Poetry Vocabulary

This type of poetic verse emphasizes nonlinguistic elements in its meaning, such as a typeface that creates a visual image of the topic.

A group of progressive poets who, in the 1940s and 1950s, were associated with the experimental college in North Carolina.

• Beat Poets

• Harlem Poets

• Liberty Poets

• Black Mountain Poets

The rhythmical pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetic verse.

A short poem intended for (or imagined as) an inscription on a tombstone and often serving as a brief elegy.

• elegy

• epitaph

• grave marker

• epic

A 14-line poem with a variable rhyme scheme originating in Italy and brought to England by Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard in the 16th century. This word literally means “little song.” It traditionally reflects upon a single emotion (or sentiment) with a clarification or “turn” of thought in its concluding lines. There are many different types of this poem.

• sonic

• pun

• sonnet

• ode

A formal, often ceremonious lyric poem that addresses and often celebrates a person, place, thing, or idea. Its stanza forms vary.

According to Virgil, the Greek god Apollo decreed that poets should receive laurels as a prize. The British crown created this position of honor in 1688 and awarded it to poets for life. In the United States, the Library of Congress appoints the position, with the official title of _____ ________, Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. Recipients of the honor usually serve for one year and promote poetry to the public through readings, lectures, or educational projects.

An extended metaphor in which the characters, places, and objects in a narrative carry figurative meaning. Often, the meaning is religious, moral, or historical in nature.

• acrostic

• extended metaphor

• allegory

• simple symbol

A figure of speech that brings together contradictory words for effect, such as “jumbo shrimp” and “deafening silence.” For example, when a person says "same difference," or "awfully good."

A 12-syllable iambic line adapted from French heroic verse.

• Alexandrine

• Hepameter

• Pentameter

• 12 Font Iamb