Poetry Terms

Dramatic Monologue*

• Words of a single speaker revealing personality and situation, different from a stage soliloquy.

• A dialogue between two characters expressing conflicting emotions.

• A narrative poem that tells a story through multiple perspectives.

• A speech delivered by an actor to the audience, breaking the fourth wall.

Speaker*

• The person who reads the poem aloud.

• The voice used by a poet to speak a poem, often a created identity, not necessarily the author's personal voice.

• The audience that listens to the poem.

• The title of the poem.

Refrain

• A type of poem that tells a story

• A line or group of lines repeated at intervals in a poem, often at the end of a stanza.

• A literary device used to create rhythm

• A form of free verse poetry

End Rhyme

• Rhyme that occurs at the ends of verse lines.

• Rhyme that occurs within a single line of verse.

• Rhyme that occurs at the beginning of verse lines.

• Rhyme that occurs in the middle of a stanza.

Personification

• Giving human qualities to non-human things. Example: "The wind whispered through the trees."

• Describing a character's physical appearance in detail.

• Using metaphors to compare two unlike things.

• Creating a vivid image using sensory details.

Alliteration

• Repeated vowel sounds at the end of words to create rhythm.

• Repeated consonant sounds at the beginning of words to catch the reader's attention.

• The use of metaphors to enhance imagery in writing.

• The repetition of entire phrases to emphasize a point.

Verse (Verse Paragraph)

• A type of musical composition

• A paragraph of writing in a poem, often written as clusters of rhyming lines.

• A narrative structure in prose

• A form of visual art that uses lines and shapes.

Natural Speech Cadence

• Mimicked by unrhymed iambic pentameter.

• Mimicked by rhymed couplets.

• Mimicked by free verse poetry.

• Mimicked by haiku structure.

Cliché

• A phrase, line, or expression that is overused and boring.

• A unique and original idea that stands out.

• A type of literary device used to create suspense.

• A common theme found in many stories.

Cacophony

• Pleasant, harmonious sounds often using 'l', 'm', 'n' or similar sounds.

• Unpleasant, harsh sounds often using 's', 'c', 'k' or similar sounds.

• Soft, soothing sounds that create a sense of calm.

• Loud, rhythmic sounds that are often musical.