Poetry Terms

On the page, in the ear and with the tools

On the page—STANZAS

One of the primary

organizers of poetry

(the paragraphs of

poetry)Couplet 2 Sestet 6

Triplet 3 Septet 7

Quatrain 4 Octave 8

Quintet 5

On the page—Line Breaks

Creates rhythm or sound Signals meaning Sometimes gives

poems a particular appearance

On the page—Indentations

Foregrounds

different words/ideasSignals meaning Sometimes gives

poems a particular appearance

On the page—White Space

Signals meaning “I also liked the way poetry

looked on the page—all that white space around the words suggested that each word had honor.”

-- Shihab Nye

On the page—Punctuation

Signals meaningSignals pauseSignals breathShapes meaning

Dawkins Hierarchy of Punctuation

In the Ear—Alliteration

The repetition of initial consonant sounds in words

Example “We wear the mask that grins and lies,/”

Paul Laurence Dunbar, “We Wear the Mask”

In the Ear—Consonance

The repetition of consonant sounds in words

Similar to alliteration, but not limited to first letter of words

Example “We wear the mask that grins and lies,/

It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,--/”Paul Laurence Dunbar, “We Wear the Mask”

In the ear—Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds without repeating consonants

Example:

“Like stalks of tall, dry straw

At poor peace I sing”

Dylan Thomas, “Prologue”

In the Ear—Onomatopoeia

The use of a word whose sound suggests its meaning

Examples:ClangBuzzTwangswoosh

In the Ear—Repetition

The repeating of a word, a phrase, or an idea for emphasis or effect

We Real CoolBy Gwendolyn Brooks

               The Pool Players.         Seven at the Golden Shovel.

            We real cool. We               Left school. We

            Lurk late. We             Strike straight. We

            Sing sin. We               Thin gin. We

            Jazz June. We               Die soon.

In the Ear—End Rhyme /Rhyme Scheme

The Storm

James K. McAlister

Wind rustled crunching leaves a

That on the sidewalk lay. b

There was a big storm coming c

On a windy Autumn day. b

Thunder rumbled overhead d

And shook me through and through. e

A jagged bolt of lightning struck! f

The sky then cracked in two! e

Rain washed down the dirty road. g

It hissed, and gushed, and muttered. h

The downpour swept dead leaves away i

Into the bubbling gutter. h

•The rhyming of words that appear at the ends of two lines of poetry

In the Ear—Internal Rhyme

Occurs when the rhyming words appear in the same line of poetry

We Real CoolBy Gwendolyn Brooks

               The Pool Players.         Seven at the Golden Shovel.

            We real cool. We               Left school. We

            Lurk late. We             Strike straight. We

            Sing sin. We               Thin gin. We

            Jazz June. We               Die soon.

In the Ear—Rhythm

Regular or random occurrence of sound in poetry

Regular is called meterRandom is called Free Verse

Contemporary poetry often uses free verse

Tools—Metaphor

comparison between essentially unlike things without using words OR application of a name or description to something to which it is not literally applicable

A Three Point Shot From AndromedaBy Paul Beatty

rain rusted orangering of saturnin urban orbit

over an outdoor gym

What two things are being compared?

Tools—Simile

comparison between two essentially unlike things using words such as "like," as," or "as though”

Example:

“Of asphodel, that greeny flower,

like a buttercup

upon its branching stem-”William Carlos Williams, “Asphodel, that Greeny Flower”

Tools—Hyperbole

An exaggeration for emphasis

The StormJames K. McAlister

Wind rustled crunching leaves That on the sidewalk lay.

There was a big storm coming On a windy Autumn day.

Thunder rumbled overheadAnd shook me through and through. A jagged bolt of lightning struck!

The sky then cracked in two! Rain washed down the dirty road.

It hissed, and gushed, and muttered. The downpour swept dead leaves away Into the bubbling gutter.

Tools—Imagery

A word or sequence of words representing a sensory experience (visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, and gustatory)

Example: Billy Collins, “Litany”

“You are the bread and the knife,

the crystal goblet and the wine.

You are the dew on the morning grass

and the burning wheel of the sun.

You are the white apron of the baker,

and the marsh birds suddenly in flight.”

Tools—Allusion

A a reference to the person, event, or work outside the poem or literary piece

Example: Dylan Thomas’s “Fern Hill”

And then to awake, and the farm, like a wanderer white

With the dew, come back, the cock on his shoulder: it was all

Shining, it was Adam and maiden,

The sky gathered again

And the sun grew round that very day.

Tools—Symbol

An object or action that stands for something beyond itself

Green Light and Gamma WaysBy Thylias Moss

Miss Liberty is green, the horizon and skyplus yellow skin.

She is a minority too, colorof ridiculous Martian fableand not a man.

Handicapped, disabled.Another immigrant.

Tools—Metonymy

An idea associated with something substituted for the whole

The Big Apple = New York

The Crown = Royalty

Land of the Free and Home of the Brave = USA

The Suits = stuffy, upper middle class, bosses