Page 2 Poetry Terminology


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Poetry is more patterned (repetitious) than other types of writing. It repeats syllables, sounds, words and even lines. In this lesson, you will learn to identify the following sound patterns in poetry.

  • repetition
  • rhythm
  • onomatopoeia
  • alliteration
  • rhyme

Alphabet Aerobics below is a great example of poetry terminology. How many can you identify?




 Note It

Poetry Terminology



Figurative Language
  • Writing or speech that is not meant to be taken literally, but which makes the text more interesting. Many of the Poetry terms in this list are examples of figurative language.
Speaker
  • The imaginary voice a poet uses when writing a poem. The speaker is the character who tells the poem.
Simile
  • A figure of speech that uses like or as to compare two unlike ideas: "good as gold," or "spread like wildfire."
Metaphor
  • Similarly to simile, a metaphor is a comparison. Unlike a simile, a metaphor states that one thing is another thing, without using like or as. For example, "Her room was a pig sty," or "He was larger than a hot air balloon."


Hyperbole
  •  A figure of speech where exaggeration is used for effect or to stress a point: "I have told you a million times!", or "I have a ton of homework."

Personification
  • A type of figurative language in which a non-human subject is given human characteristics: "The wind whispered in the night." Wind cannot actually whisper. 

Symbolism
  • The use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense. For example, the idea that a dove is a symbol of peace.
Rhyme Scheme
  • The regular pattern of rhyming end words in a poem. Each end word in the sequence is assigned a letter; rhyming words are assigned the same letter. For example, "The frog, on the log, he had a frown, and wore a crown" would have a rhyme scheme represented by AABB.
Onomatopoeia
Alliteration
Stanza
  • A "paragraph" in a poem with a common idea, but often arranged purposefully with a certain number of lines to reflect a rhythm and/or rhyme.
Sensory Imagery
  • Writing or speech that appeals to one or more of the 5 senses and which helps us to create a picture of what we are reading in our mind's eye. "The smell of the fresh cut grass, warm and new, filled the air," or "The air was so hot that my clothes were sticking to my skin like tape sticks to a wrapped gift."




  Please contact your teacher if you have questions.