Repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of neighboring words. Example: "She sells seashells by the seashore."
Alliterative verse
Poetry characterized by repeated consonant sounds at the beginning of words. Example: Old English poems like "Beowulf."
Allusion
Reference to a well-known person, event, or literary work. Example: "He had the strength of Hercules."
Anacrusis
One or more unstressed syllables at the beginning of a line of verse. Example: "In the forest, the trees stand tall."
Archaism
Use of outdated or old-fashioned language. Example: "Thou art" instead of "You are."
Ascending meter
Ascending meter increases in stress from one syllable to the next. Example: Ascending - "Do not go gentle into that good night.
Descending meter
Decreases in stress from one syllable to the next. Descending - "Once upon a midnight dreary."
Assonance
Repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words. Example: "The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain."
Ballad stanza
A quatrain with alternating lines of iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter. Example: "Oh, the wind whispers through the trees,
Basic stanzas
Different types of stanzas with a specific number of lines. Couplets (2 lines), tercets (3 lines), quatrains (4 lines), sestets (6 lines), and octaves (8 lines).
Blank verse
Poetry with unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter. Example: Shakespeare's plays.
Cacophony
Harsh, discordant sounds in poetry. Example: "I detest war because cause of war is always trivial."
Caesura
A pause or break in a line of poetry, often marked by punctuation. Example: "To be, or not to be, that is the question."
Catalexis
Omission of one or more syllables from the end of a line in poetry. Example: "When I have fears that I may cease to be" (instead of "When I have fears that I may cease to be alive").
Conceit
An extended metaphor comparing two unlikely things. Example: "Love is a battlefield."
Consonance
Repetition of consonant sounds within or at the end of nearby words. Example: "The boat floats on the moonlit moat."
Diction
The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing. Example: The poet's diction was simple yet powerful, using words like "gleaming" and "gentle."
Dramatic Monologue
A poem in which a single character speaks to a silent listener, revealing their thoughts and feelings. Example: In the forest, the ancient oak whispered its secrets to the passing breeze.
Elegy
A poem mourning the loss of someone or something. Example: The sunset cast a solemn hue over the landscape, as if nature itself were mourning the passing of the day.
End rhyme, internal rhyme
End rhyme occurs at the end of lines, while internal rhyme occurs within lines. Example of end rhyme: The cat sat on the mat, wearing a hat. Example of internal rhyme: I wandered lonely as a cloud.
End-stopped lines
Lines of poetry that end with punctuation, creating a pause. Example: The river flowed gently, its waters clear and calm.
Enjambment
The continuation of a sentence or clause from one line of poetry to the next without a pause. Example: The sun set behind the mountains, painting the sky in shades of pink and gold.
Epigram
A short, witty poem or saying expressing a single thought or observation. Example: "I can resist everything except temptation." - Oscar Wilde
Euphony
The quality of being pleasing to the ear, achieved through the use of harmonious sounds. Example: The gentle rustle of leaves in the breeze created a sense of euphony in the forest.
Free verse
Poetry that does not follow a regular meter or rhyme scheme. Example: The poet's words flowed freely, unrestricted by the constraints of form or structure.
Heroic couplet
A pair of rhymed lines in iambic pentameter. Example: The knight rode forth into the fray, With sword in hand and heart so brave.
Image
A word or phrase that appeals to the senses, creating a mental picture. Example: The scent of roses filled the air, mingling with the sound of distant laughter.
Imagery
The use of vivid language to create mental images or sensory experiences. Example: The waves crashed against the shore, their foam sparkling in the sunlight.
Line length
The number of metrical feet or syllables in a line of poetry, such as monometer, dimeter, trimeter, tetrameter, pentameter, hexameter, etc.
Masculine and feminine ending or rhyme
Masculine rhyme occurs when the rhyme falls on a single stressed syllable, while feminine rhyme occurs when the rhyme falls on the last two or more syllables, with the stress on the penultimate syllable. Example of masculine rhyme: "light" and "night." Example of feminine rhyme: "ending" and "bending."
Iamb (iambic)
A metrical foot consisting of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable. Example: "To-DAY."
Trochee (trochaic)
A metrical foot consisting of one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable. Example: "WIN-ter."
Anapest (anapestic)
A metrical foot consisting of two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable. Example: "un-der-STAND."
Dactyl (dactylic)
A metrical foot consisting of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables. Example: "MER-ri-ly."
Pyrrhic
A metrical foot consisting of two unstressed syllables. Example: "to the."
Spondee (spondaic)
A metrical foot consisting of two stressed syllables. Example: "HEART-BEAT."
Common meter
A hymn meter consisting of alternating lines of iambic tetrameter (four metrical feet per line) and iambic trimeter (three metrical feet per line), usually in a rhyming pattern of ABAB or ABCB.
Short meter
A hymn meter similar to common meter but with the second and fourth lines in iambic trimeter, creating a rhyming pattern of ABAB.
Long meter
A hymn meter in which all lines are in iambic tetrameter, typically with a rhyming pattern of ABAB.
Ode
A lyrical poem typically expressing praise or celebration of a person, event, or object. Example: "Ode to Joy" by Friedrich Schiller.