Poetry Terms

Front

What is a stanza?

Back

The basic unit of a poem, consisting of several lines grouped together, with white space above and below.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.13

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

Front

What is a couplet?

Back

Two lines of poetry that stand alone or apart from the rest of the poem, often rhyming and having the same meter.

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.4

Front

What is free verse?

Back

A free-form poem with no particular structure or rhythm, lacking regular rhymes, and with lines of varying lengths and patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.11

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.8.5

Front

What is a sonnet?

Back

A poem that has 14 lines, each with exactly 10 syllables, written in iambic pentameter, typically with a rhyming couplet at the end.

Tags

CCSS.RL.7.4

Front

What is onomatopoeia?

Back

A word that sounds like what it represents, such as 'meow,' 'oink,' 'pop,' or 'click.'

Tags

CCSS.L.8.5

CCSS.L.7.5

CCSS.L.6.5

CCSS.L.5.5

CCSS.L.4.5

Front

What is imagery in poetry?

Back

Descriptive language that appeals to the senses and creates vivid mental pictures.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.4

Front

What is a metaphor?

Back

A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without using 'like' or 'as.'

Tags

CCSS.W.11-12.2D

CCSS.L.5.5A

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.L.4.5A

Front

What is a simile?

Back

A figure of speech that compares two unlike things using 'like' or 'as.'

Tags

CCSS.W.11-12.2D

CCSS.L.5.5A

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.L.4.5A

Front

What is alliteration?

Back

The repetition of the same initial consonant sounds in a sequence of words.

Tags

CCSS.RF.4.3A

CCSS.RF.2.3A

CCSS.RF.1.2A

CCSS.RF.K.1D

CCSS.RF.K.2A

Front

What is a theme in poetry?

Back

The central idea or message conveyed by the poem.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.2

CCSS.RI.11-12.9

CCSS.RI. 9-10.9

CCSS.RL.9-10.2

CCSS.RL.8.2