Poetry Terms

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What is a metaphor?

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A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things by stating that one is the other, e.g., 'Time is a thief.'

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What is alliteration?

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The repetition of the same initial consonant sounds in a sequence of words, e.g., 'She sells sea shells by the sea shore.'

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What is onomatopoeia?

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A word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound it describes, e.g., 'buzz', 'hiss', 'clang'.

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What is hyperbole?

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An exaggerated statement not meant to be taken literally, e.g., 'I'm so hungry I could eat a horse.'

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What is personification?

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A literary device where human qualities are attributed to animals, inanimate objects, or abstract concepts, e.g., 'The wind whispered through the trees.'

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What is figurative language?

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Language that uses words or expressions with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation, e.g., metaphors, similes, and idioms.

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What is free verse?

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A type of poetry that does not adhere to a specific meter or rhyme scheme, allowing for greater freedom in expression.

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What is rhyme?

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The repetition of similar sounds in two or more words, often at the end of lines in poems, e.g., 'cat' and 'hat'.

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What is a simile?

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A figure of speech that compares two different things using 'like' or 'as', e.g., 'Her smile is like the sun.'

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What is a stanza?

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A grouped set of lines in a poem, often separated by a space from other stanzas, similar to a paragraph in prose.