| Term | Definition |
|---|
| alliteration | the commencement of two or more words of a word group with the same letter |
| allusion | a passing or casual reference; an incidental mention of something, either directly or by implication |
| ballad | any light, simple song, esp. one of sentimental or romantic character, having two or more stanzas all sung to the same melody |
| cliche' | a trite, stereotyped expression; a sentence or phrase, usually expressing a popular or common thought or idea, that has lost originality, ingenuity, and impact by long overuse, as sadder but wiser, or strong as an ox |
| connotation | the associated or secondary meaning of a word or expression in addition to its explicit or primary meaning: A possible connotation of "home" is "a place of warmth, comfort, and affection." |
| couplet | a pair of successive lines of verse, esp. a pair that rhyme and are of the same length |
| haiku | a major form of Japanese verse, written in 17 syllables divided into 3 lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables, and employing highly evocative allusions and comparisons, often on the subject of nature or one of the seasons |
| hyperbole | obvious and intentional exaggeration |
| idiom | an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements, as kick the bucket or hang one's head, or from the general grammatical rules of a language, as the table round for the round table, and that is not a constituent of a larger expression of like characteristics |
| imagery | the formation of mental images, figures, or likenesses of things, or of such images collectively: the dim imagery of a dream |
| internal rhyme | a rhyme created by two or more words in the same line of verse. |
| jargon | the language, esp. the vocabulary, peculiar to a particular trade, profession, or group: medical jargon |
| limerick | a kind of humorous verse of five lines, in which the first, second, and fifth lines rhyme with each other, and the third and fourth lines, which are shorter, form a rhymed couplet |
| rhythm | movement or procedure with uniform or patterned recurrence of a beat, accent, or the like |
| simile | a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared, as in "she is like a rose." |
| sonnet | Prosody. a poem, properly expressive of a single, complete thought, idea, or sentiment, of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter, with rhymes arranged according to one of certain definite schemes, being in the strict or Italian form divided into a major group of 8 lines (the octave) followed by a minor group of 6 lines (the sestet), and in a common English form into 3 quatrains followed by a couplet |
| stanza | an arrangement of a certain number of lines, usually four or more, sometimes having a fixed length, meter, or rhyme scheme, forming a division of a poem |
| symbol | something used for or regarded as representing something else; a material object representing something, often something immaterial; emblem, token, or sign |
| syntax | the study of the rules for the formation of grammatical sentences in a language. |
| tone | any sound considered with reference to its quality, pitch, strength, source, etc |
| Denotation | the explicit or direct meaning or set of meanings of a word or expression, as distinguished from the ideas or meanings associated with it or suggested by it |
| Dialect | a variety of a language that is distinguished from other varieties of the same language by features of phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, and by its use by a group of speakers who are set off from others geographically or socially |
| Elegy | a mournful, melancholy, or plaintive poem, esp. a funeral song or a lament for the dead |
| End Rhyme | rhyme of the terminal syllables of lines of poetry |
| Figurative language | speech or writing that departs from literal meaning in order to achieve a special effect or meaning, speech or writing employing figures of speech |
| Foot | the terminal part of the leg, below the ankle joint, on which the body stands and moves |
| Free Verse | verse that does not follow a fixed metrical pattern |
| Metaphor | a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in "A mighty fortress is our God." |
| Meter | a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables |
| Onomatopoeia | the formation of a word, as cuckoo or boom, by imitation of a sound made by or associated with its referent |
| Paraphrase | a restatement of a text or passage giving the meaning in another form, as for clearness; rewording |
| Parody | a humorous or satirical imitation of a serious piece of literature or writing |
| Personification | the attribution of a personal nature or character to inanimate objects or abstract notions, esp. as a rhetorical figure. |
| Refrain | to abstain from an impulse to say or do something |
| Rhyme scheme | the pattern of rhymes used in a poem, usually marked by letters to symbolize correspondences, as rhyme royal, ababbcc. |
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