Explore our comprehensive glossary of poetry terms. Whether you're a student, teacher, or poetry enthusiast, our glossary will help you understand key concepts, definitions, and examples that are essential in the study of poetry.
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| Term | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Eclogue | A short pastoral poem, often in dialogue form. | Virgil's "Eclogues" are classic examples of this form. |
| Elegiac Stanza | A quatrain in iambic pentameter with an ABAB rhyme scheme, used for elegies. | Thomas Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" is an example. |
| Elegy | A poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead. | Walt Whitman's "O Captain! My Captain!" is an elegy for Abraham Lincoln. |
| End-Stopped | A line of poetry in which a grammatical pause and the physical end of the line coincide. | "Bright star, would I were as steadfast as thou art—" |
| Enjambment | The continuation of a sentence or clause across a line break. | "April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain." |
| Epic | A long narrative poem, often written about a hero or heroic deeds. | Homer's "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey" are epic poems. |
| Epigram | A brief, witty, and often paradoxical saying or poem. | "I can resist everything except temptation." - Oscar Wilde |
| Epistle | A poem in the form of a letter or series of letters. | Alexander Pope's "Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot" is a famous example. |
| Epistrophe | The repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences. | "Where now? Who now? When now?" |
| Epitaph | A brief poem or statement in memory of someone who has died, often inscribed on a tombstone. | "Here lies one whose name was writ in water." |