Poetic Terms

1. Poetic Terms More stuff to know

2. Elements Rhythm: • the actual sound that results from a line of poetry • how the meter interacts with other elements of the language

3. Elements Rhyme: • A set pattern • Many types of poems have specific rhyme schemes • Most common: A-A-B-B • The first two lines rhyme • Second two lines rhyme • When two lines rhyme and have the same meter couplet

4. Style Symbolism: • When an object, person, place or action represents something else • By association or resemblance Example: • Red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP” • Skull and crossbones for “poison” • Dove for “peace”

5. Style Irony: • It is ironic when there is a difference between what is spoken and what is meant (the literal meaning) • A contradiction Example: • Online pop-ups offering to help you get rid of online pop-ups. • Working for hours on your makeup and outfit, then walking down the street and having some car go through a puddle and spray you everywhere

6. Style Imagery: • descriptive language that evokes sensory experience Types: • Simile • Metaphor • Visual imagery (the most common) – “The crimson liquid…” • Auditory imagery – represents a sound • Olfactory imagery – represents a smell • Gustatory imagery – represents a taste • Tactile imagery – represents touch

7. Style Apathy: • When there is absolutely no emotional involvement • You simply DON’T CARE! Examples: • Throwing garbage out your car window • Washing a small load of laundry in a large load cycle • Skipping your friend’s birthday because you are “too tired” • Not trying in school

8. Style Analogy: • A way of explaining something by comparing it to something else Examples: • She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli, and he was room-temperature Canadian beef. • Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze. • The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

9. Style Antithesis: • The exact opposite of something • Used in balanced phrases Examples: • She is easy on the eyes, hard on the heart • Let’s agree to disagree

10. Style Allegory: • A story which has a deeper message • An extended metaphor • The meaning lies outside the text Examples: • “The Force” from Star Wars = duality of good/evil in each of us • Avatar = Pandora woods is a lot like the Amazon rainforest • ALL fables (Hansel & Gretel) • “The Matrix” – Truth, free will, the arrival of “The One” (messianic figure), the “ideal” world

11. Style Allusion: • An indirect reference to something else Examples: • She was breathtakingly beautiful, but he knew that she was forbidden fruit. (forbidden fruit in Eden  downfall, destruction) • His wife was his Achilles' heel. (Achilles’ heel = ultimate weakness) • “I was not born in a manger. I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father, Jor-el, to save the Planet Earth.” – Barak Obama

12. Style Idiom: • When a group of words means something different than each of the words separately Examples: • A chip on your shoulder • A leopard can’t change its spots • A taste of your own medicine • Adding fuel to the fire

13. Style Euphemism: • Sugar-coating/morally-correct way of say it • Inoffensive term for an offensive one Examples: • Between jobs = unemployed • Lose your lunch = barf! • Call of nature = got to pee… • He/She has a good personality = ????

14. Style Hyperbole: • An extreme over-exaggeration Examples: • I’m so hungry I could eat a horse • If I don’t get those jeans, I will DIE!! • I have a ton of homework

15. Style Cliché: • An expression or idea which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect Examples: • A chain is only as strong as its weakest link • Easy as pie • Every cloud has a silver lining

16. Style Oxymoron: • A figure of speech that contains contradictory terms Examples: • Jumbo shrimp • Friendly fire • Hells Angels • Killed with kindness • Sound of silence • Cold sweat