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.
Use the search function to quickly find specific terms, or browse through the entire glossary to enhance your understanding of poetic devices and literary terms.
| Term | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Octave | An eight-line stanza or poem. | The first eight lines of a Petrarchan sonnet form an octave. |
| Ode | A type of lyrical stanza, a poem that praises something or someone. | John Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn" is a classic example. |
| Onomatopoeia | A word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. | The bees buzzed, and the brook gurgled as it flowed. |
| Ottava Rima | A stanza of eight lines with an ABABABCC rhyme scheme. | Byron used ottava rima in "Don Juan". |
| Oxymoron | A figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction. | Jumbo shrimp, deafening silence. |
| Oxymoron | A figure of speech in which two opposite ideas are joined to create an effect. | "Deafening silence." |