English Poetry and Hamlet
spondee
/ /
trochee
/ u
dactyl
/ u u
villanova
19 lines of any length divided into six stanzas: five tercets (rhyming aba) and a quatrain (rhyming abaa)
sestina
39 lines divided into six sestets and a tercet (called an envoy because it forms the concluding three lines to a poem). Usually is don't rhyme and has no metrical requirements. The end words (rhyming position words) of the 1st sestet end the lines in a different order of the other sestets. They also end the envoy, but only three can so the other three words just occur somewhere in the envoy.
lyric
a form of short, first person poetry that conveys the speaker's thoughts and emotions (although these are, of course, not necessarily the feelings of the poet)l Sonnets, elegies, sestines, and odes can all be forms of lyric.
sonnet
a poem comprised of 14 iambic pentameter lines that match content, stanza structure, and rhyme to shape its message
diction
a poet's overall choice of words, phrases, and sometimes sentence structures that are used to construction meaning
denotation
a process of diction whereby the only meaning indicated is the direct, dictionary meaning of the term
connotation
a process of diction whereby the suggested, associated meaning of a word is given prominence in the poem
slant rhyme
a rhyme that is not exact but that has a somewhat similar vowel sounds
internal rhyme
a rhyme that occurs when the primary rhyme sound at the end of the line also occurs with another word at some other part of the same line
assonance
an exact repetition of vowel sounds with differing surrounding consonants
metrical foot
an example of a metrical pattern
scansion
analysis of verse into metrical patterns
meter
arranging the stress and unstress, using certain words to get a certain rhythm
heroic couplet
couplet written in iambic pantameter
apostrophe
direct address to an inanimate object or absent person
octameter
eight feet
end rhyme
exact replication of sounds occurring at the end of the lines in more than one line in a poem
accent/stress
extra emphasis that certain syllables get over others in certain pronunciation
eye rhyme
fake rhyme when two words look as though they should rhyme because they have a similar spelling, but they don't
tone
feeling, attitude, or emotion that specific, important words in a poem build for the reader in order to convey the speaker in the poem's attitude toward its subject
pentameter
five feet
tetrameter
four feet
stanza
group of lines in a poem, usually separate from other lines
terza rima
interlocking tercet structure with an aba bcb cdc, ded, etc rhyme scheme
imagery
language in a poem that evokes sensory perception and adds vibrancy and life-like experience into the poem in a way that also may help convey an espect of a theme in the poem.
rhythm
noting the emphasis on the stress between syllables
monometer
one foot
petrarchan
one octave and a sestet that rhymes abbaabba cdcdcd. The octave presents a problem, and the sestet answers or comments upon it
ode
poem written in honor of someone or something. It's characterized by a lofty feeling of depth, feeling and expression. A characteristic from classical times is a variation in stanza structure with the ode, though this is not always the case.
alliteration
repetition of initial consonant sounds from one word to others
couplet
set of two rhyming lines
heptameter
seven feet
hexameter
six feet
rhyme scheme
the pattern of the rhyme in a poem
consonance
the repetition of exact consonant sounds with differing vowel sounds
trimeter
three feet
shakespearian
three quatrains and a couplet that rhymes abab cdcd efef gg. They present a problem situation, and the couplet resolves it
dimeter
two feet
elegy
type of poem with no fixed structure; lyric poem used to pay homage and honor someone who has died. Serious diction and contemplative/meditative ton.
iamb
u /
pyrrhic
u u
anapest
u u /