Poetry Terms
The following are types of poems or stanzas. You do not need to find examples of all of the types; however, if one of
the poems in your notebook is one of the following types and is not labeled as such, YOU WILL LOSE POINTS.
Didactic poetry - written to state a message or teach a body of knowledge
My Last Duchess
Narrative poem - a poem whose main purpose is to tell a story.
The Century Quilt
Satiric poem - a kind of comic poetry that conveys a message.
At the Bottom of Everything
Lyric - a short poem, often songlike, with the emphasis not on narrative but on the speaker's emotion or reverie. Whereas
a narrative is set in the past, telling what happened, a lyric is set in the present, catching a speaker in a moment of
expression. (A lyric can, of course, glance forward or backward.)
1. elegy - a lyric poem that is melancholy or mournfully contemplative; sometimes laments a death.
Autumn: A Dirge is an example of an elegy.
2. ode (hymn) - a lyric poem that is long, elaborate, and on a lofty theme such as immortality or a hero's victory.
Ode on a Grecian Urn is an example of an ode.
Verse - can be either a stanza or a single line of poetry.
“At twenty she was brilliant and adored,” – Pathedy of Manners
Stanza - a rhythmical unit in which lines of poetry are commonly arranged (from an Italian word meaning "room" or
"stopping-place").
(Note: in discussing stanzas, rhymes are indicated by identical letters. Thus, abab indicates that the first and third lines
rhyme with each other, while the second and fourth lines are linked by a different rhyme.)
1. couplet - a stanza of two lines, usually, but not necessarily, with end-rhymes.
a. heroic couplet - a rhyming couplet of iambic pentameter, often "closed," that is, containing a complete
thought, with a fairly heavy pause at the end of the first line and a still heavier one at the end of the
second.
“Or blush, at least. She thanked men,---good! but thanked/Somehow---I know not how---as if she ranked”
– My Last Duchess
2. triplet (or tercet) - a three-line stanza, usually with one rhyme.
“Yes I am torching/her curves and paps and wiles./They scorch in my self denials.” - Anorexic
3. quatrain - a four-line stanza, rhymed or unrhymed.
a. heroic (elegiac) quatrain - iambic pentameter, rhyming abab.
4. sonnet - a closed, fixed form. A fourteen-line poem, predominantly in iambic pentameter.
a. Italian (Petrarchan) sonnet - named for the Italian poet Francesco Petrarch (1304-74), has two
divisions: the first eight lines (rhyming abba abba) are the octave, the last six (rhyming cd cd cd, or a
variant) are the sestet.
“No worst, there is none” is an example of an Italian sonnet.
b. English (Shakespearean) sonnet - usually arranged into three quatrains and a couplet, rhyming abab
cdcd efef gg.
Iago to his Torturers is an example of an English sonnet.
5. villanelle - a closed, fixed French form; a nineteen-line poem divided into 5 tercets and a final quatrain. The
villanelle uses only two rhymes which are repeated as follows: aba, aba, aba, aba,aba,abaa. Line 1 is repeated
entirely to form lines 6, 12, and 18, and line 3 is repeated entirely to form lines 9, 15, and 19; thus, eight of the
nineteen lines are refrain.
One Art is an example of a villanelle.
Blank verse - English poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter.
“It little profits that an idle king,/By this still hearth, among these barren crags,” – Ulysses and the entirety of the poem.
Free verse (vers libre) - rhythmical lines varying in length, adhering to no fixed metrical pattern, and usually unrhymed.
Seems formless but is not. Form or pattern often largely based on repetition and parallel grammatical structure.
“Flesh is heretic./My body is a witch./I am burning it.” – Anorexic and the poem itself
Prose poem - a short work that looks like prose but is highly rhythmical or rich in images, or both.
Snow White and the Seven Deadly Sins
Closed form - some regular pattern is evident.
1. fixed form - closed form which adheres to certain strict rules (such as the sonnet, villanelle, etc.)
The Lady of Shalott is in closed form with a consistent nine-line stanzas and an aaaabcccb pattern.
Open form - no identifiable patterns of rhyme, rhythm, meter.
The Century Quilt is an example.
The following terms relate to the study and examination of poetry. Again, you do not need to find examples for
prosody or scansion, nor do you need to find an example of every type of meter. However, you DO need to scan at
least 3 stanzas that use 3 different types of meter.
Prosody - the study of the principles of verse structure, including meter, rhyme, and other sound effects, and stanzaic
patterns.
Scansion - scanning a line of poetry for the kind and number of feet in it.
Rhythm - stresses at regular intervals.
“More pangs will, schooled at forepangs, wilder wring./Comforter, where, where is your comforting?” – No worst, there
is none
Hovering stress - the stress is equally distributed over two adjacent syllables.
“Woe, world-sorrow; on an age-old anvil wince and sing—“ – No worst, there is none
Meter - a pattern of stressed (accented) sounds in English poetry (meter from the Greek word for "measure").
Foot - the basic unit of measurement in a line of poetry. On rare occasions, it is a single stressed syllable, but generally a
foot consists of two or three syllables, one of which is stressed. (Stress is indicated by ; lack of stress by ). The repetition
of feet, then, produces a pattern of stresses throughout the poem.
1. iamb (iambic) - one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable. The iam is the most common
pattern in English poetry.
“No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief,” – No worst, there is none
2. trochee (trochaic) - one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable.
“Piling sheaves in uplands airy” – The Lady of Shalott
3. anapest (anapestic) - two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable.
“Where the drivers drove, and looked at me- -” – The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point
4. dactyl (dactylic) - one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables.
5. spondee (spondaic) - two stressed syllables; most often used as a substitute for an iamb or trochee.
Metrical line - line consists of one or more feet and is named for the number of feet in it.
1. monometer - one foot per line 5. pentameter - five feet per line
2. dimeter - two feet per line
6. hexameter - six feet per line
3. trimeter - three feet per line
7. heptameter - seven feet per line
4. tetrameter - four feet per line
8. octameter - eight feet per line
Using these terms, then, a line consisting of five iambic feet is called ‘iambic pentameter,’ while a line consisting of four
anapestic feet is called ‘anapestic tetrameter.’
In order to determine the meter of a poem, the lines are ‘scanned’ or marked to indicate stressed and unstressed syllables
which are then divided into feet. The following line has been scanned:
And still she slept an az ure lid ded sleep
From this point forward, YOU MUST FIND 3 EXAMPLES FOR EACH TERM. For one of the examples, also provide an
analysis of how the device relates to theme, style, structure, or other devices.
Dramatic monologue - single character speaking at a critical moment, usually addressed to some other character who
remains silent.
Ulysses is an example of a dramatic monologue.
Diction - choice of words and/or grammatical constructions (i.e., formal, colloquial, jargon, slang, etc.)
“Yes I am torching/her curves and paps and wiles./They scorch in my self denials.” - Anorexic
Connotation - suggested or associated meaning. (skeleton = death)
“Won’t fit, ah, make it fit. My foot, I mean.” – Iago to his Torturers
Denotation - dictionary definition. (skeleton = bony structure)
“At twenty she was brilliant and adored,” – Pathedy of Manners
Colloquial - everyday speech; particular to an area or group of people.
“Lust’s magazines lay strewn—bare tits and asses” – Snow White and the Seven Deadly Sins
Tone - the attitude of the author, evident from the diction, use of symbolism, irony, and figures of speech. (Tone can be
described as playful, sad, happy, humorous, etc.).
“I remembered how I’d planned to inherit/that blanket, how we used to wrap ourselves/at play in its folds and be
chieftains/and princesses.” – The Century Quilt
Figures of Speech - non-logical language; not to be taken literally.
“He struck them out, as it was meet,/Against my heart to break it through.” – Runaway Slave
1. simile - items from different classes are compared by a connective such as "like," "as," or "than" or by a verb such as
"appears" or "seems." If the objects compared are from the same class, e.g., "New York is like Chicago," no simile is
present. An appropriate simile: "She is like the rose."
2. metaphor - items from different classes are implicitly compared, WITHOUT a connective such as "like" or "as." ("She
is the rose, the glory of the day.")
a. metonymy - something is named that replaces something closely related to it. (In the following passage, James
Shirley names certain objects ["Scepter and crown," "scythe and spade"], using them to replace social classes
[powerful people and poor people] to which they are related:
Scepter and crown must tumble down
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crooked scythe and spade.
“My cries heave, herds-long; huddle in a main, a chief/Woe, world-sorrow;” – No worst, there is none
b. synecdoche - the whole is replace by the part, or the part by the whole. ("He has a new set of WHEELS."
"Give me a HAND.")
“Souls that have toil’d, and wrought, and thought with me,--” - Ulysses
3. extended metaphor-an implied analogy or comparison, which is carried throughout a stanza or entire poem
"The sun came dazzling thro’ the leaves,/And flamed upon the brazen greaves/Of bold sir Lancelot./A red-cross knight for
ever kneel’d/to a lady in his shield,/That sparkled on the yellow field,/Beside remote Shalott./The gemmy bridle glitter’d
free,/Like to some branch of stars we see/Hung in the golden Galaxy./Thebridle bells rang merrily/As he rode down to
Camelot:/And from his blazon’d baldric slung/A might silver bulge hung, And as hr rode his armour rung,/Beside remote
Shalott.
All in the blue unclouded weather/Thick-jewell’d shone the saddle-leather,/The helmet and the helmet-feather/Burn’d like
one burning flame together,/As he rode down to Camelot./As often thro’ the purple night, /Below the starry clusters
bright,/Some bearded meteor, trailing light,/Moves over still Shalott.” – The Lady of Shalott
4. conceit-an ingenious and fanciful notion or conception, usually expressed through an elaborate analogy and pointing to
a striking parallel between two seemingly dissimilar things. A conceit may be a brief metaphor, but it may also form the
framework of an entire poem
“All in the blue unclouded weather/Thick-jewell’d shone the saddle-leather,/The helmet and the helmet-feather/Burn’d
like one burning flame together,/As he rode down to Camelot./As often thro’ the purple night, /Below the starry clusters
bright,/Some bearded meteor, trailing light,/Moves over still Shalott.” – The Lady of Shalott
5. personification - giving human qualities to abstractions or inanimate objects such as love, beauty, etc. ("The cat,
disappointed, wondered where I'd been all day." ; "When love calls, wild hearts fly.")
“When all at once I saw a crowd,/A host, of golden daffodils;/Beside the lake, beneath the trees,/Fluttering and dancing in
the breeze.’ – I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
5. apostrophe - an address to a person or thing not literally listening. ("O Santa, bring me that Porsche I've always
wanted...." "O lovely rose, your perfume fills the air.")
“Comforter, where, where is your comforting?” – No worst, there is none
6. antithesis-a figure of speech characterized by strongly contrasting words, clauses, sentences, or ideas; a balancing of
one term against another for emphasis or stylistic effectiveness
“The world is too much with us; late and soon,/Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;” – The World is Too
Much With Us
Irony - without using figures of speech, speakers may use this device, saying things that are not to be taken literally,
forming a contrast.
1. verbal irony - contrast between what is said and what is meant.
a. sarcasm - heavy, mocking verbal irony. Almost never found in literature.
b. understatement - saying less than what is meant. (to Bill Clinton: "I suppose you have a FEW things
on y our mind....")
“Then all smiles stopped together.” – My Last Duchess
c. hyperbole (overstatement) - exaggeration. ("He died a thousand deaths.")
“I think I’d have good dreams/for a hundred years under this quilt,” – The Century Quilt
2. dramatic irony - contrast between what is intended and what is accomplished.
Paradox - an apparent contradiction. ("He who would save his life must lose it" or "The child is father of the man.")
“I pray you, kindly killers, let me live.” – To the Mercy Killers
Imagery - sensory content of poems; appeals to the five senses.
“And we are here as on a darkling plain/Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,/Where ignorant armies clash
by night.” – Dover Beach
Symbol - an image loaded with significance beyond literal definition; suggestive rather than definitive.
1. natural symbols - symbols recognized as standing for something in particular even by people from different
cultures. (Rain usually stands for fertility or the renewal of life; a forest--mental darkness or chaos; a
mountain--stability, etc.).
“O the mind, mind has mountains; cliffs of fall/Frightful, sheer, no-man-fathomed.” – No worst, there is none
2. conventional symbols - symbols which people have agreed to accept as standing for something other than
themselves (a poem about the cross would probably be about Christianity; similarly, the rose has long been a
symbol for love).
“While my mother waters plants, my father loads his gun.” – At the Bottom of Everything
Rhyme - repetition of identical or similar sounds.
1. perfect (exact) rhyme - differing consonant sounds are followed by identical stressed vowel sounds, and the
following sounds, if any, are identical (foe/toe, meet/fleet, buffer/rougher).
“All in the blue unclouded weather/Thick-jewell’d shone the saddle-leather,/The helmet and the helmet-feather” –
The Lady of Shalott
2. half-rhyme (off-rhyme) - only the final consonant sounds of the words are identical; the stressed vowel
sounds as well as the initial consonant sounds, if any, differ (soul/oil, mirth/forth, trolley/bully.
“her curves and paps and wile./They scorch in my self denials.” - Anorexic
3. eye-rhyme - the sounds do not in fact rhyme, but the words look as though they would rhyme (cough/bough).
“Moment Roman” – Snow White and the Seven Deadly Sins
4. masculine rhyme - the final syllables are stressed and, after their differing initial consonant sounds, are
identical in sound (stark/mark, support/retort).
“Durance deal with that steep or deep. Here! creep,” – No worst, there is none
5. feminine rhyme (double rhyme) - stressed rhyming syllables are followed by identical unstressed syllables
(revival/arrival, flatter/batter).
“The rivers are swelling, the thunder is knelling” – Autumn: A Dirge
6. end rhyme (terminal rhyme) - the rhyming words occur at the ends of the lines.
“Gave thee life, and bid thee feed,/By the stream and o’er the mead;/Gave thee clothing of delight,/Softest
clothing, woolly, bright;” – The Lamb
7. internal rhyme - rhyme occurs within lines. ("Each narrow cell in which we dwell.")
“The bare boughs are sighing, the pale flowers are dying,” – Autumn: A Dirge
8. alliteration - sometimes defined as the repetition of initial sounds ("All the awful auguries," or "Bring me my
bow of burning gold"), and sometimes as the prominent repetition of a consonant ("after life's fitful fever").
“Pitched past pitch of grief,” – No worst, there is none
9. assonance - the repetition, in words of proximity, of identical vowel sounds preceded and followed by differing
consonant sounds. (Whereas tide and hide are rhymes, tide and mine are assonantal.)
“Durance deal with that steep or deep. Here! creep,” – No worst, there is none
10. consonance - the repetition of identical consonant sounds and differing vowel sounds in words in proximity
(fail/feel, rough/roof, pitter/patter). Sometimes consonance is more loosely defined as the repetition of a
consonant (fail/peel).
“More pangs will, schooled at forepangs, wilder wring.” – No worst, there is none
11. Onomatopoeia - the use of words that imitate sounds, such as hiss or buzz.
“Where ignorant armies clash by night.” – Dover Beach
cacophony-a harsh, unpleasant combination of sounds or tones; it may be an unconscious result from difficulty of
articulation or a conscious (for effect)
“Listen! You hear the grating roar” – Dover Beach
euphony-a style in which combination of words that are pleasant to the ear dominate (opposite of cacophony)
“So various, so beautiful, so new,” – Dover Beach
caesura-a pause, usually near the middle of a line of verse, usually indicated by the sense of the line
“but color and the movement-or the shape/perhaps-of restlessness, whereas” – Flowers by the Sea
enjambment-the continuation of the sense and grammatical construction from one line of poetry to the next
“Little breezes dusk and shiver/Thro’ the wave that runs for ever/By the island in the river/Flowing down to Camelot.” –
The Lady of Shalott
end-stopped-a line with a pause at the end; lines that end with a period, a comma, a colon, a semicolon, an exclamation
point, or a question mark are end-stopped lines
“Durance deal with that steep or deep. Here! creep,/Wretch, under a comfort serves in a whirlwind: all/Life death does end
and each day dies with sleep.” – No worst, there is none