Literary terms

Exact Rhyme

A full rhyme in which the sounds following the initial letters of the words are identical in sounds, as in follow and hollow, go and slow, disband and this hand.

Slant Rhyme

A rhyme in which the final consent sounds ar the same but the vowel sounds are different, as in letter and litter, bone and bean, priestess and justice. Slant rhyme amy also be called near rhyme, off rhyme, or imperfect rhyme. Although slant rhyme fails to reach complete rhyming sounds it should not be considered a flaw.

Imagery

A series of words that refers to a sensory object, usually an object of sight. In effect, an image is a direct or literal re-creation of perceptual experiences , correlating literary language with what is immediately seen, felt ,heard, touched, and tasted.An image must involve a more detailed description, a fuller complex of sights, sounds

Connotation

An association or additional meaning that a word, image, or phrase may carry, beyond its literal reference or dictionary definition. Whereas denotative meanings signify a thing with precision (even vague things are denoted without vagueness), connotative meanings belong to feelings, attitudes, valuations and biases, and are often fuzzy and variable, changing from one situation to another.

Consonance

Consonance has been defined strictly as either the repition of consent sounds at the end of stressed syllables, or the repetition of two or more consonant sounds in stressed syllables having different vowels. More loosely, it names any repetition of consonants not located at the beginnings of the words.

Tactile Imagery

Imagery that refers to the sense of touch

Internal Rhyme

Rhyme that occurs within a line of poetry, as opposed to end rhyme

Denotation

The dictionary meaning of a word, as opposed to its figurative uses and the associations it may attract in one context or another. Denotation is fixed (except over long periods of time), and it stands as a baseline from which writers "bend" words to other meanings and implications. Routinely contrasted with connotation, denotation may be divided into the thing the word refers to (its extension) and the abstract contents that make up the word itself.

Alliteration

The repetition of a consonant sound. Strictly speaking, alliteration marks the beginning of words, but the term is often applied to sounds and syllables within them

Assonance

The repetition of two or more vowel sounds in successive words, which creates a kind go rhyme. As with alliteration , assonance may occur initially or internally. Assonance focuses attention on key feelings or concepts, and makes a phrase more musical and memorable.

Rhyme

Two or more words that contain an identical or similar vowel sounds usually accented with following consonant sounds identical as well: queue and stew. Such repetitions, be they internal rhyme or end rhyme produce an organization of rhythm and meaning. In effect two words or phrases that rhyme become linked and the lines in which they appear fall into discreet unit.