| Term | Definition |
|---|
| meter | the pattern of a line, arranged by the number of syllables and the pattern of stresses |
| stress | special emphasis when saying certain syllables |
| foot | the smallest grouping of stresses in a line that repeats itself in a pattern |
| scansion | the analysis of a poem's meter |
| end rhyme | a pattern of rhyming words at the end of a line |
| rhyme scheme | the pattern of rhyming words at the end of lines |
| internal rhyme | words that rhyme with each other inside a single line |
| near rhyme | words that almost rhyme, like sad and said |
| stanza | a "paragraph" of poetry; separated by spaces |
| couplet | a pair of rhyming lines |
| enjambment | when the end of a line of poetry does not have the end of a sentence; the sentence continues into the next line |
| caesura | a break or pause in the middle of a line |
| free verse | poetry that can be rhymed or unrhymed, but which has no specific meter |
| alliteration | repeated sounds at the beginning of words |
| onomatopoeia | a figure of speech, where words imitate sounds |
| figure of speech | a verbal expression in which words or sounds are arranged in a particular way to achieve a particular effect |
| metaphor | comparing two things without using "like" or "as" |
| simile | comparing two things using "like" or "as" |
| symbolism | when one image represents a different idea or thing |
| personification | giving living qualities to non-living things |
| conceit | an image or metaphor that compares one thing to something very different |
| hyperbole | extreme exaggeration |
| apostrophe | addressing an imaginary person or thing, or a person who is not there person or thing that is not present |
| juxtaposition | placing two things together that normally don't go together |
| narrative | tells a story, using the same elements as a short story |
| ballad | a poem in the form of a song that tells of love or adventure |
| lyric | a poem that describes a poet's feelings |
| elegy | a poem of mourning over the loss of a person, thing, way of life, etc. |
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