Glossary of Poetic Terms

My Glossary of Poetic Terms A - F
Still under construction

ALLITERATION
The repetition of consonant sounds, especially at the beginning of words. For Example, the b in "big bad bear"

ANTAGONIST
A character or force against which another character struggles.

ASSONANCE
The repetition of similar vowel sounds like the a sound in "sad & tradgedy.

CAESURA
A strong pause within a line of verse. The following stanza from Hardy's "The Man He Killed" contains caesuras in the middle 2 lines: He thought he'd 'list, perhaps, Off-hand-like--just as I-- Was out of work-had sold his traps-- No other reason why.

CLOSED FORM
Any poetic form that is governed by rules for rhyming, meter, foot pattern, syllable count, or alliteration.

CONSCONANCE
The repetition of consonant sounds, especially at the end of words. For Example, the d in "bad dog saddle"

COUPLET
2 consective lines of poetry, also a stanza of 2-lines.

DACTYL
A stressed syllable followed by 2 unstressed ones, as in FLUT-ter-ing or BLUE-ber-ry.

DRAMITIC POETRY
A poem that relies on the exchange of dialogue between 2 or more characters.

ENJAMBMENT
A run-on line of poetry in which logical & grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next. An enjambed line differs from an end-stopped line in which the grammatical and logical sense is completed within the line.

FALLING RHYME
A rhyme that falls on unstressed syllables, like "ringing singing" also called feminine rhyme.

FOOT
A pattern of stressed & unstressed syllables within either 2 or 3 syllables. Such as the iamb, trochee, spondee, pyrrhic, anapest, dactyl,amphibrach, & the tribrach.