Poetry Glossary - Understand Poetry Terms

Term	Definition	Example
Novelinee	A poetic form composed of nine lines, typically with a specific rhyme scheme such as ABABCDCDE.	Any poem written in the Novelinee form, though it is a lesser-known structure.
Nursery Rhyme	A traditional poem or song for young children in Britain and many other countries, often featuring rhyming verses and simple, repetitive language.	Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Octave	An octave is a poetic form consisting of eight lines, often found in sonnets or longer poems. It typically follows a specific rhyme scheme, with the most common pattern being ABBAABBA. In many cases, the octave is written in iambic pentameter, which means each line has ten syllables with alternating stressed and unstressed beats. A well-known variation of the form is the Sicilian octave, which uses the ABABABAB rhyme pattern. The octave is frequently used to introduce or develop an argument or theme that is resolved in a subsequent section of the 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."
Paean	A song or lyric poem expressing triumph or thanksgiving.	In Greek literature, a paean was often dedicated to Apollo.
Palindrome	A word, phrase, or poem that reads the same backward as forward.	"A man, a plan, a canal, Panama."

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.