Poetry Terms

the repetition of initial consonant sounds

• Octave
• Example: "Love is like a red rose."
• Couplet
• Alliteration

indirect or passing reference to some person, place, or event. This could be biblical, historical, literary, artistic, etc. The nature of the reference is not explained because the writer relies on the reader's familiarity with it.

• Metaphor
• Rhyme
• Quatrain
• Allusion

a speech addressed to a dead or absent person or an abstract object.

• Apostrophe
• Symbol
• Sonnet
• Quatrain

A group of lines that repeat

• Alliteration
• Free Verse
• Chorus
• Rhyme

Implied or additional meaning for a word or phrase. These meanings are often subjective. For example, patriotism, which means love for one's country, can have many individual meanings.

• Rhyme
• Sonnet
• Hyperbole
• Connotation

two consecutive lines that rhyme with each other

• Repetition
• Speaker
• Couplet
• Parallelism

a poem with no set rhythm or rhyme scheme.

• Symbol
• Free Verse
• Chorus
• Epic

a three line poem consisting of 17 syllables (5, 7, 5 syllables)

• Hyperbole
• Symbol
• Haiku
• Rhythm

a figure of speech that uses exaggeration for effect.

• Hyperbole
• Haiku
• Triplet
• Allusion

a figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two things. Example: life is a dream

• Metaphor
• Repetition
• Symbol
• Haiku