Poetry Terms and Definitions

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Literal Meaning

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What the poem is actually saying.

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Figurative Meaning

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The underlying or deeper meaning.

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Poetic device

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Terms used to describe features of poetic writing (e.g., alliteration, simile, meter, etc.)

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Stanza

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A stanza in a poem is what a paragraph is to a piece of prose – stanzas are separated from one another by the use of spaces within a poem.

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Ballad

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A narrative poem or song that tells a popular story, often of physical courage or love.

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Concrete

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A poem whose shape or visual appearance contributes to its meaning.

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Elegy

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A type of lyric poem that expresses sadness for someone who had died; traditionally a solemn meditation on a serious subject.

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Epic

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A long, narrative poem dealing with the actions of legendary men and women or the history of nations, often presented in a good ceremonious style.

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Free verse

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Poems characterized by their nonconformity to established patterns of meter, rhyme, and stanza.

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Haiku

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A seventeen syllable poem. It has three lines. The first line has five syllables, the second seven syllables and the third five syllables. Many haikus are about nature.