"Discover the language of poetry, from alliteration to zeugma."
Showing 276 poetry terms — Page 16 of 28
| Term | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Paradox | A statement that contradicts itself but might be true. | This statement is false. |
| Parataxis | A style that places clauses or phrases side by side with little or no subordinating connectives; coordination dominates. | "I came, I saw, I conquered." |
| Paronomasia | A play on words; a pun. | "You can tune a guitar, but you can't tuna fish. Unless of course, you play bass." |
| Pastoral | A poem that depicts rural life in a peaceful, idealized way. | "The passionate shepherd to his love" by Christopher Marlowe. |
| Pathetic Fallacy | The attribution of human feelings and responses to inanimate things or animals, especially in art and literature. | The clouds were crying in his absence. |
| Pentameter | A metrical line consisting of five feet; in English, iambic pentameter is the most prominent line of traditional verse. | I dream | of seas | beneath | a moon | of glass. |
| Periphrasis | The use of many words where fewer would do; a roundabout way of speaking or writing. | "The bard of Avon" is a periphrasis for William Shakespeare. |
| Persona | The character or voice through which a poet speaks in a poem, which may or may not be the poet themselves. | Robert Browning's dramatic monologues use distinct personas. |
| Personification | The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form. | The wind whispered through the trees. |
| Petrarchan Sonnet | A sonnet form popularized by Petrarch, consisting of an octave with the rhyme scheme abbaabba and a sestet with one of several rhyme schemes, such as cdecde or cdcdcd. | John Milton's "When I Consider How My Light is Spent" is an example of a Petrarchan sonnet. |
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
• Search "sonnet" to see all types
• Look for related terms like "quatrain" and "couplet"