Poetry Terms

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Caesura

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A deliberate pause or break within a line of verse, often marked by punctuation like a comma or period, or by the natural rhythm of speech.

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Connotation

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An idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning.

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Couplet

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A two-line unit of poetry where the lines typically rhyme and have the same meter, though some can be unrhymed.

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Diction

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The specific choice and use of words and phrases in a poem, a deliberate selection that shapes its meaning, tone, and rhythm.

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Enjambment

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A poetic term for the continuation of a sentence or phrase from one line of poetry to the next.

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Form

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A poem's overall structure, including its line lengths, line breaks, stanza patterns, and rhyme or meter.

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Imagery

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The use of descriptive and figurative language to evoke sensory experiences in the reader, creating vivid mental pictures and a deeper, more emotional connection to the poem.

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Metaphor

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A figure of speech that compares two unlike things that have something in common.

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Mood

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The overall emotional atmosphere or feeling evoked in the reader by the text.

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Personification

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Giving human characteristics to an object, idea, or animal.