Poetry Glossary - Understand Poetry Terms

Term	Definition	Example
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."
Euphemism	A mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt.	"Passed away" is a euphemism for "died."

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.