Poetry terms

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

• Metaphor

• Allusion

• Onomatopoeia

• Simile

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

• Allusion

• Metaphor

• Ballad

• Meter

A word's dictionary definition

• Denotation

• Diction

• Connotation

• Simile

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

• Denotation

• Connotation

• Enjambment

• Symbol

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

• Consonance

• Hyperbole

• Assonance

• Alliteration

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.

• Assonance

• Consonance

• Alliteration

• Tone

Refers to a word choice.

• Denotation

• Meter

• Speaker

• Diction

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

• Symbol

• Speaker

• Mood

• Enjambment

A literary device used in poetry, novels, and other writing that uses vivid description that appeals to a reader's senses to create an image or idea in their head.

• Imagery

• Mood

• Tone

• Verse

The beat and pace of a poem and is created by the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.

• Free Verse

• Imagery

• Rhythm

• Ballad