Poetry Terminology:

Alliteration: repetition of closely connected words beginning with the same letter, usually a consonant. Used to highlight the feeling of sound and movement, or to bind words together.

Assonance: repetition of identical vowel sounds. Vowels (a, o, u) can slow down a line and make it sound sad and weary.

Ballad: a simple song that tells a story through dialogue. It is characterized by uncomplicated language and melodic refrain. Each verse is made of four lines with an ABCB rhyme.

Content: simply what the poem is about. Themes, ideas, storyline.

Enjambment: When a sentence runs from one line of poetry to the other without punctuation. Enjambment helps to emphasise meaning or excitement.

Emotive Language: words and phrases that cause an emotional response in the reader.

Form: how the poem is structured or organised. what are the effects of this particular shape? The shorter the poem usually means that the feelings are more intense.

Hyperbole: deliberate exaggeration used to emphasise a point. Generally used for expressive or comedic effect. A hyperbole is not to be taken seriously.

Imagery: the pictures in the poem. Similes, metaphors and personification are used to create vivid imagery.

Lyric Poem: a poem that centres on a significant experience in the poet's life, usually about the emotions created by an event. Often short, concentrated in expression and personal in subject matter.

Metaphor: a direct comparison, without the the words ‘like, as or than’.

Mood: refers to the atmosphere in the poem and is closely linked to the tone. It could be happy, sad, tense, positive, romantic etc.

Onomatopoeia: use of woods which echo their meaning in the sound. ‘Snap’ ‘Pop’.

Personification: when the poet gives an object, or nature, human qualities.

Pun: a play on words. often a comedic effect.

Refrain: a recurring phrase or line, especially at the end of a verse. It maintains rhythm and plot.

Repetition: poets often add emphasis to what they are describing by using words with similar meanings several times.

Rhyme: the use of words of matching sounds, often at the end of each line.

Rhythm: is the beat or the pace of the words. it can be regular, irregular, slow or fast. it depends on the effect the poet is trying to make.

Simile: a comparison using the words ‘like’, ‘as’ or ‘than’.

Stanza: a section of a poem, sometimes called a verse (especially if it rhymes)

Sibilance: alliteration that uses the ‘s’ sound for a particular effect.

Symbol: when a word, phrase or image ‘stands for’ or evokes a complex set of ideas, the meaning of which is determined by the surrounding context.

Tone: this is tone of the voice that we can imagine reading when reading the poem. It could be sad, mocking, angry, serious, persuasive, sincere.

Voice: is the speakers of the poem - either the poet’s own voice or a character created by the poet.

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List of terminology to be used when talking about poems.