Poetry Vocabulary

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Poetry Vocabulary

• Apostrophe
• Oxymoron
• Paradox
• Pun
• Assonance
• Connotation
• Denotation

• Hyperbole
• Metaphor
• Personification
• Simile
• Irony
• Imagery
• Symbol
• Alliteration
• Onomatopoeia
• Allusion

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Apostrophe

• a sudden turn from the general audience to
  address a specific group or person or personified
  abstraction absent or present.
• Ex For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar's
  angel.Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved
  him.

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Oxymoron

• apparent paradox achieved by the juxtaposition of
  words which seem to contradict one another.
• EX I must be cruel to be kind.

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Paradox

• an assertion seemingly opposed to common sense,
  but that may yet have some truth in it.
• A statement that appears to contradict itself
• Ex What a pity that youth must be wasted on the
  young. George Bernard Shaw

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Pun

• a play on words or the humorous use of a word
  emphasizing a different meaning or application.
• Ex Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a
  grave man. Mercutio

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Assonance

• repetition of the same vowel sound in words close
  to each other.
• Ex Tilting at windmills
• Thy kingdom come/ thy will be done

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Connotation

• is the emotional and imaginative association
  surrounding a word.
• Ex Home- safe, warm, protected, family, relaxed

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Denotation

• The most specific or direct meaning of a word
• Ex Home-a house, apartment, or other shelter
  that is the usual residence of a person, family,
  or household

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Hyperbole

• an exaggeration used in speaking or in writing to
  create an effect and not meant to be taken
  literally.
• He is older than the hills.
• The garbage was piled so high it almost touched
  the sky.
• My backpack weighs a ton!

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Metaphor

• a figure of speech that suggests a likeness by
  speaking of one thing as if it were another a
  comparison without the use of "like" or "as.
• Her hair is silk.
• His home was a prison.
• You are the sunshine of my life.

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Personification

• a figure of speech in which a thing or idea is
  represented as having human characteristics.
• The saw bit off my finger.
• the houses along Gilman Street began to look
  more defensivemore exhausted (from A Separate
  Peace)

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Simile

• a figure of speech in which one thing is compared
  to another different thing by using the word
  "like" or "as.
• The pain engulfed him like a mighty flame.
• Those girls are like two peas in a pod.
• His toes are as awkward as small plums.

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Irony

• a method of humorous or sarcastic expression in
  which the intended meaning of a word is the
  direct opposite of its usual sense or what
  happens in a story is the opposite of what is
  expected to happen.
• Verbal ironywords are used to suggest the
  opposite of what is meant.
• Dramatic ironythere is a contradiction between
  what a character thinks and what the reader or
  audience knows to be true.
• Situational ironyan event occurs that directly
  contradicts the expectations of the characters,
  the reader or the audience.

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Imagery

• words in poetry, etc., which produce a mental
  picture.
• Mary touches the harp-like morning-glory strings
  and plays some tenderness.
• Mary touches the harp-like morning-glory strings
  and plays some tenderness.

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Symbol

• the use of a person, place, event or object that
  has a meaning in itself but suggests other
  meanings as well (symbol)

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Alliteration

• the repetition of beginning consonant sounds in a
  line of poetry a sound device.
• Example silence surged softly
• Katy kicked the kicker.
• Monkey master.
• Tired Timmy taught the tired teacher.
• Cocky Ken kicked the can.

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Onomatopoeia

• the use of words that sound like the things they
  name or describe a sound device.
• The fly buzzed past.
• The arrow whistled in the still air.
• The wind whistled and wailed.
• Dave whooshed down the hill.

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Allusion

• an implied or indirect reference, as in a famous
  person's name used to refer to someone with
  similar character traits.
• She was no Scrooge, but she seldom purchased
  anything except the bare necessities.
• The girl's love of sweets was her Achilles heel.
• Its a story as old as Cain and Abel.