SOUND DEVICES
Assonance: the repetition of a vowel sound within words
Once upon a midnight drEAry, while I pondered wEAk and wEAry
Alliteration: the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words or accented syllables
While I nodded, nearly napping
Onomatopoeia: the use of words that suggest or imitate sounds
suddenly there came a TAPPING,
As of someone gently RAPPING, RAPPING at my chamber door
Be able to identify the use of these devices.
RHYME
Be able to determine the rhyme scheme of a poem.
METER
Meter: the rhythm of a poem
Foot: the unit used to measure meter
Iamb: a foot that includes an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable
Iambic pentameter: a meter that uses five iambs per line of poetry
Be able to identify lines written in IAMBIC PENTAMETER.
STANZA TYPES
Stanza: a group of lines in a poem
COUPLET: 2 line stanza
TERCET: 3 line stanza
QUATRAIN: 4 line stanza
CINQUAIN: 5 line stanza
SESTET: 6 line stanza
HEPTASTICH: 7 line stanza
OCTAVE: 8 line stanza
POETIC FORMS
Be familiar with the SONNET, the VILLANELLE and the TRIOLET: refer to your notes and articles from class.
OTHER
SIMILES and METAPHORS: be able to identify them in a poem
TONE: the poet’s attitude toward his/her subject
THEME: the central message or main idea
CONCEIT: a poem that serves an extended metaphor (like “Folding Laundry”)
Remember that a LYRIC POEM expresses emotions and a NARRATIVE POEM tells a story.
