Poetry Terms

A brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance.

• Allusion

• Alliteration

• Enjambment

• Onomatopoeia

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.L.7.5A

A type of poem that tells a story and was traditionally set to music.

• Metaphor

• Ballad

• Mood

• Consonance

Tags

CCSS.L.11-12.6

CCSS.L.9-10.6

CCSS.W.11-12.2D

CCSS.W.9-10.2D

CCSS.W.8.2D

A word’s dictionary definition.

• Connotation

• Denotation

• Stanza

• Imagery

Tags

CCSS.L.11-12.6

CCSS.L.9-10.6

CCSS.W.11-12.2D

CCSS.W.9-10.2D

CCSS.W.8.2D

The idea or feeling that people associate with a word; a word’s secondary meaning.

• Free Verse

• Rhythm

• Symbol

• Connotation

Tags

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.7.4

Also known a “vowel rhyme,” is the repetition of vowel sounds across a line of text or poetry. 

• Assonance

• Consonance

• Imagery

• Theme

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5

CCSS.L.5.5

CCSS.L.6.5

CCSS.RL.2.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

The repetition of the same consonant sounds in a line of text. These alike sounds can appear anywhere in the word, but will usually be found at its end or middle, or at the end of the stressed syllable.

• Symbol

• Verse

• Assonance

• Consonance

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

CCSS.RL.8.10

CCSS.RL.8.5

CCSS.RL.11-12.8

Refers to word choice.

• Tone

• Theme

• Diction

• Mood

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.3

CCSS.RL.6.3

CCSS.RL.7.3

CCSS.RL.8.3

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

A term used in poetry to refer to lines that end without punctuation and without completing a sentence or clause.

• Imagery

• Mood

• Enjambment

• Ballad

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

CCSS.RL.11-12.13

CCSS.RL.8.10

The name given to poetry that doesn’t use any strict meter or rhyme scheme. It is the opposite of formal verse poetry, that uses both a strict meter and rhyme scheme.

• Free Verse

• Theme

• Alliteration

• Onomatopoeia

Tags

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RI.9-10.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RI.11-12.4

CCSS.RI.7.4

A unit of rhythm in poetry, the pattern of the beats. It is also called a foot. Each foot has a certain number of syllables in it, usually two or three syllables.

• Meter

• Rhythm

• Simile

• Verse

Tags

CCSS.RL.8.4

CCSS.RL.9-10.10

CCSS.RL.9-10.9

CCSS.RL.11-12.13

CCSS.RL.8.5