Poetry Terms

The repetition of the same sounds at the beginning of words.

• onomatopoeia

• alliteration

• hyperbol

• simile

Rhyme at the end of lines of a verse or stanza

• end rhyme

• free verse

• rhyme scheme

• rhythm

Comparing two things usually by saying one is the other

• simile

• imagery

• metaphor

• hyperbole

Two or more lines of poetry that together form the sections of the poem

• rhyme

• rhythm

• theme

• stanza

When what is expected is different from what actually happens

• imagery

• irony

• hyperbole

• alliteration

When terms contradict each other

• personification

• imagery

• oxymoron

• alliteration

Something that stands for something else

• tone

• theme

• internal rhyme

• symbol

Attitude of the speaker of a poem or poet toward the subject

• tone

• free verse

• rhyme scheme

• theme

When an author uses obvious exaggeration

• irony

• oxymoron

• hyperbole

• personification

Comparing two things using the words "like" or "as"

• metaphor

• simile

• personification

• alliteration