Transcript Literary Terms Teaching Powerpoint

Poetry Terms
Alliteration:
The repetition of sounds in a
group of words as in
“Peter Piper Picked a Peck
of Pickled Peppers.”
Allusion:
A reference to a person, place,
or thing--often literary,
mythological, or historical. The
infinitive of allusion is
to allude.
e.g. Romeo alludes to the
mythological figure Diana in the
balcony scene.
Assonance:
The repetition of vowel
sounds as in
“And so, all the night-tide, I lie down
by the side
Of my darling, my darling, my life and
my bride.
--Edgar Allan Poe, Annabel Lee
Consonance:
The repetition of consonant sounds
as in
“The fair breeze blew, the white
foam flew,
The furrow followed free;”
--The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Couplets:
A pair of rhyming lines in a
poem often set off from the
rest of the poem.
Shakespeare’s sonnets all
end in couplets.
End rhyme:
Rhyming words that are at
the ends of their respective
lines—what we typically think
of as normal rhyme.
Figurative Language:
Whenever you describe something by
comparing it with something else, you are
using figurative language. Any language that
goes beyond the literal meaning of words in
order to furnish new effects or fresh
insights into an idea or a subject.
e.g. Whenever you call something “cool,”
you’re not talking about its temperature but
referring to some other quality it possesses.
Free Verse:
Poetry with no set
meter (rhythm) or
rhyme scheme.
Iambic pentameter:
Ten-syllable lines in which
every other syllable is
stressed.
-’
e.g. “With eyes like stars
upon the brave night air.”
Imagery:
The use of description that helps the
reader imagine how something looks,
sounds, feels, smells, or tastes. Most
of the time, it refers to appearance.
e.g. “Tita was so sensitive to onions, any
time they were being chopped, they say she
would just cry and cry; when she was still in
my great-grandmother’s belly her sobs
were so loud that even Nacha, the cook,
who was half-deaf, could hear them easily.”
--Like Water for Chocolate
Internal rhyme:
A rhyme that occurs within
one line such as “He’s King of
the Swing.”
Metaphor:
A comparison of two unlike
things using any form of the
verb “to be”–-i.e. am, are, is,
was, were.
Ex: “This chair is a rock,” or
“I am an island.”
Meter:
The pattern of stressed and
unstressed syllables in the
lines of a poem.
Mood:
The feeling created in the
reader by a literary work or
passage. The mood may be
suggested by the writer's
choice of words, by events in
the work, or by the physical
setting.
Onomatopoeia:
The use of words that sound
like what they mean such as
“buzz,” “bang,” or “tic-tock.”
Personification:
Giving inanimate objects
human characteristics.
e.g. “The wind howled
through the night.”
Prose:
Writing organized into
sentences and paragraphs
that is not poetry.
e.g. Novels and short stories
are examples of prose.
Quatrain:
A four-line stanza.
Simile:
Comparing two unlike things
using “like” or “as.”
e.g. “I’m as hungry as a pig,” or
“Your eyes are like stars that
brighten my night.”
Stanza:
A major subdivision in a
poem. A stanza of two lines
is called a couplet; a stanza
of three lines is called a
tercet; a stanza of four lines
is called a quatrain.
Symbolism:
The use of one thing to
represent another. Something
that stands for something else.
e.g. A dove is a symbol of peace.
Theme:
The central idea of a work.
Tone:
The author’s attitude toward
the subject of the work.
Usually positive or negative.
e.g. The tone of a piece of
literature could be pessimistic,
optimistic, angry, or sarcastic.
Voice:
The authorial presence in a
piece of literature whether
in the first, second, or third
person.