ENGLISH POETRY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

denotation

.....The precise, literal meaning of a word without emotional associations or overtones.

connotation

.....The associations, images, or impressions carried by a word, as opposed to the word's literal meaning.

alliteration

.....The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words or within words.

consonance

.....The close repetition of identical consonant sounds before and after differing vowel sounds.

free verse

.....Poetry that is free of regular meter but instead follows more closely the natural speech rythms

prose

.....Any ordinary writing or speech that lacks the sustained and regular rhythmic patterns of poetry.

rhyme

.....The similarity of sounds between two words.

meter

.....The fixed or nearly fixed pattern of accented and unaccented syllables in a line of a poem that produces its rhythm.

onomatopoeia

.....The use of words whose sound imitates the sound of the thing being named.

rhythm

.....The patterned flow of sound in poetry and prose.

stanza

.....A section or division of a poem; specifically, a grouping of lines into a recurring pattern.

assonance

.....The close repetition of middle vowel sounds between different consonant sounds.

internal conflict

.....A character's struggle against or within himself or herself.

external conflict

.....A character's struggle against nature or against another character.

mood

.....The prevailing emotional attitude in a literary work or in part of a work.

situational irony

.....The contrast between what is expected and what actually occurs.

verbal irony

..... A figure of speech in which there is a contrast between what is said and what is actually meant.

dramatic irony

.....A situation in literature in which the audience/reader is intended to understand something the characters do not.

hyperbole

.....Obvious exaggeration or overstatement meant to create humor or emphasis.

parody

.....A composition that ridicules another composition by imitating and exaggerating aspects of its content, structure or style.

oxymoron

.....A gifure of speech in which two contradictory words or phrases are combined in a single expression, giving the effect of a paradox.

paradox

.....A statement that, while apparently self-contradictory, is nonetheless essentially true.

tone

.....The author's attitude toward his or her subject, character, and readers.

foreshadowing

.....The technique of giving hints or clues that suggest or prepare for events that occur later in a work.

symbol

.....Anyting, usually something concrete that signifies or stands for something else, usually something abstract.

allegory

.....A work of literature in which characters, events, and settings represent abstract qualities and in which the writer intends a second meaning to be read beneath the surface story.

metaphor

.....An implied analogy in which one thing is imaginatively and directly compared to or identified with another, dissimilar thing.

allusion

.....A passing referenct to historical or fictional characters, places, or events, or to other works that the writer assumes the reader will recognize.

personification

.....A figure of speech in which human characteristics are attributed to animals, plants, inanimate objects, natural forces or abstract ideas.

theme

.....The central idea or message in a work of literature.

imagery

.....Figurative language that appeals to the five senses and creates "pictures in words."

analogy

.....A comparison of similar things that uses something familiar to explain something unfamiliar.

characterization

.....The method through which an author creates the appearance and personality of a character.

simile

.....A figure of speech that uses 'like', 'as', or 'as if' to compare two essentially different objects, actions, or atributes that share some aspect of similarity.