Poetry Vocabulary

SpeakerThe narrator of a poem; not to be confused with the author.

Rhyme SchemeThe occurrence of the same or similar sounds at the end of two or more words or at the end of two or more lines of poetry

Rhyme SchemeThere once was a man from Peru (A)

Who dreamed he was eating his shoe. (A)

He woke in the night (B)

With a terrible fright (B)

And found out that it was quite true! (A)

Rhyme SchemeHumpty 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 (_____)

Meter

The arrangement of a line of poetry by the number of syllables and the rhythm of stressed syllables

RhythmThe pattern or flow of sound in a poem

StanzaTwo 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.

Mood The overall feeling of a

poem; the emotion a poet is trying to convey

Mood can be sad, humorous, silly, dramatic, romantic, lighthearted, nostalgic, etc..

SimileThe comparison of two things

using the words “like” or “as”

Examples:

Your room looks like a pig pen!

This room is as dirty as a pig pen.

MetaphorThe comparison of two things

without using the words “like” or “as”

Examples:

Your room is a pig pen! Your friends are animals.

PersonificationA figure of speech in which

nonhuman things or abstract ideas are given human attributes

Example: The leaves danced in the wind.

Alliteration The repetition of the same

starting sound in several words.

Examples: Parkside Panthers

She sells sea shells by the sea shore.

Assonance The repetition of the same

vowel sound in several words.

Examples: The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plains.

Theme The abstract concept

explored in a literary work; the poet’s message to his/her reader

Hyperbole Exaggeration. It may be used

for serious or for comic effect.

Example: “I had so much homework, I needed a pickup truck to haul my books home!”

Lyric Poem A poem that expresses the

thoughts and feelings of the poet. A lyric poem may resemble a song in form or style.

Note: This is NOT the same as song LYRICS.

Narrative Poem A poem that tells a story.

Ballads and Epics are two types of narrative poems.

Epic Poem A long, serious poem that

tells the story of a heroic figure.

The Odyssey is an example of an epic poem.

Ballad A poem that tells a story

similar to a folk tale or legend and often has a repeated refrain

Refrain

A line or group of lines that is repeated throughout a poem, usually after every stanza.

Haiku

A Japanese poem composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables. Haiku often reflect on some aspect of nature.

Limerick

A humorous poem of five lines. Usually has the rhyme scheme AABBA

Free Verse

Poetry written in rhymed or unrhymed lines that have no set meter.

Iambic PentameterA strict form of poetry with 10

syllables per line with a meter of stressed syllable, unstressed syllable

“But soft!/ What light/ through yon/der win/dow breaks?” (From Romeo & Juliet)

Blank Verse

Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter

Shakespeare’s plays were written in blank verse.

SonnetA lyric poem that is 14 lines

long, with a specific rhyme scheme and meter. English sonnets are written in iambic pentameter and have the rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg

.

CoupletTwo lines of poetry that rhyme

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

OdeA lyric poem written to a

specific person or thing, usually in praise. It has a rhyme scheme, but that is usually left up to the poet.

Some odes are meant to be sung.

OnomatopoeiaA word that imitates or

suggests the source of the sound it makes.

Examples: Buzz, Beep, Hiccup, Boom, Zap