PoetryGlossary

Allegory:Anallegoryisakindofextendedmetaphor(ametaphorthatweavesthroughoutthepoem)inwhichobjects,persons,andactionsstandforanothermeaning.

Alliteration:Alliterationhappenswhenwordsthatbeginwiththesamesoundareplacedclosetooneanother.Forexample,“thesillysnakesilentlyslinkedby”isaformofalliteration.Trysayingthattentimesfast.

Allusion:Anallusionhappenswhenaspeakerorcharactermakesabriefandcasualreferencetoafamoushistoricalorliteraryfigureorevent.

Anaphora:Anaphorainvolvestherepetitionofthesamewordorgroupofwordsatthebeginningofsuccessiveclausesorsections.Thinkofanannoyingkidonaroadtrip:“Arewethereyet?/Arewegoingtostopsoon?/Arewehavinglunchsoon?”.Notapoemwe’dliketoreadinitsentirety,buttherepetitionoftheword“are”isanaphora.

Anthologize:Toputinapoetryanthology,usuallyforteachingpurposes,sothatstudentshaveabroadselectionofworkstochoosefrom.Usually,thewordwillcomeupinacontextlikethis:“That’soneofhermostfamouspoems.I’veseenitanthologizedalot.”Ananthologyisabookthathassamplesoftheworkofalotofdifferentwriters.It’slikeaplateofappetizerssoyoucantryoutabunchofstuff.Youcanalsofindanthologiesfordifferentperiods,likeRomantic,Modern,andPostmodern.TheNorton,Columbia,andBestAmericananthologiesarethreeofthemostfamous.

Apostrophe:Apostropheiswhenanidea,person,object,orabsentbeingisaddressedasifitortheywerepresent,alive,andkicking.JohnDonneusesapostrophewhenhewritesthis:"Deathbenotproud,thoughsomehavecalledthee/Mightyanddreadful."

AvantGarde:You’llhearthiswordusedtodescribesomeofthecraziest,mostfar-out,experimentalpoets.ItwasoriginallyaFrenchexpressionthatreferstothesoldierswhogoexploreaterritorybeforethemainarmycomesin.Avantgardeartistsareoftenpeoplewhobreakthroughboundariesanddowhat’sneverbeendonebefore.Thenagain,sometimesthere’sagoodreasonwhysomethinghasbeendonebefore…

Ballad:Aballadisasong:thinkboybandsandchest-thumpingemotion.Butinpoetry,aballadisancientformofstorytelling.Inthe(very)olddays,commonpeopledidn’tgettheirstoriesfrombooks–theyweresungasmusicalpoems.Becausetheyaremeanttoconveyinformation,balladsusuallyhaveasimplerhythmandaconsistentrhymescheme.Theyoftentellthestoryofeverydayheroes,andsomepoets,likeBobDylan,continuetosetthemtomusic.

BlankVerse:ThankstoShakespeareandothers,blankverseisoneofthemostcommonformsofEnglishpoetry.It’sversethathasnorhymeschemebuthasaregularmeter.Usuallythismeterisiambicpentameter(checkoutourdefinitionbelow).WhyisblankversesocommoninEnglish?Well,alotofpeoplethinkwespeakinitinoureverydayconversations.Kindoflikewejustdid:“aLOTofPEO-pleTHINKweSPEAKinIT.”Thatcouldbeablankverseline.

Cadence:Cadencereferstotherhythmicormusicalelementsofapoem.Youcanthinkofitasthethingthatmakespoetrysoundlikepoetry.Whereas“meter”referstotheregularelementsofrhythm–thebeatsoraccents–“cadence”referstothemomentaryvariationsinrhythm,likewhenalinespeedsuporslowsdown.Poetsoftenrepeatorcontrastcertaincadencestocreateamoreinterestingsoundthannormalprose.

Caesura:Afancywordforapausethatoccursinthemiddleofalineofverse.Usethisifwanttosoundsmart,butwethink“pause”isjustfine.Youcancreatepausesinalotofways,butthemostobviousistousepunctuationlikeaperiod,comma,orsemicolon.Notethatapauseattheendofalineisnotacaesura.

Chiasmus:Chiasmusconsistsoftwoparallelphrasesinwhichcorrespondingwordsorphrasesareplacedintheoppositeorder:“Fairisfoul,foulisfair.”

Cliché:Clichésarephrasesorexpressionsthatareusedsomuchineverydaylife,thatpeoplerolltheireyeswhentheyhearthem.Forexample,“deadasadoornail”isacliché.Ingoodpoetry,clichésareneverusedwithastraightface,soifyouseeone,considerwhythespeakermightbeusingit.

ConcretePoetry:Concretepoetryconveysmeaningbyhowitlooksonthepage.It’snotasuper-accurateterm,anditcanrefertoalotofdifferentkindsofpoems.Oneclassicexampleispoemsthatlookliketheythingtheydescribe.TheFrenchpoetGuillaumeApollinairewroteapoemaboutParisintheshapeoftheEiffeltower.

Connotation:Thesuggestivemeaningofaword–theassociationsitbringsup.Thereasonit’snotpolitetocallamentally-handicappedperson“retarded”isthatthewordhasanegativeconnotation.Connotationsdependalotonthecultureandexperienceofthepersonreadingtheword.Forsomepeople,theword“l(fā)iberal”hasapositiveconnotation.Forothers,it’snegative.Thinkofconnotationasthemurkyhazehangingaroundtheliteralmeaningofaword.Tryingtofigureoutconnotationsofwordscanbeoneofthemostconfusingandfascinatingaspectsofreadingpoetry.

Contradiction:Twostatementsthatdon’tseemtoagreewitheachother.“IgetsoberwhenIdrinkalcohol”isacontradiction.Somecontradictions,like“paradox”(seeourdefinitionbelow),areonlyapparent,andtheybecometruewhenyouthinkabouttheminacertainway.

Denotation:Theliteral,straightforwardmeaningofaword.It’s“dictionarydefinition.”Theword“cat”denotesananimalwithfourlegsandahabitofcoughingupfurballs.

DramaticMonologue:Youcanthinkofadramaticmonologueinpoetryasaspeechtakenfromaplaythatwasneverwritten.Okay,maybethat’sconfusing.It’sapoemwritteninthevoiceofafictionalcharacteranddeliveredtoafictionallistener,insteadofinthevoiceofapoettohisorherreaders.TheBritishpoetRobertBrowningisoneofthemostfamouswritersofdramaticmonologues.Theyare“dramatic”becausetheycanbeactedout,justlikeaplay,andtheyaremonologuesbecausetheyconsistofjustonepersonspeakingtoanotherperson,justasa“dialogue”consistsoftwopeoplespeaking.(Theprefix“mono”means“one,”whereas“di”means“two”).

Elegy:Anelegyisapoemaboutadeadpersonorthing.Wheneveryouseeapoemwiththetitle,“InMemoryof...”,forexample,you’retalkingaboutanelegy.Kindoflikethattwo-linepoemyouwroteforyourpetrabbitBubbleswhenyouwerefiveyearsold.Poor,poorBubbles.

Ellipsis:Youseeellipsesallthetime,usuallyintheformof“…”.Anellipsisinvolvesleavingoutorsuppressingwords.It’slike...well,yougettheidea.

Enjambment:Whenaphrasecarriesoveraline-breakwithoutamajorpause.InFrench,thewordmeans,“straddling,”whichwethinkisaperfectwaytoenvisionanenjambedline.Here’sanexampleofenjambmentfromapoembyJoyceKilmer:'IthinkthatIshallneversee/Apoemaslovelyasatree.”Thesentencecontinuesrightoverthebreakwithonlyaslightpause.

Extendedmetaphor:Acentralmetaphorthatactslikean“umbrella”toconnectothermetaphorsorcomparisonswithinit.Itcanspanseverallinesoranentirepoem.WhenoneofShakespeare’scharactersdeliversanentirespeechabouthowalltheworldisastageandpeoplearejustactors,that’sextendedmetaphor,withtheideaof“theater”beingtheumbrellaconnectingeverything.

Foot:Themostbasicunitofapoem’smeter,afootisacombinationoflongandshortsyllables.Thereareallkindsofdifferentfeet,suchas“LONG-short”and“short-short-LONG.”Thefirstthreewordsofthefamousholidaypoem,“’TwastheNightbeforeChristmas,”areonemetricalfoot(short-short-LONG).Byfarthemostimportantfoottoknowistheiamb:short-LONG.Aniambislikeoneheartbeat:ba-DUM.

FreeVerse:“Freebird!Playfreebird!”O(jiān)ops,wemeant“Freeverse!Definefreeverse!”Freeverseisapoeticstylethatlacksaregularmeterorrhymescheme.Thismaysoundlikefreeversehasnostyleatall,butusuallythereissomerecognizableconsistencytothewriter’suseofrhythm.WaltWhitmanwasoneofthepioneersoffreeverse,andnobodyeverhadtroubleidentifyingaWhitmanpoem.

Haiku:ApoeticforminventedbytheJapanese.InEnglish,thehaikuhasthreesectionswithfivesyllables,sevensyllables,andfivesyllablesrespectively.Theyoftendescribenaturalimageryandincludeawordthatrevealstheseasoninwhichthepoemisset.Asidefromitsthreesections,thehaikualsotraditionallyfeaturesasharpcontrastbetweentwoideasorimages.

HeroicCouplet:Heroiccoupletsarerhymingpairsofverseiniambicpentameter.Whatonearthdidthis“couplets”dotobecome“heroic”?Didtheypullacatoutofatreeorsaveanoldladyfromaburningbuilding?Infact,no.Theyarecalled“heroic”becauseintheolddaysofEnglishpoetrytheywereusedtotalkaboutthetrialsandadventuresofheroes.Althoughheroiccoupletstotallyruledthepoetrysceneforalongtime,especiallyinthe17thand18thcenturies,nowadaystheycansoundkindofold-fashioned.

Hyperbole:Ahyperboleisagrossexaggeration.Forexample,“tonsofmoney”isahyperbole.

IambicPentameter:Hereitis,folks.Probablythesinglemostusefultechnicalterminpoetry.Let’sbreakitdown:an“iamb”isanunaccentedsyllablefollowedbyanaccentedone.“Penta”means“five,”and“meter”referstoaregularrhythmicpattern.So“iambicpentameter”isakindofrhythmicpatternthatconsistoffiveiambsperline.It’sthemostcommonrhythminEnglishpoetryandsoundslikefiveheartbeats:ba-DUM,ba-DUM,ba-DUM,ba-DUM,ba-DUM.Let’stryitoutonthefirstlineofShakespeare’sRomeoandJuliet:“InfairVerona,wherewelayourscene.”Everysecondsyllableisaccented,sothisisclassiciambicpentameter.

Imagery:Imageryisintense,descriptivelanguageinapoemthathelpstotriggeroursensesandourmemorieswhenwereadit.

Irony:Ironyinvolvessayingonethingwhilereallymeaninganother,contradictorything.

Metaphor:Ametaphorhappenswhenonethingisdescribedasbeinganotherthing.“You’reatoad!”isametaphor–althoughnotaveryniceone.Andmetaphorisdifferentfromsimilebecauseitleavesoutthewords“l(fā)ike”or“as.”Forexample,asimilewouldbe,“You’relikeatoad.”

Metonymy:Metonymyhappenswhensomeattributeofwhatisbeingdescribedisusedtoindicatesomeotherattribute.Whentalkingaboutthepowerofaking,forexample,onemayinsteadsay"thecrown"--thatis,thephysicalattributethatisusuallyidentifiedwithroyaltyandpower.

Ode:Apoemwritteninpraiseorcelebrationofaperson,thing,orevent.Odeshavebeenwrittenabouteverythingfromfamousbattlesandloftyemotionstofamilypetsandhouseholdappliances.Whatwouldyouwriteanodeabout?

Onomatopoeia:Besidesbeingareallyfunwordtosayaloud,onomatopoeiareferseithertowordsthatresembleinsoundwhattheyrepresent.Forexample,doyouhearthehissingnoisewhenyousaytheword“hiss”aloud?AndtheoldBatmantelevisionshowlovedonomatopoeia:“Bam!Pow!Kaplow!”

Oxymoron:Anoxymoronisthecombinationoftwotermsordinarilyseenasopposites.Forexample,“terriblygood”isanoxymoron.

Paradox:Astatementthatcontradictsitselfandnonethelessseemstrue.It’saparadoxwhenJohnDonnewrites,“Death,thoushaltdie,”becausehe’susing“death”intwodifferentsenses.Amoreeverydayexamplemightbe,“Nobodygoestotherestaurantbecauseit’stoocrowded.”

Parallelism:Parallelismhappensalotinpoetry.Itisthesimilarityofstructureinapairorseriesofrelatedwords,phrases,orclauses.JuliusCaesar’sfamouswords,“Icame,Isaw,Iconquered,”areanexampleofparallelism.Eachclausebeginswith“I”andendswithaverb.

Pastoral:Apoemaboutnatureorsimple,countrylife.Ifthepoemyou’rereadingfeaturesbabblingbrooks,gentlyswayingtrees,hiddenvalleys,rustichaystacks,andsweetlysingingmaidens,you’reprobablydealingwithapastoral.TheoldestEnglishpastoralpoemswerewrittenabouttheEnglishcountryside,butthereareplentyofpastoralsabouttheAmericanlandscape,too.

Personification:Personificationinvolvesgivinghumantraits(qualities,feelings,action,orcharacteristics)tonon-livingobjects(things,colors,qualities,orideas).

Pun:Apunisaplayonwords.Punsshowusthemultiplemeaningsofawordbyreplacingthatwordwithanotherthatissimilarinsoundbuthasaverydifferentmeaning.Forexample,“whenShmoopwenttrick-or-treatinginaBatmancostume,hegotlotsofsnickers.”Hehe.

Quatrain:Astanzawithfourlines.Quatrainsarethemostcommonstanzaform.

Refrain:Arefrainisaregularlyrecurringphraseorverseespeciallyattheendofeachstanzaordivisionofapoemorsong.ForexampleinT.S.Eliot’sLoveSongforJ.AlfredPrufrock,theline,“intheroomthewomencomeandgo/TalkingofMichelangelo”isarefrain.

RhetoricalQuestion:Rhetoricalquestionsinvolveaskingaquestionforapurposeotherthanobtainingtheinformationrequested.Forexample,whenweask,“Shmoop,areyounuts?”,wearemainlyexpressingourbeliefthatShmoopiscrazy.Inthiscase,wedon’treallyexpectShmooptotelluswhetherornottheyarenuts.

RhymingCouplet:Arhymingcoupletisapairofversesthatrhyme.It’sthesimplestandmostcommonrhymescheme,butitcanhavemorecomplicatedvariations(see“HeroicCouplet”foroneexample).

Simile:Similescompareonethingdirectlytoanother.Forexample,"Myloveislikeaburningflame”isasimile.Youcanquicklyidentifysimileswhenyouseethewords“l(fā)ike”or“as”used,asin“xislikey.”Similesaredifferentfrommetaphors–forexample,ametaphorwouldreferto"theburningflameofmylove."

Slam:Aformofcontemporarypoetrythatismeanttobeperformedatinformalcompetitionsratherthanread.Slamreadingsareoftenverypoliticalinnatureanddrawheavilyfromtherhythmsandenergyofhip-hopmusic.

SlantRhyme:Arhymethatisn’tquitearhyme.Thewords“dear”and“door”formaslantrhyme.Thewordssoundsimilar,buttheyaren’tcloseenoughtomakeafullrhyme.

Sonnet:Awell-knownpoeticform.TwoofthemostfamousexamplesarethesonnetsofWilliamShakespeareandJohnDonne.Atraditionalsonnethasfourteenlinesiniambicpentameterandaregularrhymescheme.Sonnetsalsofeaturea“turn”somewhereinthemiddle,wherethepoemtakesanewdirectionorchangesitsargumentinsomeway.Thischangecanbesubtleorreallyobvious.AlthoughweEnglish-speakingfolkswouldlovetotakecreditfortthisamazingform,itwasactuallydevelopedbytheItaliansanddidn’tarriveinEnglanduntilthe16thcentury.

Speaker:Thespeakeristhevoicebehindthepoem–thepersonweimaginetobespeaking.It’simportanttonotethatthespeakerisnotthepoet.Evenifthepoemisbiographical,youshouldtreatthespeakerasafictionalcreation,becausethewriterischoosingwhattosayabouthimself.Besides,eve