Poetry

Tone

author's attitude toward his or her subject, character and readers.

Theme

central idea or message in a work of literature.

Hyperbole

exaggeration or overstatement meant to create humor or emphasis

Simile

figure of speech that uses 'like', 'as' to compare two essentially different objects

Meter

fixed pattern of accented and unaccented syllables that produces rhythm

Personification

human characteristics are given to animals, plants, inanimate objects

Connotation

impressions carried by a word, as opposed to the word's literal meaning

Denotation

literal meaning of a word without emotional associations or overtones

Metaphor

one thing is directly compared to a dissimilar thing without like or as

Rhythm

patterned flow of sound in poetry and prose

Mood

prevailing emotional attitude in a literary work or in part of a work.

Alliteration

repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words or within words

Assonance

repetition of middle vowel sounds between different consonant sounds

Stanza

section or division of a poem; grouping of lines into a recurring pattern

Rhyme

similarity of sounds between two words

Onomatopoeia

using words whose sound imitates the sound of what's being named