Glossary_of_Poetic_Terms.doc

Glossary of Poetic TermsAAbecedarian PoemType of acrostic where each line or verse begins with a successive letter of the alphabet; sometimes known as an alphabet poem.Academy of American PoetsNon-profit making organisation founded in 1934 to promote/support poetry and poets in the US. Visit their website.AcatalecticA complete metrical line - as opposed to a catalectic or truncated line.AccentUsually refers to a stressed syllable within a particular metrical pattern (e.g. iambic or dactylic meter - see meter) - but can also refer to an emphasised syllable due to pitch, loudness or the rhythms of normal speech.AcrosticPoem where the first letter of each line spells out a significant word e.g.Flat land stretchingEndlessly be-Neath a hugeSky. The term acrostic derives from the Greek for at the tip of the verse. See also telestich.AdonicClassical meter consisting of a dactyl and a spondee - as in the final line of a Sapphic.Aesthetic Movement1880s literary movement associated with Walter Pater and John Ruskin who advocated that art should serve no useful purpose. The term art for arts sake is synonymous with the movement. A.C. Swinburne, Oscar Wilde and Edgar Allan Poe were followers of the movement.See also Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood.AfflatusPoetic inspiration.Aide-Memoire PoemPoem which helps the memory e.g. Thirty days hath September,/April, June and NovemberAlcaicsFour line stanza invented by Greek poet Alcaeus and normally employing a dactylic meter. Milton by Tennyson is a more recent example.AlexandrineOriginally a twelve syllable meter in French prosody. However, the English equivalent is the iambic hexameter - see meter. An example of alexandrine verse is Testament of Beauty by Robert Bridges.AllegoryA poem in which the characters or descriptions convey a hidden symbolic or moral message. For example, the various knights in The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser are allegorical representations of virtues such as truth, friendship and justice. Another example of allegory is Absalom and Achitophel by Dryden. In this poem Dryden uses a biblical scheme to satirise some of the leading political figures of his day including the Earl of Shaftesbury (Achitophel) and the Duke of Monmouth (Absalom).AlliterationThe effect created when words with the same initial letter (usually consonants) are used in close proximity e.g. Ariels Songs from The Tempest Full fathom five thy father lies. The repeated f sound is alliterative. Alliteration is sometimes referred to as head rhyme. Other examples of alliteration include: Only the stuttering rifles rapid rattle from Anthem for Doomed Youth by Wilfred Owen and the amazing five consecutive ds in The Windhover by Hopkins - king-dom of daylights dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon.Alliterative VerseVerse tradition stemming from the Germanic lands and evidenced in Anglo-Saxon epics and Icelandic sagas. The alliterative line was normally written in two halves - with each half containing two strongly stressed syllables. Of the four stressed syllables two, three or even four would begin with the same sound. During the 14th century in England there was an alliterative revival which produced works such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Vision of Piers Plowman by William Langland. Below are the opening lines of Piers Plowman In a somer seson, whan softe was the sonneI shoop me into shroudes as I a sheep were,In habite as an hermite unholy of werkes,Went wide in this world wondres to here.AllusionWhere a poem makes reference to another poem or text. For example, the 14th line of The Prelude by William Wordsworth The earth was all before me alludes to one of the final lines of Paradise Lost by John Milton The world was all before them. Paradise Lost, in turn, alludes to the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis. A poem containing multiple allusions is The Waste Land by T.S.Eliot which makes reference to lines written by Shakespeare, Milton, Spenser, Verlaine, Baudelaire, Marvell, Dante, Webster, St. Augustine, Goldsmith, Ovid etc.Allusion should not be confused with plagiarism.See also intertextuality.AmbiguityWilliam Empson defined ambiguity as: any verbal nuance, however slight, which gives room for alternative reactions to the same piece of language. Although ambiguity is not desirable in prose, in poetry it can sometimes add extra layers of meaning. Figurative language - such as metaphors - often create ambiguity. In 1930 Empson published a critical work entitled Seven Types of Ambiguity. Amphibrachic MeterClassical meter consisting of three syllables per foot: one short, one long, one short. This meter is seldom used in English, however Jinny the Just by Matthew Prior is an example.Amphimacer MeterAnother classical meter consisting of three syllables per foot, but this time: one long, one short, one long. A rare English example of this form is Tennysons poem The Oak.Anacreontic VerseVerse which imitates the work of the Greek poet Anacreon who wrote lyrics in praise of wine and women. Abraham Cowleys Anacreontics are an example.AnacrusisUnstressed syllable(s) occurring at the start of a line which do not contribute to the meter.AnagramThe transposition of letters from a word or phrase to form a new word or phrase. All schoolboys know that T.S.Eliot = toilets.AnapestA foot consisting of three syllables where the first two are short or unstressed and the final one is long or stressed e.g. in the WOODS.Anapestic MeterAn end-stressed meter consisting of three syllables per foot. See meter.AnaphoraThe repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of lines e.g. Crossing Brooklyn Ferry by Walt Whitman.Anglo-SaxonSee Old English.AnthropomorphismThe attribution of human feelings to animals or inanimate objects e.g. Hawk Roosting by Ted Hughes. See also personification.AntibacchicClassical meter consisting of three syllables per foot: two long and one short.AntispastClassical meter consisting of four syllables per foot: one short, two long, one short.AntiphonVerse of a psalm or hymn which is sung or recited.AntistropheThe second stanza of a Pindaric ode. See ode.AntithesisFigure of speech where contrasting words or ideas are placed in close proximity e.g. Hee for God only, shee for God in him from Miltons Paradise Lost.AntonymWord or phrase with the opposite meaning to another e.g. good and bad.AphesisThe loss of letters or syllables at the start of a word. Opposite of apocope.AphorismShort pithy statement embodying a general truth e.g. Tennysons Nature, red in tooth and claw.ApocopeThe removal of letters or syllables at the end of a word.Apostles, theIntellectual society formed at Cambridge University in 1820. Members have included Alfred Tennyson, Arthur Hallam, Bertrand Russell and E.M. Forster.ApostrophePoem which is directly addressed to a person or thing (often absent). An example is Wordsworths sonnet Milton which begins: Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour. NB not to be confused with an apostrophe indicating missing letters or the possessive case. Other examples of apostrophe include A Supermarket in California by Allen Ginsberg (addressed to Walt Whitman) and my own poem Invocation. ArcadiaOriginally a mountainous area in the Peloponnese; then a symbol for idyllic rural life. Virgils Eclogues were set in Arcadia. See also pastoral.ArchaismUse of obsolete or old-fashioned language e.g. thee, thou or beauteous. AssonanceThe effect created when words with the same vowel sound are used in close proximity - but where the consonants in these words are different.In To Autumn by John Keats the line: Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies; displays assonance due to the repeated use of the i vowel sound. This means that these words nearly rhyme with each other. Other examples include:Down some profound dull tunnel, long since scooped from Strange Meeting by Wilfred Owen Or Round and round the spicy downs the yellow Lotos-dust blown. from Tennysons The Lotos-Eaters. AsyndetonLists of words or phrases but without conjunctions. Compare with polysyndeton.AubadePoem written to celebrate the dawn e.g. The Sun Rising by John Donne.Augustan PoetsGroup of English poets including Dryden, Pope, Addison and Swift who emulated Latin poets such as Ovid, Horace and Virgil. The Roman poets were writing during the reign of emperor Augustus (27 B.C. - 14 A.D.) - hence the term Augustan. See also neo-classical.Aureate LanguageElaborate, latinate poetic diction employed by certain 15th century English and Scottish poets, including: William Dunbar, Robert Henryson, Stephen Hawes and John Lydgate.AwdlWelsh poetic form equivalent to an ode. There are 12 separate awdl forms including: cyhydedd hir, cyhydedd naw ban, gwawdodyn, clogyrnach, rhupunt, tawddgyrch cadwynog, cyrch a chwta, toddaid and byr a thoddaid. The awdl was regarded as the most challenging and exalted Welsh form.BBacchicClassical meter consisting of three syllables per foot: one short, one long, one long.BalladTerm originating from the Portuguese word balada meaning dancing-song. However, it normally refers to either a simple song e.g. Danny Boy or to a narrative poem (often with a tragic ending). Bob Dylan wrote and sang some wonderfully mournful ballads e.g. The Ballad of Hollis Brown. The ballad stanza is a quatrain where the second and fourth lines rhyme. La Belle Dame Sans Merci by John Keats is in ballad form. It usually features alternating four-stress and three-stress lines.BalladeA poem of French origin consisting of three stanzas of either 7, 8 or 10 lines and ending with a refrain called an envoi. The envoi is usually half as long as the stanza.BardOriginally a term for a Celtic minstrel poet e.g. Cacofnix in Asterix the Gaul but is now used for any admired poet. Shakespeare is often referred to as the bard of Avon.BardolatryThe veneration accorded to Shakespeare.Baroque PoetryBaroque derives from the Portuguese for imperfectly formed pearl. Baroque poetry is characterised by a highly elaborate style laced with extravagant conceits e.g. the work of the 17th century English poet Richard Crashaw. See also GongorismBathosThe descent from the sublime to the ridiculous. This expression comes from Popes satire Peri Bathous, or the Art of Sinking (1727). Bawdy VerseX-rated poetry written anonymously for the purpose of recital e.g. Eskimo Nell, Abdul Abul Bul Amir, The Ball of Kirriemuir and The Good Ship Venus. See fabliau.BeatThe rhythmic or musical quality of a poem. In metrical verse, this is determined by the regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. However, free verse often features a beat e.g. the work of Walt Whitman. Beat is one of the main things distinguishing poetry from prose.Beat Poets/PoetryGroup of American poets - including Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Kenneth Rexroth - who were disaffected by contemporary society. The word beat comes from beat as in music, beat as in defeated and beat as in to beatify or make blessed. Beat poetry had a big impact upon the lyrics of singers such as Bob Dylan, Patti Smith and Tom Waits.Black Mountain PoetsGroup of poets associated with Black Mountain College, North Carolina - including Charles Olson, Robert Duncan, Robert Creeley and Denise Levertov. They were anti-academic in their approach and sought to challenge traditional poetic forms.Blank VerseVerse that does not employ a rhyme scheme. Blank verse, however, is not the same as free verse because it employs a meter e.g. Paradise Lost by John Milton which is written in iambic pentameters.BlazonPoetry which catalogues the virtues or attributes of women e.g. the tenth stanza of Spensers Epithalamion.Blues, TheMusic of African-American origin which features a repeated 12-bar pattern and employs lyrics which focus upon the harsh realities of negro life.Bob and WheelDevice used at the end of the main stanzas in alliterative verse such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The bob is a short, one-stress line followed by the wheel - which is a quatrain rhyming a-b-a-b e.g. And more.He has lived here since long agoAnd filled the field with gore.You cannot counter his blow,It strikes so sudden and sore.BombastPompous or overblown language.Bouts-rimsGame originating in France where players compete to write the best poem using a set of pre-selected rhymes. It was frequently played by Christina and Dante Gabriel Rossetti.BreveIn prosody, a breve is the mark placed over a syllable in a line of verse to indicate that it is short or unstressed. See also macron and meter.BridgeThe contrasting section of music/lyrics which often occurs after the second chorus of a song.BucolicAlternative term for eclogue.BurdenChorus or refrain of a song/poem.BurlesqueCaricature or parody of a literary or dramatic work e.g. Hudibras by Samuel Butler or Baucis and Philemon by Jonathan Swift.Burns StanzaMany of Burns most famous poems were written using a six line, tail-rhyme stanza with an a-a-a-b-a-b scheme; the fourth and sixth lines being shorter than the rest e.g. To a Mouse Wee, sleekit, cowrin, timrous beastie,Oh, what a panics in thy breastie!Thou needna start awa sae hasty, Wi bickering brattle!I wad be laith to rin and chase thee, Wi murdring pattle!Byr a ThoddaidWelsh syllabic verse form.Byronic StanzaSee ottava rima.CCadenceThe natural rhythm of speech - as opposed to the rhythm of meter.CaesuraA break in the flow of sound in a line of poetry e.g. in Hamlets famous soliloquy:To be or not to be | that is the question A caesura can be classified as either feminine (following an unaccented syllable) or male (following an accented syllable).Cairo PoetsGroup of poets including Lawrence Durrell and Keith Douglas who were based in North Africa during World War II.CanonBody of work considered to represent the highest literary standards.CantoThe subdivision of a long narrative poem e.g. in The Divine Comedy by Dante. Spenser was the first English poet to use cantos. The Cantos is a long (some would say too long) poem by Ezra Pound.CanzoneItalian lyric poem.Carpe DiemLatin for seize the day. Originally a phrase taken from an ode by Horace, but more recently synonymous with the film Dead Poets Society starring Robin Williams.Catalectic/CatalexisWhere one or more unstressed syllables are missing from the end of a regular metrical line. Usually employed in trochaic or dactylic verse to avoid monotony. The terms derive from the Greek for stopping short. Sometimes referred to as a truncated line. See acatalectic.Catalogue VerseVerse which lists people, places, things or ideas e.g. Contemporary Poets of the English Language by Anthony Thwaite.CatharsisMuch disputed term used by Aristotle in his Poetics where he suggests that tragedy should purge the emotions of pity and fear and, hence, lead to a catharsis. Cavalier PoetsGroup of poets including Robert Herrick, Thomas Carew, Sir John Suckling and Richard Lovelace who were all supporters of Charles I. Although not a formal group they were all influenced by Ben Jonson and wrote highly crafted, witty lyrics in praise of wine, women and song. See also Tribe of Ben. Celtic TwilightOriginally an anthology of stories by W.B.Yeats, but then adopted as a generic term for literature concerning Irish folk-lore and mysticism.CentoA patchwork poem composed of quotations from other authors. A famous example is CentoNuptialus by Decimus Magnus Ausonius.Chain RhymeSee terza rima.Chanson de GesteOne of a group of medieval French epic poems.ChansonnierCollection of troubadour poems.Chant RoyalA complicated elaboration of the French ballade form.ChastushkaRussian folksong usually consisting of two, four or six lines - although the quatrain is the most common. They can be sung solo or accompanied by balalaika. Chaucerian StanzaSee rhyme royal.ChevilleStopgap word used by a poet to furnish the required number of syllables in a metrical line.ChiasmusFigure of speech where the second half of a phrase reverses the order of the first half e.g. Samuel Johnsons For we that live to please, must please to live.ChokaSee naga-uta.ChoreeSee trochee.Choriambic MeterClassical meter consisting of four syllables per foot: one long, two short and one long. Choriambic meter has its origins in Greek poetry and is very rarely used in English.CinquainA five line poem, invented by Adelaide Crapsey, and based on Japanese forms such as haiku and tanka. The cinquain has a total of twenty-two syllables arranged in lines as follows: 2, 4, 6, 8 and 2 e.g. Moon ShadowsStill asOn windless nightsThe moon-cast shadows are,So still will be my heart when IAm dead.ChorusPart of a poem or song that is repeated after each verse. See refrain.Classical Poets/PoetryPre-Christian Roman and Greek poets such as Homer, Horace, Virgil, Ovid etc. Classicism is characterised by a sense of formality and restraint. See also neo-classicism. The romantic movement was a reaction against the constraints of neo-classicism.ClerihewA form of light verse devised by Edmund Clerihew Bentley. It consists of a quatrain composed of two couplets (rhymed: a-a-b-b) and takes as its subject a well known person(s) e.g. The meaning of the poet GayWas always as clear as day,While that of the poet BlakeWas often practically opaque.ClichHackneyed or timeworn expression e.g. shifting sands or busy as bees.ClogyrnachWelsh syllabic verse form. See awdl.Close ReadingThe careful and vigorous examination of literary texts; a technique advoc