh ich appeal to on e o r
m o re o f t h e s e n s e s : s ig ht, taste , touch, hear ing and smel l . T he us e of
i m ag e s s e r ve s t o in t e n s ify the i mpact of the wor k.
I m a g i s m: A r o u n d 1 9 1 2 i n L o n d o n , s o m e B r i t i s h a n d A m e r i c a n - I r i s h
poets, led by Ezr a Pound, star ted a poetic movement called Imagism.
T h ese poets reacted again st 19th -cen tu r y poetr y, wh ich th ey felt w as
sen t ime n t a l a n d e mo t io nally di shonest. I nstead, they favour ed pr eci si on
o f ima g e r y a n d c le a r, s h ar p l anguage .
I m p e ra t i v e: T h e order for m of th e verb. For example , in th e sen te n c e
‘shut the door’, the verb ‘shut’ is in the imper ative .
I m p re s s i o n i s m: A style of pain tin g th at con cen tr ates on th e gen er al to n e
and effect produced by a subject without elabor ation of details.
I m pre s s io n is t ic mu s ic is char acter ised by the use of r i ch har monies an d
tones r ather than for m to express scenes or emotions.
I n fe re n c e: A ju dgemen t based on reason in g r ath er th an on direc t o r
e x plic it s t a t e me n t o r a concl usion based on facts or cir cumstances.
I n t e r n a l r hy m e: T h i s i s t h e r hy m e b e t we e n a wo r d w i t h i n a l i n e a n d
another word either at the end of the same line or within another line .
T h e followin g excer pt f r om th e comic poem ‘Ban tams in Pin e Woods ’ by
Wallace Stevens makes good use of inter nal rhyme:
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Chieftain Iffucan of Azcan in caftan
Of tan with henna hackles, halt!
I n t ra n s i t i v e v e r b: A verb th at does n ot n or mally take a direct object. F o r
e x a mple , t h e ve rb ‘ t o g o’ does not nor mally take a di r ect object. You
c a nn o t s ay ‘ t o g o t h e c a r’.
I r i s h L i t e ra r y R ev i v a l: T h e Ir ish L iter ar y R evival, also kn own as th e Ce l ti c
R evival, was begu n by L ady G regor y, E dward Mar tyn an d William Bu tl e r
Ye ats in Irelan d in 1896. T h is grou p of wr iter s aimed to stimu late a n e w
appreciation of tr aditional Ir ish liter ature . The movement also
e n co u r a g e d t h e c re a t io n of wor ks w r itten i n the spir i t of I r ish cult u r e ,
as distin ct f rom Br itish cu ltu re . S lowly an d perh aps in evitably, th e
m ove me n t be c a me po liti cal . Well-know n w r i ter s such as Yeats, J .M .
S y n g e , G e o r g e R u s s e l l , Æ a n d S e a n O ’ C a s e y w r o t e m a ny p l ay s a n d
po ems abou t th e political state of Irelan d at th e time . Perh aps th e
gr eatest symbol of th e Ir ish L iter ar y R evival was th e Abbey T h eatr e . I n
m any respects, th e n ext gen er ation of wr iter s, spearh eaded by po e ts
s u c h a s Pa t r i c k K av a n a g h , r e a c t e d t o t h e R e v i v a l ’s t e n d e n c y t o
r o ma n t ic is e t h e Ir is h pe asantr y.
I ro n y: I r o ny t a ke s m a ny fo r m s . N o r m a l ly, a s i t u a t i o n i s s a i d t o b e i r o n i c i f
there is an incongr uity between actual circumstances and those that
would seem appropr iate .
Kinaesthetic imager y: Imager y associated with the sensation of
m ove me n t o r t e n s io n .
L og aoedic rhythm : A poem or lin e of ver se in wh ich dif feren t metr i c al
fe et are mixed to give an ef fect like speech or prose . G er ard Man l e y
H o p k i n s m a ke s e x t e n s i ve u s e o f t h i s t y p e o f r hy t h m i n h i s p o e t r y.
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L y r ic p oem : A sh or t poem wh erein th e poet expresses an emotion o r
i l l umin a t e s s o me life pr inci ple .
M etap hor : A fi g u re o f s p eech w her ei n a compar i son i s made between
two n or mally dissimilar qu an tities, with ou t th e u se of th e words ‘like ’ o r
‘as’, e .g. ‘He is lion-hear ted.’ Most of the poets on your cour se employ a
m e t a ph o r in a t le a s t o n e of their poems.
M etap hys ical p oet r y : T h e ter m ‘metaphysical’ is u sed to design ate th e
wor k of a grou p of 17th -cen tu r y wr iter s wh o were u sin g sim i l ar
m e t h o d s a n d w h o t u r n e d t h e i r b a c k s o n m a ny o f t h e r o m a n t i c
c o nve n t io n s o f E liza be t han love poetr y. I n 1692, the English poet J oh n
Dr yden launched an attack on the poetr y of John Donne. In this attack,
h e claimed th at D on n e’s poetr y in trodu ced ‘metaphysics’ or th eore ti c al
assumptions in a manner that was designed to ‘Per plexe the minds of
the fair sex’. Dr yden was, of cour se , mocking Donne , but the label stuck
and was eventually applied to the group of 17th-centur y poets that
i n c lu de d Jo h n D o n n e , Geor ge Her ber t, Andr ew Mar vell, T homas Ca r ew,
H en r y Vau gh an an d R ich ard Cr awsh aw. Metaphysical poems ten d to be
sh o r t , dr aw t h e ir s u bje ct matter fr om the concer ns of their ti me an d
appeal to th e in tellect as mu ch as to th e emotion s. T h ey ten d to u s e
c o n ceits or h idden , exten ded allu sion s an d con tain str ikin g, in n ovati ve
i m ag e r y.
M etonymy : A fi gu r e o f s pe e c h w h i c h o c c u r s w h e n s o m e s i gn i fi c an t as pe c t
o r de t a il o f a n e x pe r ie nce i s used to r epr esent the w hole exper i en ce .
F o r example , in a h erd of 50 cows, th e h erd migh t be refer red to as ‘5 0
h e ad of cattle’. T h e word ‘h ead’ is u sed to represen t th e h erd or, fo r
e x a mple , t h e ‘ g ilde d be a k’ to r epr esent a bir d.
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M etre: A regu lar patter n of u n stressed an d stressed syllables in a lin e o r
l i n es o f po e t r y.
M o nolog ue : An exten ded speech u ttered by on e speaker.
M o nos yllabic : A word con tain in g on ly on e syllable .
M o od : T h e a t m o s p h e r e o r fe e l i n g c r e a t e d by a l i t e r a r y wo r k , p a r t ly by a
descr iption of the objects or by the style of the descr iptions. A wor k
m ay c o n t a in a mo o d o f loneliness, loss, excitement or childl i ke wond er,
to name a few.
M o tif: A situ ation , idea or image th at is repeated in a poem. T h i s i s
some t ime s k n own a s a lei tmotif.
M y t h/myt holog y : An u nver ifiable tale , of ten based on religiou s or qu asir e ligiou s belief s. T h e ch ar acter s of myth s are gods an d goddesses, or th e
c h ildren of th e pair in g of gods or goddesses an d h u man s. S ome my th s
detail the creation of the wor ld, while other s may be about love ,
j o u r n eys, deceit or reven ge . In all cases, it is th e gods an d godde s s e s
w h o c o n t ro l e ve n t s , while humans may be aided or victimised. M ost
c o mme n t a t o r s be lie ve that mythol ogy is the means by w hi ch anc i en t
m a n a t t e mpt e d t o a c c o u nt for natur al or histor i cal occur r ences. Many of
the poems in this anthology dr aw on mythology for their inspir ation.
N eolog is m s : Th e pr a c t ice of coi ning new wor ds or phr ases or o f
e x t e n din g t h e me a n in g of existi ng wor ds or phr ases. Patr i ck Kavan agh
r e gu lar ly employs n eologisms in order to h eigh ten th e impact of h i s
poetr y. For example , in the poem ‘Lines Wr itten on a Seat on the Gr and
Canal, Dublin’, he changes the adjective ‘green’ into the noun ‘greeny’.
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Octave : A group of eight lines of ver se , especially the fir st eight lines of
a sonnet, or a poem that consists of eight lines.
Ode : A n o de i s a di g n i fi ed and e l abor ately str uctur ed lyr i c poe m pr aising
a n d g l o r i f y i n g a n i n d i v i d u a l , c o m m e m o r a t i n g a n e ve n t , a n i n t e n s e
e motion al state or descr ibin g n atu re . Perh aps th e greatest odes of th e
1 9 th cen tu r y were wr itten by Keats. Af ter Keats, th ere h ave been fe w
m a jo r o de s in E n g lis h .
Onomatopoeia : A liter ar y device wh erein th e sou n d of a word ec h o e s
th e sou n d it represen ts. T h e words ‘splash ’, ‘wallop’ an d ‘gu r gle’ ar e
e x a mple s .
Pa ra b l e : A sh or t, simple stor y or n ar r ative in ten ded to illu str ate a m o r al
o r re lig io u s le s s o n .
Pa ra d ox : A situ ation or a statemen t th at seems to con tr adict itself .
Pa ra l l e l i s m: T h e deliber ate repetition of par ticu lar words or sen te n c e
st r u c t u re s fo r e f fe c t .
Pa s t o ra l: From pastor, L atin for ‘sh eph erd’, ‘pastor al’ refer s to a lite r ar y
wor k dealing with shepherds and r ur al life . Poems that present an
i d e a lis e d de pic t io n o f the countr ysi de ar e often descr i bed as b ei n g
pastor als.
Pa t h e t i c fa l l a c y: When an author suggests that non-human phenomena
act from human feelings, it is descr ibed as pathetic fallacy. In this type of
l i t er a r y de v ic e , s o me t h i ng nonhuman found i n natur e – an anim al , a
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plant, a stream, the weather, etc . – perfor ms as though it were acting
f r o m h u m a n fe e l i n g s o r m o t i v a t i o n .
Pe r i p h ra s i s: A n e x p r e s s i o n t h a t s t a t e s s o m e t h i n g i n d i r e c t ly o r i n a n
over ly poetic f ash ion . A ph r ase of poetr y th at is wr itten in th is man n e r
i s t e r me d a s be in g pe r iphr astic .
Pe r s o n a: An assu med iden tity or fiction al per son ality taken on by th e
sp e a ke r in a po e m.
Pe r s o n i fi c a t i o n: A figu re of speech in wh ich someth in g n on -h u man i s
given human char acter istics.
Pe t ra r c h a n: Wr itin g th at imitates th e Italian poet Fr an cesco Petr arc a, o r
Petr arc h (1304–74). Ma ny of Pe tr ar ch ’s p oe ms we r e ad d r e s s e d to a n
i d e a lis e d wo ma n c a lle d Laur a.
Pe t ra r c h a n s o n n e t: T h e Pe t r a r c h a n s o n n e t c o n s i s t s o f a n o c t ave , o r e i g h t l i n e stan za, an d a sestet, or six-lin e stan za. T h e octave h as two
qu atr ain s. T h ese rhyme i n th e followin g man n er : abba, abba. In th is ty pe
o f s o n n e t , t h e fir s t qu a tr ain puts for w ar d the theme of the poem an d
th e secon d develops it. T h e sestet is u su ally bu ilt on two or th ree ty pe s
o f rhy min g s c h e me s , a r r anged cdecde or cdcdcd or cdedce; the fi r st
th ree lin es illu str ate or ref lect on th e th eme , an d th e last th ree l i n e s
br ing the whole poem to a unified close .
P l u p e r fe c t: A past ten se th at den otes an action th at h appen ed be fo r e
another past action.
P re fi g u r i n g: T h i s o c c u r s w h e n a p o e m h i n t s a t , o r s u g g e s t s i n a d v a n c e , a n
i d e a t h a t is de ve lo pe d later i n the poem.
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P re s e n t p a r t i c i p l e: T h e ‘-in g’ par t of th e verb. For example , ‘goin g’, ‘doin g’
and ‘seeing’ are all in the present par ticiple .
P ro t a go n i s t: T h e cen tr al figu re in a wor k of liter atu re .
P u n : A play on words wh erein a word is u sed to convey two mean in gs at
the same time .
Quatrain : A fou r-lin e stan za, wh ich may be rhymed or u n rhyme d. A
h e r o i c q u a t r a i n i s a fo u r- l i n e s t a n z a r hy m e d a b a b.
Renaissance : T h e ter m ‘ren aissan ce’ mean s revival or rebir th . It is th e
te r m given to th e cu ltu r al revival th at occu r red in Italy in th e 1 3 th
c e n t u r y. D u r in g t h is pe r iod i n Eur opean hi stor y, ther e w as a r ebi r t h i n
i n t e re s t in Gre e k a n d Roman ar ts and cultur e .
Rhetor ical question : A qu estion asked for ef fect th at n eith er expects n o r
r e qu ire s a n a n s we r.
Rhyme : In poetr y, a patter n of repeated sou n ds. In en d rhyme , th e rhy m e
i s a t t h e e n d o f t h e lin e . When one of the r hyming wor ds occur s i n a
pl ace in th e lin e oth er th an at th e en d, it is called in ter n al rhyme . E ye
r hyme is a for m of rhyme wh erein th e look, r ath er th an th e sou n d, i s
i m p o r t a n t . ‘ C o u g h ’ a n d ‘ tough’ do not sound enough al i ke to constitu te a
r hyme . H owever, if th ese two words appeared at th e en d of su cce s s i ve
l i n es of poetr y, th ey wou ld be con sidered eye rhyme . H alf -rhyme oc c u r s
w h e n t h e fin a l c o n s o n a n ts r hyme .
Rhythm : R ecu r ren ces of stressed an d u n stressed syllables at e qu al
i n ter vals, similar to metre . T h ese recu r ren ces lead to a wave - l i ke
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r e petition of motion or sou n d. Alth ou gh two lin es may be of th e s am e
m e t re , t h e rhy t h ms o f t he l i nes may be di ffer ent. Whi l e the metr e of a
l i n e is iden tified by th e patter n with in each foot, th e rhyth m i s
accounted for by lar ger movements within the poem or individual line .
Romantic : The ter m used to descr ibe the movement in late 18th- and
e ar ly 19th -cen tu r y mu sic , liter atu re an d ar t th at depar ted f rom th e
classicism and for mality of previous movements. The Romantics
e mph asised sen sibility, th e f ree expression of feelin gs, n atu re an d th e
e x otic . T h is f reedom of expression was n ot con fin ed to th e ar ts. Many
o f t h e Ro ma n t ic s we re commi tted to r evol uti onar y pol i tics.
Rondel: A poem of 11 lin es, employin g on ly two rhymes in its th r e e
st a n za s .
Run-on line : S ee E n jambmen t.
S a rdonic : Forced or bitter lau gh ter. T h e ter m can be applied to th e to n e
o f a po e m. If t h e t o n e is intentional ly bi tter or mocking, i t may be cal l ed
sa rdo n ic .
S a t ire : A type of poem th at r idicu les th e attitu des of society o r
i n div idu a ls .
S e c ond p er s on s ing ular : The second per son singular is the ‘you’ par t
( a r c h a ic t h o u ) o f t h e ve r b, as i n ‘you ar e’.
S e stet: S ix lin es of poetr y th at for m th e secon d par t of a son n et.
S i bilance : Sibilance is achieved by producing a recur r ing hissing sound
l i ke t h a t o f s o r s h .
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S i mile : A compar ison involvin g th e words ‘like’ or ‘as’.
S l ant rhym e: Also called n ear rhyme , obliqu e rhyme , of f rhyme o r
i m p e rfe c t rhy me , t h is t y p e of r hyme occur s w hen two wor ds that so u n d
approximately the same are placed closely together within a poem.
E m i ly D i c k i n s o n m a ke s mu c h u s e o f s l a n t r hy m e i n h e r p o e m s .
S onnet : A son n et is a lyr ic poem con sistin g of 14 lin es of rou gh ly e qu al
l e n gth . It is u su ally wr itten in iambic pen tameter. T h ere are two bas i c
types of sonnet. The Italian or Petr archan sonnet is made up of eight
l i n es called an octave , w h ich is broken in to two fou r-lin e section s cal l e d
qu atr ain s. A six-lin e se ction called a sestet follows th is octave . T h e
m ovemen t f rom th e octave to th e sestet is u su ally mar ked by a ch an ge
i n t h e t o n e o r mo o d o f the poem. T hi s change i s often know n as a tu r n
o r a vo lt a . Th e s e c o n d type of sonnet i s know n as a Shakespear ean
son n e t . Th is t y pe o f s o nnet compr i ses thr ee quatr ains ( a gr ouping of
fo u r l i n e s ) an d a r hy m i n g c o u pl e t. U s u al ly, i n th e S h ake s pe ar e an s o n n e t,
th e ch an ge in th e ton e an d mood of th e poem occu r s in th e fi n al
c o u ple t .
S p rung rhythm : A f lexible metre th at resembles patter n s of n atu r al
sp e e c h . B y c o mbin in g str essed and unstr essed syllabl es, the en er gy,
r hyt h m a n d c a de n c e o f ever yday speech ar e i ncor por ated into lines of
po etr y. T h e ter m was coin ed by G er ard Man ley H opkin s bu t can be
o bser ved in th e wor ks of many au th or s, in clu din g S h akespeare . H opki n s
n e ve r c l a i m e d t o h ave i nve n t e d i t , o n ly t o h ave d i s c ove r e d t h e c o n c e p t
and enfr anchised this as a regular and per manent pr inciple of scansion.
S t anza : A group of ver se lines that make up a section of a poem.
S tan zas u su ally h ave th e same len gth an d metr ical patter n . S ometi m e s
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st a n za s a re re fe r re d t o as ver ses. However, str ictly speaki ng, a ver se i s a
si n g le lin e o f po e t r y.
S y m b o l : S o m e t h i n g t h a t r e p r e s e n t s s o m e t h i n g e l s e by a s s o c i a t i o n ,
r e semblan ce or conven tion . Nor mally in poetr y, mater ial objects ar e
u s e d t o r e p r e s e n t s o m e t h i n g i nv i s i bl e o r a b s t r a c t .
S y mbolis m : S y m b o l i s m i s a l a t e 1 9 t h - c e n t u r y a r t m ove m e n t o f F r e n c h
and Belgian or igin in poetr y and other ar ts. The movement was lar gely a
r e a c t io n t o o t h e r movements, such as Natur al i sm and R ealism, wh i ch
had attempted to describe nature in realistic terms. Symbolists
attempted to represent reality in ter ms of spir ituality, the imagination
an d dreams. T h e S ymbolist movemen t in liter atu re h as its roots in L e s
F l eu r s du Mal by Ch ar les Bau delaire . It was developed an d refin e d by
o t he r Fre n c h wr it e r s , s uch as Stéphane Mallar mé and Paul Ver lai ne . At
the beginning of the 19th centur y, English-speaking wr iter s such as Ezr a
Pound, T.E. H ulme and T.S . E l i ot we r e h e avi ly i n f l u e n ce d by th e F r en c h
S y m b o l i s t m ove m e n t .
S y naes thes ia : T h e descr iption of a sen se impression in ter ms m o r e
appropr iate to another sense .
S y ncop ation : S yn copation , or syn copated rhyth m, is any rhyth m th at pu ts
an emph asis on a beat, or a su bdivision of a beat, th at is n ot u su al ly
e mph asised. O n e of th e most obviou s featu res of Wester n mu sic , to be
h e a r d i n m o s t e ve r y t h i n g f r o m B a c h t o bl u e s , i s a s t r o n g , s t e a d y b e a t
th at can easily be grou ped in to even measu res. T.S . E liot relies h e avi ly
o n s y n c o pa t e d rhy t h ms in hi s poems. I n a line fr om ‘A Game of Chess’,
E l i o t b o r r ow s f r o m a p o p u l a r r a g t i m e s o n g by G e n e B u c k a n d H e r m a n
R u by. N o t i c e h ow t h e r hy t h m o f t h e s e l i n e s i s s y n c o p a t e d :
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O O O O that Shakespeher ian Rag—
It’s so elegant
So intelligent
S y necdoc he : A fi gu r e o f s pe e c h i n w h i c h th e wo r d fo r par t o f s o m e th i n g
i s u sed to mean th e wh ole , e .g. ‘I h ave ju st bou gh t a n ew set of wh e e l s
[ c a r ] ’ o r ‘ 1 0 D o w n i n g S t r e e t [ t h e B r i t i s h g ov e r n m e n t ] h a s j u s t
announced a new financial package’.
S y nt ax : T h e order in wh ich words appear on th e page .
Tercet : A grou p of th ree lin es in a poem.
Terza r im a : A n i n t e r l o c k i n g r hy m i n g s c h e m e w i t h t h e p a t t e r n a b a b c b
c dc , e t c .
Theme : T h e most impor tan t idea th at is apparen t in a poem.
To n e: Ton e expresses th e au th or’s attitu de toward h is or h er su bject. T h e
c o n cept of ton e embr aces th e idea of emotion al colou r in g or th e
e mo t io n a l me a n in g o f a poem.
Tra n s c e n d e n t a l i s m : T h e wo r d u s e d t o d e s c r i b e t h e a p p e a r a n c e o f
r adically new ideas in liter ature , religion, culture and philosophy that
e mer ged in New E n glan d in th e ear ly to middle 19th cen tu r y. I t i s
s o metimes called Amer ican Tr an scen den talism to distin gu ish it f r o m
o t he r u s e s o f t h e wo rd ‘ tr anscendental ’.
Tra n sferred ep ith et : T h e tr an sfer red epith et occu r s wh en th e adjec ti ve
c an n ot n or mally be applied to th e n ou n th at it is descr ibin g, bu t w h e r e
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i t s u s e be c o me s ju s t ifie d by the added effect i t achi eves. T he fol l ow i n g
are examples of tr ansfer red epithets: a happy one , the angr y sea.
Tra n sitive verb : A verb th at can take a direct object. For example , in th e
s e n ten ce ‘th e car h it th e wall’, ‘th e car’ is th e su bject an d ‘th e wall’ is th e
o bje c t . Th e ve rb ‘ t o h it’ is a tr ansiti ve ver b because i t can take an
o bje c t . (Se e a ls o In t r a n s itive ver b.)
Tr ip let : T h ree lin es of poetr y th at sh are th e same rhyme .
Tr ip tyc h : A wo r k of ar t or l i ter ature that appear s i n three pi e ces.
Mi ch ael L on gley’s poem ‘Wreath s’ con sists of th ree poems th at ar e
l i n ke d in t h e ir e x plo r a t ion of vi olence .
Under statement : A statemen t th at lessen s or min imises th e impor tan c e
o f wh at is bein g said. T h e opposite to u n der statemen t is hyperbole . ( S e e
also Hyperbole .)
Villanelle : A 1 9 - l i n e po e m o f fi xe d fo r m , c o n s i s ti n g o f fi ve te r c e ts an d a
fi n al qu atr ain . Perh aps th e best-kn own villan elle is ‘D o Not G o G e n tl e
i n t o Th a t Go o d Nig h t ’ by Dyl an T homas.
Vo l ta: T h e te c h n i c al te r m fo r th e c h an ge o r tu r n th at o c c u r s i n a s o n n e t.
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