Poetry_glossary

USEFUL GLOSSARY OF TERMS FOR
WRITING ABOUT POETRY

ACCENT	the regional pronunciation of words
ALLITERATION	the repetition of initial letters to create a sound effect, e.g. Sammy the Snake slithered and slid.
COLLOQUIAL LANGUAGE	popular words and phrases which can be found in everyday conversation (slang)
COUPLETS	pairs of lines where the last words rhyme
DIALECT	a region’s distinctive vocabulary and grammar (different from ACCENT)
IMAGERY	the descriptive language used to create a particular picture, feeling or mood in the reader’s imagination
METAPHOR	a particular kind of image which describes something as though it were something else, for example the flowering plant in ‘Search For My Tongue’.
MOOD	atmosphere of a poem and the feelings which it evokes.
NARRATOR	the speaker, the person who tells what happens in a poem or story.
ONOMATOPOEIA	the sounds of words used to reflect their meaning, e.g. bang, crash, pop, clang.
PERSONIFICATION	a type of metaphor where an animal, object or idea is described as if it were human.
PHONETICS	the way a word is spelt as it might be pronounced.
PUNS	sometimes called a play on words
RHYME	words that have a matching sound.
SIMILE	the direct comparison of one thing with another. Most similes make the comparision by using the words ‘as’ or ‘like’.
STANDARD ENGLISH	a way of speaking and writing English which avoids words which are regional variations or dialect words.
STANZA	poems are often organised into groups of lines called stanzas or verses.
STRUCTURE	the shape and organisation of a text.
THEME	the subject or subjects covered by a writer: not simply the facts and the happenings covered in the plot, but the underlying meaning behind them
TONE	the attitude of the poem, for example serious, humorous or sarcastic
VOICE	the voice of a poem helps to suggest its mood, attitude and purpose. Essentially, it can be defined as the way we might choose to express the words and lines, were we to read the poem out loud.