ELEMENTS OF POETRY

Terms Set #1: FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

DEFINITION OF POETRY:
style: fgures of speech, graar, se!te!ces"phrases,
rhyth
structure: sta!#as, l$!es, arg$!s, le!gths
co!te!t: top$cs % a!yth$!g
T&REE MIST'(EN 'PPRO')&ES TO POETRY:
1. It must rhyme.
*+ It,s al-ays .eaut$ful+
/+ It al-ays co!0eys a thee+
SOME TYPES OF POEMS:
- !arrat$0e: a long story told in verse form; an epic is an example of a
narrative poem
- lyr$c: a brief, personal poem that uses many sound devices, as well as
rhythm and meter, and is flled with emotion; sonnets, odes and elegies
are types of lyrics
- .alla1: a type of poem that is actually meant to be sung and is both lyric
A! narrative in nature
FI23RES OF SPEE)& 4-or1s or phrases that 1escr$.e o!e th$!g $!
ters of a!other a!1 $s !ot ea!t to .e ta5e! o! a l$teral le0el 6
a+5+a+ fgurat$0e la!guage7:
8+ s$$le: two dissimilar things that are compared using words such as
"li#e,$ "than,$ "as,$ or "resembles.$
"A dungeon horrible, on all sides around % as one great furnace
&amed$
*+ etaphor: ma#es a comparison between two unli#e things
1$rect etaphor: the literal term and the fgurative term are both
named
"'ife, the hound, comes at a bound either to rend me or to
befriend me$
$pl$e1 etaphor: the literal term is named and the fgurative
term is implied
"(y love blossoms over time$
e9te!1e1 etaphor: a metaphor ) direct or implied ) that is
developed over more than one line of poetry
/+ perso!$fcat$o!: giving human or animate *ualities to an animal, an
ob+ect or a concept
",he mirror has no preconceptions and is always truthful.$
:+ apostrophe: addressing someone absent or dead or something
nonhuman as if it were alive and present and could reply
"!eath, be not proud.$
;+ l$terary allus$o!: a reference to a person, place or thing from
previous literature
the three most common sources for literary allusions-
1. the .ible
/. 0ree# and 1oman mythology
2. 3ha#espeare4s wor#s
<+ hyper.ole: using exaggeration for emphasis; overstatement
"the eagle &ies close to the sun in lonely lands$
=+ l$totes: a special form of understatement, it a5rms something by
negating the opposite
"6e4s no fool$ 7 he is very shrewd
>+ $ro!y: states one thing when in fact the opposite meaning is intended
?+ a!t$thes$s: a strong contrast of words, clauses, sentences or ideas
that shows opposing ideas through opposing grammatical structures
"(an proposes, 0od disposes$
"8air is foul and foul is fair$
8@+ sy!ec1oche: using a part of something to represent the whole
thing
",he cuc#oo4s song is unpleasing to the married ear$
88+ eto!yy: the substitution of one word for another closely
associated word
",he crown sat, loo#ing upon her sub+ects$
8*+ para1o9: a statement that although seemingly contradictory or
absurd may actually be well-founded or true 9similar to an oxymoron:
"(uch madness is divinest sense$
8/+ sy.ol: something 9ob+ect, person, situation or action: that
means more than what it is
SO3ND DEAI)ES 4fgures of speech that perta$! to the -ay -or1s
sou!1 $! a l$!e of poetry7:
1. all$terat$o!: the repetition at close intervals of the initial consonant
sounds of certain words
"(ar# my melodious midnight moans$
/. co!so!a!ce: the repetition at close intervals of middle or end
consonant sounds of certain words
";ven heaven has given the wind one tone$
2. asso!a!ce: the similarity and repetition of vowel sounds of certain
words at close intervals
"3he lives free and easy$
<. o!oatopoe$a: the use of words that mimic their meaning in their
sound
boom, bu==, pop, clic#
>. repet$t$o!: repeating a word or a phrase within a poem in order to?
1. ma#e it easier to remember
/. emphasi=e an important idea
2. give the poem structural unity
parallel$s: the repetition of the structure of a / or more lines in a
poem
"@hy do I love youA 'et me tell you true.
@hy do I love youA If only you #new.$
catalogu$!g- the listing of words, images, or attributes
",he ballerina spun, twirled, &oated, &ew?$
B. refra$!: the repetition of a word or phrase or line9s: at defnite
intervals in a poem