Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme. An iambic couplet is a couplet written in iambic feet (ex. The sun that brief December day/Rose cheerless over hills of gray/And, darkly circled, gave at noon; A sadder light than waning moon.)

A break or pause in a line of poetry, which contributes to the rhythm of the poem

The repetition of similar consonant sounds in a group of words; often used for a form of partial rhyme in which the consonants are the same, but the vowels are different (bitter/butter, took/tack); sometimes limited to the repetition of final consonant sounds.

A reference to a person, a place, an event, or a literary work that a writer expects a reader to recognize; typically drawn from literature, mythology, religion, history, or geography.

A figure of speech in which an absent or dead person, an abstract quality, or something inanimate or nonhuman is addressed directly.

The repetition of similar vowel sounds, especially in poetry; creates a musical effect; emphasizes certain sounds to create a mood

The repetition of similar sounds, usually consonants, in a group of words; sometimes limited to repetition of the initial consonant sounds; emphasizes the words and ideas expressed.

A kind of metaphor that makes a comparison between two startlingly different things; a conceit may be brief or it may provide the basis for an entire poem.

(ex. Life is a bowl of cherries · Dead as a doornail)

Poetry that uses the appearance of the verse lines on the page to suggest or imitate the poem's subject.

Verse written in unrhymed iambic pentameter

Poetry that makes frank, explicit use of incidents in the poet's life (such as Sylvia Plath or Christina Rossetti)