| verse | a unit of poetry such as a stanza or a line |
| blank verse | unrhymed iambic pentameter |
| free verse | poetry free of any restrictions; poetry not tied to a particular pattern |
| figurative language | language that communicates beyond the literal meaning of the words |
| personification | giving an animal or inanimate object human qualities or emotions |
| hyperbole | using extreme exaggeration to make a point |
| simile | comparing two things using "like" or "as" |
| metaphor | comparing two things without using "like" or "as" |
| imagery | concrete details which appeal to the senses so that we can see or sense what is being written about |
| connotation | the attitudes and feelings associated with a word |
| denotation | the literal or dictionary definition of a word |
| diction | the author's choice of words |
| rhyme scheme | the pattern in which rhyme sounds occur in a stanza |
| rhythm | the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry |
| meter | the recurrence of a rhythmic pattern in poetry |
| alliteration | the repetition of initial consonant sounds in words |
| refrain | the repetition of one or more phrases or lines at intervals in a poem |
| onomatopoeia | the use of a word whose sound suggests its meaning |
| stanza | a division of a poem based on thought or form |
| couplet | two lines of verse that rhyme a-a |
| quatrain | four rhymed lines that can take various forms |
| heroic couplet | two successive rhyming verses that contain a complete thought within two lines and usually consists of iambic pentameter |
| narrative poem | a poem that tells a story |
| lyric poem | a short poem that expresses emotional feelings |
| sonnet | a 14 line poem stating the poet's personal feelings |
| elegy | a poem that states a poet's sadness about the death of an important person |
| ballad | a poem in verse that tells a story |
| ode | a poem of high seriousness written on a variety of topics |
| haiku | a Japanese form of poetry using natural imagery to convey a sense of mystery |
| limerick | a humorous verse of five lines |
| visual poetry | poetry that depends for its effects largely upon the layout of the words on the page |
| found poem | a poem that has not been deliberately composed but discovered, by chance, in some other context |