Poetic Terms

The Central meaning or dominant message the poet is trying to deliver to the reader is known as

• allusion

• theme

• tone

• metaphor

The author’s specific word choice.

• diction

• enjambment

• consonance

• onomatopoeia

An example of this is: “Sara’s seven sisters slept soundly.”

• assonance

• simile

• onomatopoeia

• alliteration

Examples of this include: “hissed,” “crackle,” and “splash.”

• personficiation

• onomatopoeia

• simile

• metaphor

An example of this is: “My heart’s a stereo.”

• metaphor

• ballad

• simile

• theme

Alliteration

• A unified group of lines in poetry. This is often marked by spacing between sections of the poem.

• The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words

• A word that sounds like what it means.

• A single line of poetry.

a stanza consisting of four lines

• quatrain

• sonnet

• hyperbole

• metaphor

using words or language in a way that is different from the literal meaning

• figurative

• literal

• rhyme scheme

• end rhyme

involving the ordinary or usual meaning of words

• literal

• figurative

• enjambment

• quatrain

a comparison using like or as

• simile

• metaphor

• personification

• hyperbole