Alliteration: the repetition of consonant sounds

Allusions: a word, phrase, or an image that reminds the reader of something else. For example, some poems use Biblical passages, events from Greek myths, or well-known events in their poem that they expect most readers to recognize. When allusions are used properly they can add a great amount of meaning to a poem.

Assonance: the repetition of vowel sounds

Ballads: a short tale that deals with ordinary people and events, similar to a short story.

Dramatic Monologues: when a dramatic poem has only one character that expresses him or herself in a speech.

Dramatic poetry: poetry used in drama. It expresses thoughts through speeches and acts of characters. (i.e. Greek plays)

End Rhyme: when the ending sounds of words match up at the end of lines in a poem.

Epics: long tales about heroes and significant events, similar to a novel.

Figurative language: covers several specific devices, such as similes, metaphors, symbols, and allusions. These devices draw comparisons between things, helping us to see things from a new perspective.

Free Verse: poetry that does not always follow a regular rhythm and the length of the poetic lines may vary.

Images: descriptive words and phrases that help the reader to imagine a certain object, feeling, or scene.

Internal rhyme: when the ending sounds of words match up within a line a poetry, not at the end.

Lyric poetry: brief, intense poetry, normally about things that are difficult to put into ordinary words. It expresses the poets thoughts and emotions.

Metaphor: compares things as if one thing were something else. (i.e. She is a swan on the water)

Narrative poetry: used to tell stories with plots, characters, and settings. Two main types of narrative poetry are epic and ballad.

Onomatopoeia: a special use of words that create the sounds of something being described.

Personification: compares non-human thing to human beings by giving that thing human traits. (i.e. The bird cried in misery)

Rhyme: the repetition of the ending sounds of words. It is a way of creating pattern in a poem. There are two separate types to this, end rhyme and internal rhyme.

Simile: compares two things by using the word like or as. (i.e. She is like a swan on the water)

Symbols: represents both itself and something else. For example, a poem dealing with seasons can represent more than one thing. Not only could it be about the seasons themselves, but also about the cycle of human life, the way our lives can change like the seasons do.

Tone: the way a poem sounds or feels to the reader.