POETRY

Terms for the Journey

Rhyme

Use of matching sound patterns in two or more words: “tight” and “might” or “sleep” and “deep”

For rhyme to be perfect, the final vowel and consonant patterns must be the same

Imperfect rhyme occurs when the final consonant sounds are the same but the vowel pattern is different: “learn” and “barn” or “road” and “dead”

The most common type of rhyme is end rhyme, where the final words of each line rhyme

Rhythm

The regular occurrence of sounds Beating of a heart, lapping of waves Achieved through balanced structure

and regular rhyme and meter The way words are set up on a page can

help achieve certain rhythm

Stanza

Group of two or more lines with the same metrical pattern – and often with a regular rhyme scheme as well – separated by blank space

Functions like a paragraph – groups related ideas

Types of Stanzas Couplet – two line stanza with rhyming

lines of similar length and meter Quatrain – four line stanza with rhyming

lines of similar length and meter Heroic couplet – consists of two rhymed

lines of iambic pentameter – there is a weak pause after the first line and a strong pause after the second

Foot

See handout

Meter

The recurrence of regular units of stressed and unstressed syllables

A stress (or accent) occurs when one syllable is emphasized more than another Ex. Basic, Illusion

Readers analyze meter by looking at the poem

Speaker

Like other literature, there is a speaker in poetry Often not the author

Speaker is also called the persona Sometimes a poem will have a speaker,

but the author’s voice will shine through as well

Don’t ever assume that the author is naturally the poem’s speaker

Questions for finding the speaker Is the speaker old or young? Happy? Sad? Defiant? Angry? Distant? Is the poem written in first person?

Second? Third? Title – sometimes this will tell who the

speaker is Is the speaker isolated? Without self

control? Is the speaker being blunt about what he /

she has to say?

Situation

Often refers to the setting Even though a poem is short, the

audience should be able to identify where it takes place as well as time period

Assonance

Repetition of the same or similar vowels Occurs especially in stressed syllables Used to unify a poem Can be distracting if used ineffectively

Alliteration

Repetition of consonant sounds in consecutive or neighboring words

Usually found at the beginning of words Used to enhance sound in a poem

Onomatopoeia

The sound of a word echoes its meaning Bang, crash, hiss One of the earliest and most primitive

ways of enhancing sound in a poem

Sonnet

Closed form poetry 14 line poem with specific rhyme

scheme Shakespearean Sonnet

Three quatrains with concluding couplet Iambic pentameter abab, cdcd, efef, gg Introduce in first quatrain, develop in next

two, finish in couplet

Sonnet (cont.)

Petrarchan Sonnet One octave and one sestet Iambic pentameter abba, abba, cde, cde Present problem in octave, resolve in sestet

Ballad

Originally made to be sung Uses repeated words and phrases to

advance story Narrative poetry

What does this mean?

Free Verse

No identifiable rhyme or meter Sometimes odd breaks in lines There are still certain things that unify a

poem – repeated words and appearances of words on the printed page