"Discover the language of poetry, from alliteration to zeugma."
Found 8 terms starting with "D"
Term | Definition | Example |
---|---|---|
Dactyl | A metrical foot consisting of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables. | "Half a league, half a league, half a league onward." |
Diction | The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing. | The diction in the poem was formal and appropriate for the theme. |
Didactic Poetry | Poetry intended to teach or convey a moral message. | Alexander Pope's "Essay on Criticism" is a didactic poem. |
Dimeter | A line of verse consisting of two metrical feet. | "Up the | mountain, | Down the | valley." |
Dirge | A mournful poem or song expressing grief, especially for the dead. | Walt Whitman's "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" is a dirge for Abraham Lincoln. |
Dirge | A mournful song or poem for the dead. | "A Dirge" by Percy Bysshe Shelley is a well-known example. |
Doggerel | Crude, simplistic verse, often in sing-song rhyme. | A poem of no literary value is often termed doggerel. |
Dramatic Monologue | A poem in the form of a speech or narrative by an imagined person, in which the speaker inadvertently reveals aspects of their character. | Robert Browning's "My Last Duchess" is a famous dramatic monologue. |
Our comprehensive Poetry Glossary, designed for students, teachers, and poetry enthusiasts alike. Whether you're delving into poetic forms, exploring rhyme schemes, or understanding the nuances of metrical feet, our glossary is an essential resource to enhance your study of poetry.
Our glossary covers a wide range of poetry terms, from alliteration, the repetition of initial consonant sounds, to the structure of free verse, which flows without a fixed metrical pattern. Learn about how stressed and unstressed syllables form the foundation of metrical feet, or explore how a rhyme scheme organizes the pattern of sounds at the end of lines in a poem.
Use the search function to quickly find terms like group of lines in a stanza or the repetition of sounds in a poem or section. Whether you're looking to understand how a series of words creates rhythmic patterns or how the number of syllables affects the flow of a line of poetry, our glossary has the definitions and examples you need.
Finding terms is easy:
Tip: Try searching for "rhyme," "meter," or "sonnet" to get started!
Every entry includes three key parts:
Iambic Pentameter: A rhythm pattern of 10 syllables per line, alternating unstressed-stressed.
Example: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" (Shakespeare)
Note: Most common meter in English sonnets.
Our examples help you see poetry terms in action:
Our glossary covers all major areas of poetry:
Rhyme schemes, meter, alliteration, assonance
Metaphor, simile, personification, symbolism
Sonnets, haikus, villanelles, free verse
Stanzas, lines, caesura, enjambment
Sonnets are one of poetry's most beloved forms. Here's how to explore them:
Structure: 3 quatrains + 1 couplet
Rhyme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
Famous: "Shall I compare thee..."
Structure: 1 octave + 1 sestet
Rhyme: ABBAABBA CDECDE
Origin: Italian tradition
• Click "S" in the alphabetical menu
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• Look for related terms like "quatrain" and "couplet"