POETRY TERMINOLOGY BY SISRANA

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Poetry Terminology
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Meter and Rhythm

meter - the number of feet (i.e. usually equals the number of stressed syllables, but not always) per line, as in monometer, dimeter, trimeter, tetrameter, pentameter, hexameter, heptameter, and octameter

iambic foot - unstressed followed by stressed syllable

trochaic foot - stressed followed by an unstressed

anapestic foot - 2 unstressed followed by a stressed

dactylic foot - stressed followed by 2 unstressed

spondaic foot - 2 stressed

verse - number of feet in each line (dimeter-2, trimeter-3, tetrameter-4, pentameter-5, etc.)

iambic pentameter - contains 5 iambic feet (an unstressed followed by a stressed syllable)

alexandrine - 6 iambic feet

sprung rhythm - a poetic rhythm designed to approximate the natural rhythm of speech, developed by Gerard Manley Hopkins. In it, a foot may be composed of one to four syllables; because stressed syllables often occur one after another (rather than in alteration with unstressed syllables) the rhythm is said to be "sprung."

Verse and Stanza Forms

blank verse -- unrhymed iambic pentameter

rhyme royal -- 7 lines, iambic pentameter, ababbcc (Chaucerian)

ballad stanza -- a quatrain in which the odd-numbered lines use iambic tetrameter and the even-numbered lines us iambic trimeter. The rhyme scheme is abcb.

free verse - does not have a fixed metrical foot or a fixed number of feet in its lines

heroic couplet - rhymed iambic pentameter closed couplets (ending with a terminal mark of punctuation-period, semicolon, quesiton mark, etc.) used in heroic tragedies--principal form of neoclassical style in early 17th Century

terza rima - aba, bcb, cdc, ded....rhyme scheme. Used in Divine Comedy.

ballad stanza - quatrains alternating tetrameter (4 ft.) and trimeter (3 ft.) rhyming abcb

rhyme royal - 7 line iambic pentameter stanza consisting of a quatrain dovetailed into two couplets (ababbcc), as in Chaucer's "Trolius and Criseide"

ottava rima - 8 lines rhyming abababcc, closing with a witty couplet, as in Wyatt

Spenserian stanza - 9 lines rhyming ababbcbcc; 1st 8 are pentameter, last is an alexandrine, as in Keat's "Eve of St. Agnes", or Shelley's "Adonais"

Petrarchian sonnet - 14 lines, explores the contrary states of feeling a lover experiences over an unattainable lady, (i.e. fire of love vs. ice of chastity)

English sonnet - 14 lines consisting of 3 quatrains and a couplet (Shakespeare and Surrey), with rhyme scheme abab cdcd efef gg, iambic pentameter

Spenserian sonnet - abab bcbc cdcd ee rhyme scheme, iambic pentameter

verse paragraphs - divisions of sense where stanzaic divisions do not exist (as in Milton's Paradise Lost)

Types / Genres of Poetry

ode -- a lyric or song-like poem that is dignified, serious, and elaborate in stanzaic structure

elegy -- a sustained and formal poem setting forth the poet's meditations on death or another solemn theme

pastoral -- a conventional, artificial form that often expresses a city poety's nostalgic view of the peace and simplicity of rural life, but behing it lies the sentiments and issues of the poet's society

pastoral elegy -- an elegy in which the author and the one he mourns are presented as shepherds. Conventions often found in the pastoral elegy are: (1) invoking the muses (2) making reference to classical mythology (3) having nature itself mourn the death (4) charging the dead man’s guardians with negligence (5) presenting a procession of mourners (6) raising questions about divine justice and condemning the corruption of contemporary times (7) including passages in which flowers are brought to deck the coffin or hearse, and (8) issuing a closing consolation

epic -- literary form that must at least meet these criteria: (1) long narrative poem (2) on a great and serious subject (3) related in an elevate style and (4) centered on a heroic figure on whose actions hang the fate of a tribe, nation, or race

dramatic monologue -- a poem written in the form of a speech of an individual character; it reveals the character's psychology, history, and motivation in a subtle way, perfected by Robert Browning

epithalamium - a lyric ode in honor of a bride and groom

Other Terms Used in Poetry

enjambment - one line flows into the next without an end stop

invocation -- calling on a Muse or God for inspiration, usually occurs at the beginning of the poem (Milton, Paradise Lost)

assonance - relatively close juxtaposition of similar vowel sounds: "For 'tis to that high title I aspire"

alliteration - repetition of initial consonant sounds: "careful, curious cats"

masculine rhyme - rhyme is last syllable (found--rebound)

feminine rhyme - rhyme is followed by an unaccented syllable (founding--bounding)

catalog -- a list in poetry

carpe diem -- seize the day; generally, a genre of poetry encouraging sex while one is still young and beautiful