Terminology and Resources

From the Ground Up/Buds to Blossoms

Terminology, Resources, References

This page contains a list of poetry terminology, links to information of misused or confused words, and other poetry writing resources you will find helpful.  Please review it.  You might want to make this item one of your favorites so you can refer back to it later.

Poetry Terminology

We are not going to cover all of these items in this beginning course, so I have divided the terminology list into two sections.  The first part are terms we will use.  The second are terms for adding on later in your poetry writing education. Most of this list of terms and resources was provided by NOVAcatmando . Please check the online resources and references list at the bottom of this page for more poetry writing information.

Alliteration
The repetition of the same or similar sounds at the beginning of words in close proximity in a poem.
Assonance
The repetition or a pattern of similar sounds, especially vowel sounds: Further, it is defined as the refrain of vowel sounds to create internal rhyming within phrases or. Another definition: assonance is a literary device stressing vowel-sound-effects verse repetition of vowel words for a rhythmic auditory effect when read aloud.
Caesura
A pause within a line of poetry which is often, but not always, caused by punctuation. There is a caesura right after the question mark in the first line of this sonnet by Elizabeth Barrett Browning: "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways."
Consonance
The repetition of similar consonant sounds, especially at the ends of words, as in lost and past or confess and dismiss.
End stop
A pause placed at the end of a line with any type of punctuation.
Enjambment
When a poet writes a sentence in a poem that runs two or more lines without stop.  Enjambment should be read as a complete sentence without pause.
An example of enjambment can be found in the first line of Joyce Kilmer's poem Trees: "I think that I shall never see/A poem as lovely as a tree." Enjambment comes from the French word for "to straddle."
Flow
Unhindered steady movement, move freely from place to place. Flow results when all things work in sync within the poem:  rhythm, word choices, and good use of poetic devices.  Rhyme and rhyme scheme are also important to flow in rhyming poetry.
Internal Rhyme
Rhyming word placed within the line as well as at the end.
Near Rhyme
Rhyme in which either the vowels or the consonants of stressed syllables are identical, as in eyes, light; years, yours, but the words do not actually rhyme. Also called half rhyme, imperfect rhyme, slant rhyme, oblique rhyme, off rhyme.
Refrain
A phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated throughout a poem, usually after each stanza.
Rhyme
A word with an ending sounding the same as the ending of another word.  In a rhyming poem, these words are at the end of each line in whatever rhyme scheme has been designated.
The occurrence of the same or similar sounds at the end of two or more words. When the rhyme occurs in a final stressed syllable, it is said to be masculine: cat/hat, behave/shave, observe/deserve. When the rhyme ends with one or more unstressed syllables, it is said to be feminine: vacation/sensation, reliable/viable. The pattern of rhyme in a stanza or poem is shown usually by using a different letter for each final sound. In a poem with an aabba rhyme scheme, the first, second, and fifth lines end in one sound, and the third and fourth lines end in another.
Rhythm
In poetry, the pattern formed by stressed and unstressed syllables. In music, the regular pattern of beats and emphasis in a piece of music.  For our purposes, we are going to define it as beat and number of syllables in a line.
Stanza
Two ore more lines of verse forming a separate unit within a poem. In many poems, each stanza has the same number of lines and the same rhythm and rhyme scheme.
Structure
Manner of construction, the arrangement of particles in a substance of body, interrelation of parts as dominated by the general character of the whole
         External form - the stanzas, words, and shapes of poems - any and all patterns for eye and ear
         Internal structure - the organization of the subject matter of poems; generally, these ways mirror the ways essays are organized or the ways other discourses are organized: narrative, dramatic, discursive/argumentative, descriptive, reflective/meditative, and imitative.
Syllable
A unit of spoken language that consists of one or more vowel sounds alone, a syllabic consonant alone, or any of these with one or more consonant sounds. one or more letters in a word that roughly correspond to a syllable of spoken language
Synonym
A word that means the same, or almost the same, as another word in the same language, either in all of its uses or in a specific context. Examples of synonyms in this sense are "environment" and "surroundings" and the verbs "tear" and "rip."
Tercett Three line stanza
Tone
Sound quality, accent or inflection expressive of mood or emotion

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Accent
The prominence or emphasis given to a syllable or word. In the word poetry, the accent (or stress) falls on the first syllable.
Alexandrine
A line of poetry that has 12 syllables. The name probably comes from a medieval romance about Alexander the Great that was written in 12-syllable lines.
Anapest
A metrical foot of three syllables, two short (or unstressed) followed by one long (or stressed), as in 'twas the night and to the moon. The anapest is the reverse of the dactyl.
Antithesis
A figure of speech in which words and phrases with opposite meanings are balanced against each other. An example of antithesis is "To err is human, to forgive, divine." (Alexander Pope)
Apostrophe
Words that are spoken to a person who is absent or imaginary, or to an object or abstract idea. The poem God's World by Edna St. Vincent Millay begins with an apostrophe: "O World, I cannot hold thee close enough!/Thy winds, thy wide grey skies!/Thy mists that roll and rise!"
Carpe diem
A Latin expression that means "seize the day." Carpe diem poems urge the reader (or the person to whom they are addressed) to live for today and enjoy the pleasures of the moment. A famous carpe diem poem by Robert Herrick begins "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may . . ."
Classicism
The principles and ideals of beauty that are characteristic of Greek and Roman art, architecture, and literature. Examples of classicism in poetry can be found in the works of John Dryden and Alexander Pope, which are characterized by their formality, simplicity, and emotional restraint.
Conceit
A fanciful poetic image or metaphor that likens one thing to something else that is seemingly very different. An example of a conceit can be found in Shakespeare's sonnet "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" and in Emily Dickinson's poem "There is no frigate like a book."
Dactyl
A metrical foot of three syllables, one long (or stressed) followed by two short (or unstressed), as in happily. The dactyl is the reverse of the anapest.
Envoy, or Envoi
The shorter final stanza of a poem, as in a ballade.
Feminine rhyme
A multi-syllable rhyme that ends with one or more unstressed syllables: paper/vapor, vacation/proclamation.
Figure of speech
A verbal expression in which words or sounds are arranged in a particular way to achieve a particular effect. Figures of speech are organized into different categories, such as antithesis, hyperbole, litotes, metaphor, metonymy, onomatopoeia, simile, and synecdoche.
Foot
Two or more syllables that together make up the smallest unit of rhythm in a poem. For example, an iamb is a foot that has two syllables, one unstressed followed by one stressed. An anapest has three syllables, two unstressed followed by one stressed.
Free verse (also vers libre)
Poetry composed of either rhymed or unrhymed lines that have no set meter.
Heptameter
A line of poetry that has seven metrical feet.
Hexameter
A line of poetry that has six metrical feet.
Hyperbole
A figure of speech in which deliberate exaggeration is used for emphasis. Many everyday expressions are examples of hyperbole: tons of money, waiting for ages, a flood of tears, etc. Hyperbole is the opposite of litotes.
Iamb
A metrical foot of two syllables, one short (or unstressed) and one long (or stressed). There are four iambs in the line "Come live/ with me/ and be/ my love," from a poem by Christopher Marlowe. (The stressed syllables are in bold.) The iamb is the reverse of the trochee.
Iambic pentameter
A type of meter in poetry, in which there are five iambs to a line. (The prefix penta- means "five," as in pentagon, a geometrical figure with five sides. Meter refers to rhythmic units. In a line of iambic pentameter, there are five rhythmic units that are iambs.) Shakespeare's plays were written mostly in iambic pentameter, which is the most common type of meter in English poetry. An example of an iambic pentameter line from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is "But soft!/ What light/ through yon/der win/dow breaks?" Another, from Richard III, is "A horse!/ A horse!/ My king/dom for/ a horse!" (The stressed syllables are in bold.)
Litotes
A figure of speech in which a positive is stated by negating its opposite. Some examples of litotes: no small victory, not a bad idea, not unhappy. Litotes, which is a form of understatement, is the opposite of hyperbole.
Masculine rhyme
A rhyme that occurs in a final stressed syllable: cat/hat, endow/vow, observe/deserve.
Metaphor
A figure of speech in which two things are compared, usually by saying one thing is another, or by substituting a more descriptive word for the more common or usual word that would be expected. Some examples of metaphors: the world's a stage, he was a lion in battle, drowning in debt, and a sea of troubles.
Meter
The arrangement of a line of poetry by the number of syllables and the rhythm of accented (or stressed) syllables.
Metonymy
A figure of speech in which one word is substituted for another with which it is closely associated. For example, in the expression The pen is mightier than the sword, the word pen is used for "the written word," and sword is used for "military power."
Onomatopoeia
A figure of speech in which words are used to imitate sounds. Examples of onomatopoeic words are buzz, hiss, zing, clippety-clop, cock-a-doodle-do, pop, splat, thump, and tick-tock. Another example of onomatopoeia is found in this line from Tennyson's Come Down, O Maid: "The moan of doves in immemorial elms,/And murmuring of innumerable bees." The repeated "m/n" sounds reinforce the idea of "murmuring" by imitating the hum of insects on a warm summer day.
Pentameter
A line of poetry that has five metrical feet.
Personification
A figure of speech in which nonhuman things or abstract ideas are given human attributes: the sky is crying, dead leaves danced in the wind, blind justice.
Romanticism
The principles and ideals of the Romantic movement in literature and the arts during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Romanticism, which was a reaction to the classicism of the early 18th century, favored feeling over reason and placed great emphasis on the subjective, or personal, experience of the individual. Nature was also a major theme. The great English Romantic poets include Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, and Keats.
Scansion
The analysis of a poem's meter. This is usually done by marking the stressed and unstressed syllables in each line and then, based on the pattern of the stresses, dividing the line into feet.
Simile
A figure of speech in which two things are compared using the word "like" or "as." An example of a simile using like occurs in Langston Hughes's poem Harlem: "What happens to a dream deferred?/ Does it dry up/ like a raisin in the sun?"
Spondee
A metrical foot of two syllables, both of which are long (or stressed).
Stress
The prominence or emphasis given to particular syllables. Stressed syllables usually stand out because they have long, rather than short, vowels, or because they have a different pitch or are louder than other syllables.
Synecdoche
A figure of speech in which a part is used to designate the whole or the whole is used to designate a part. For example, the phrase "all hands on deck" means "all men on deck," not just their hands. The reverse situation, in which the whole is used for a part, occurs in the sentence "The U.S. beat Russia in the final game," where the U.S. and Russia stand for "the U.S. team" and "the Russian team," respectively.
Tetrameter
A line of poetry that has four metrical feet.
Trochee
A metrical foot of two syllables, one long (or stressed) and one short (or unstressed). An easy way to remember the trochee is to memorize the first line of a lighthearted poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, which demonstrates the use of various kinds of metrical feet: "Trochee/ trips from/ long to/ short." (The stressed syllables are in bold.) The trochee is the reverse of the iamb.
Trope
A figure of speech, such as metaphor or metonymy, in which words are not used in their literal (or actual) sense but in a figurative (or imaginative) sense.
Verse
A single metrical line of poetry, or poetry in general (as opposed to prose).
Versification
The system of rhyme and meter in poetry.

Here is an excellent link about some of the poetry devices: "Poetic Devices-- Manipulating Words" http://www.brigitsflame.com/litlib/stylistic-suggestions/riesiel-manipulating-wo...

Most Needed Online Resources

Poetic Byways http://www.poeticbyway.com/glossary.html
Rhyming Dictionary http://www.rhymezone.com/
Thesaurus http://www.thesaurus.com
Dictionary http://dictionary.reference.com/
Poetry Forms http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/wip/types.html

Use the Correct Word

There are a lot of words in the English language which are commonly misused. Don't be one of the writers who doesn't take time to learn which word is needed.

Links to words sounding similar and often confused and misused:

This is a really good one to bookmark "Commonly Confused Words - Frequently Misspelled Words": http://www.accuracyproject.org/confusedwords.html

"Easily Confused or Misused Words" http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0200807.html
"Commonly misused words" http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article2...
"Commonly Misused Words in the English Language" http://www.squidoo.com/misused-words
"Top 10 Misused English Words"http://listverse.com/2011/06/07/top-10-misused-english-words/

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References and Teaching Tools for this course
"Poetic Devices-- Punctuate the End" http://www.brigits-flame.com/litlib/stylistic-suggestions/riesiel-punctuate-end....
"Poetry Writing and Grammar" http://www.writingforward.com/poetry-writing/poetry-writing-grammar
"Word Choice in Poetry" http://www.poetrymagic.co.uk/wordchoice.html
"Poetry: Word Choice" http://www.writersdigest.com/article/poetry-wordchoice/
"Word Choice" http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/word_choice.html
"Getting Your Poems on the Page: Writing Titles" http://writersontherise.wordpress.com/2009/09/17/getting-your-poems-on-the-page-...
"How to write small stones" http://writingourwayhome.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-to-write-small-stones
"A Poet's Guide to Critique" How to Give and Get Helpful Feedback http://poetrynprogress.com/2010/05/27/a-poetâ%u20AC%u2122s-guide-to-critique-how-to-give-and-get-helpful-feedback/
"How to Implement Feedback from Critiques" http://www.writingforward.com/category/polished-writing/critiques-2
"Monday One Stop Poetry Form - Villanelle" http://onestoppoetry.com/2011/01/monday-one-stop-poetry-form-villanelle.html
"Tone: http://www.frostfriends.org/tone.html
"Tools for Analyzing Poetry - Tone" http://www2.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/tone.html
Grammar Desk Reference, Gary Lutz & Diane Stevenson, The Writer's Digest, 2005
Writing Metrical Poetry, William Baer, The Writer's Digest, 2006
"Junk Your Junk Words"by Wilton Barnhardt from Rules of Thumb, edited by Jane Friedman, published 2006


Other Online Resources
The following two items included with permission from northernwrites

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Syllable Counter http://www.syllablecount.com/
Famous Poetry Online http://www.poetry-online.org
Terms in Poetry http://www.poetry.org/termsin.htm
Poetry - Basic Terminology  http://www.kristisiegel.com/poetry.htm
Introductory Poetry Terms http://www.leasttern.com/Poetry/poetryterms.htm
Poetry Handbook http://www.shadowpoetry.com/resources/handbook/a.html *** "great resource!"
Glossary of Poetry Terms http://www.infoplease.com/spot/pmglossary1.html ** "good source"
Glossary of Poetry Terms http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0903237.html ** "good source"
Glossary of Poetry Terms http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_poetry_terms
Glossary of Poetic Terms http://www.poeticbyway.com/glossary.html
Dictionary of Poetic Terms http://www.pathetic.org/dictionary.php ****"most comprehensive poetic dictionary I found"

(comments on resources by NOVAcatmando )