This page will provide a definition of poetry and vocabulary terms together with the meaning and some examples, such as the definition of irony. Many tools are used to give poetry (or other forms of literature) a visual and/or musical quality in order to communicate ideas, emotions, moods, and abstract concepts more effectively.
Poetry is a piece of literature written by a poet in meter or verse expressing various emotions which are expressed by the use of variety of techniques including metaphors, similes and onomatopoeia. The emphasis on the aesthetics of language and the use of techniques such as repetition, meter and rhyme are what are commonly used to distinguish poetry from prose. Poems often make heavy use of imagery and word association to quickly convey emotions. Technically, poetry is like a word dance that can be as energetic as the flamingo or as elegant as the waltz. Thought-provoking themes walk slowly and deliberately across the parchment; while, amusing the verse skips around the page with laughter and light-warmheartedness. Below are some of poetry’s most well known devices. |
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Examples of Literary Devices in songs!
ironyIllustrates a situation, or a use of language, involving some kind of discrepancy. The result of an action or situation is the reverse of what is expected; in other words a contrast between what is expected and what really happens.
Example: Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Water, water, every where, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink. http://www.poeticterminology.net/28-irony.htm
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consonance
Is the repetition, at close intervals, of the final consonants of accented syllables or important words, especially at the ends of words, as in blank and think or strong and string or Lady lounges lazily and Dark deep dread; in other words is a repetition of consonant sounds in stressed syllables without repetition of vowel sounds.
Example: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost (1874-1963) Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. http://www.poeticterminology.net/53-consonance.htm
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allusionReference to a person, place, thing, or event that is known from literature, history, or other aspects of culture:The novel's title is an allusion to Shakespeare.
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metaphorIs a pattern equating two seemingly unlike objects or in a comparison between two unlike things without using connective words.
Example: Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? by William Shakespeare Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date: http://www.poeticterminology.net/72-metaphor.htm
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meterIs a type of poetry involves exact arrangements of syllables into repeated patterns called feet within a line; in other words the alteration of stressed and unstressed syllables; beat. Each repeated unit of meter is called a foot.
The number of metrical feet in a line are described as follows:
http://www.poeticterminology.net/73-meter-literary-term.htm
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onomatopoeia
Is a figure of speech in which words are used to imitate sounds; in other words the use of a word whose sound imitates or suggests its meaning.
Example: Can be found in numerous Nursery Rhymes e.g. Baa, Baa Black Sheep, clippety-clop and cock-a-doodle-do. http://www.poeticterminology.net/76-onomatopoeia.htm
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symbolA person, place, thing, or event that stands for itself and for something beyond itself.
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alterationIs the repetition of the same or similar sounds at the beginning of words such as tongue twisters like 'She sells seashells by the seashore'; in other words a repetition of initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words.
Example: Acquainted with the Night by Robert Frost I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet, When far away an interrupted cry, Came over houses from another street... http://www.poeticterminology.net/46-alliteration.htm
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toneThe attitude a writer takes toward the reader, subject, or a character.
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rhythmA generally regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poems.
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refrain Is a phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated throughout a poem, usually after each stanza.
Example: The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe And the raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door; And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming, And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor; And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor Shall be lifted nevermore. http://www.poeticterminology.net/37-refrain-poetry-type.htm
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stanzaIs a consists of two or more lines of poetry that together form one of the divisions of a poem. The stanzas of a poem are usually of the same length and follow the same pattern of meter and rhyme and are used like paragraphs in a story.
Some different types of stanzas are as follows:
Example: Do not go Gentle into that Good Night by Dylan Thomas Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light http://www.poeticterminology.net/86-stanza.htm
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simileSimile is a figure of speech in which two things are compared using the word "like" or "as" to draw attention to similarities about two things that are seemingly dissimilar; in other words a comparison between two unlike things by using a connective word such as like, as, than or resembles.
Example: A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns O my Luve's like a red, red rose That's newly sprung in June; O my Luve's like the melodie That's sweetly played in tune. |
paradoxIs a statement or situation containing apparently contradictory or incompatible elements but upon closer inspection might be true; in other words seemingly contradictory idea or statement that may actually be true.
Example: Ghost House by Robert Frost I dwell in a lonely house I know, That vanished many a summer ago... http://www.poeticterminology.net/77-paradox-literary-term.htm
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http://www.poeticterminology.net/84-simile.htm
assonanceIs when a writer repeats the consonant sounds at the beginnings of words. For example, in “My puppy punched me in the eye,” the words “puppy punched” are alliterative because they both begin with “p.” In other words the repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by consonant sounds in words that are close together.
Example: My Puppy Punched Me In the Eye by Kenn Nesbitt My puppy punched me in the eye. My rabbit whacked my ear. My ferret gave a frightful cry and roundhouse kicked my rear. http://www.poetry4kids.com/blog/lessons/alliteration-and-assonance-a-poetry-lesson-plan/
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sonnetAre lyric poems that are 14 lines long falling into three coordinate quatrains and a concluding couplet. Italian (or Petrarchan) sonnets are divided into two quatrains and a six-line sets. In other words fourteen-line lyric poem that may have one of several rhyme schemes.
Example: O thou my lovely boy by William Shakespeare O thou, my lovely boy, who in thy power Dost hold Time's fickle glass his fickle hour; Who hast by waning grown, and therein show'st Thy lovers withering, as thy sweet self grow'st. http://www.poeticterminology.net/42-sonnets.htm
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balladAre poems that tells a story similar to a folk tale or legend and often has a repeated refrain. A ballad is often about love and often sung. A ballad is a story in poetic form. In other words it's a song or song-like poem that tells a story.
Example: The Mermaid by Unknown author Oh the ocean waves may roll, And the stormy winds may blow, While we poor sailors go skipping aloft And the land lubbers lay down below, below, below And the land lubbers lay down below. http://www.poeticterminology.net/05-ballad-poems.htm
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personificationA kind of metaphor in which a non-human thing or quality is talked about as if it were a human.
Example: Have You Got A Brook In Your Little Heart by Emily Elizabeth Dickinson Have you got a brook in your little heart , Where bashful flowers blow, And blushing birds go down to drink, And shadows tremble so? http://www.poetandknowit.com/english-definitions/personification-examples.aspx
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hyperboleIs a type of figurative language that depends on intentional overstatement in other words overstatement or exaggeration of actions, emotions, or other qualities.
Example: To His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell An hundred years should go to praise Thine eyes and on thy forehead gaze; Two hundred to adore each breast; But thirty thousand to the rest... http://www.poeticterminology.net/68-hyperbole.htm
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imageryThat draws the reader into poetic experiences by touching on the images and senses which the reader already knows; in other words language that speaks to all the senses.
Example: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. Eliot Let us go then, you and I, When the evening is spread out against the sky Like a patient etherised upon a table; Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets, The muttering retreats Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells http://www.poeticterminology.net/27-imagery-poems.htm
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blank verseIs often unobtrusive and the iambic pentameter form often resembles the rhythms of ordinary speech.
Example: Excerpt from Macbeth by William Shakespeare Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. |
haikuA Japanese verse form consisting of three lines and seventeen syllables in a deeper definition it is a way of looking at the physical world and seeing something deeper, like the very nature of existence.
Example: Yosa Buson How pleasing with sandals in my hands! Light of the moon Moves west, flowers' shadows Creep eastward. In the moonlight, The color and scent of the wisteria Seems far away. http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-haiku-poems.html
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http://www.poeticterminology.net/07-blank-verse.htm
coupletIs a Stanza of only two lines which usually rhyme in other words two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme.
Example: Sonnet 116 Let me not to the marriage of true minds by William Shakespeare ...Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error and upon me proved, I never write, nor no man ever loved. |
elegyIs a sad and thoughtful poem lamenting the death of a person, in other words often a poem that mourns the dead.
Example: Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard by Thomas Gray The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea, The ploughman homeward plods his weary way, And leaves the world to darkness and to me. http://www.poeticterminology.net/18-elegy.htm
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http://www.poeticterminology.net/15-couplet-poetry-type.htm
free verseIs a form of Poetry composed of either rhymed or un-rhymed lines that have no set fixed metrical pattern or poetry that has no regular meter or rhyme scheme.
Example: Song of Myself by Walt Whitman I celebrate myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. I loaf and invite my soul, I lean and loaf at my ease observing a spear of summer grass. |
prose Is ordinary language that people use in writing such as poetry, stories, editorials, books, etc. In other words The ordinary form of spoken or written language. The word prose is derived from the Latin word 'prosa' meaning straightforward.
Example: Toad, hog, assassin, mirror Prose Poem by Larry Levis Toad, hog, assassin, mirror. Some of its favorite words, which are breath. Or handwriting: the long tail of the ‘y’ disappearing into a barn like a rodent’s, and suddenly it is winter after all. After all what? After the ponds dry up in mid-August and the children drop pins down each canyon and listen for an echo. http://www.poeticterminology.net/91-prose.htm
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http://www.poeticterminology.net/24-free-verse.htm
verseIs a single metrical line of poetry, or poetry in general (as opposed to prose which uses grammatical units like sentences and paragraphs). In other words succession of metrical feet written, printed, or orally composed as one line; one of the lines of a poem. Another word for poetry.
Example: Daffodils by William Wordsworth I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, 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. http://www.poeticterminology.net/45-verse.htm
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rhymeAre types of poems which have the the repetition of the same or similar sounds at the end of two or more words most often at the ends of lines or in other words repetition of final sounds in two or more words. There are several derivatives of the term rhyme which include Double rhyme, Triple rhyme, Rising rhyme, Falling rhyme, Perfect and Imperfect rhymes.
Example: Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the King's horses, And all the King's men Couldn't put Humpty together again! http://www.poeticterminology.net/38-rhymes.htm
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Other Words that are Important:
fictionCreative or made-up literature.
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non-fictionWriting that is basically true.
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figurative language Language used to create a special effect or feeling characterized by figures of speech; language that compares, exaggerates or means something other than what it first appears to mean.
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genreMeans "category" of writing or other art.
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figure of speechA literary device used to create a special effect or feeling by making some type of interesting or creative comparison.
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understatementStating an idea with restraint to emphasize what is being talked about.
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antithesis
An opposition, or contrast, of ideas
Example: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness." Dickens. |
I hope this page helped you understand in more deliberate about Poetry and increases your literature terms and vocabulary.
http://whs.wsd.wednet.edu/Faculty/Zobel/PoetryVocabularyTerms.html