A representation of abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form and can often be an extended metaphor for a specific historical or political event. Alliteration A stylistic device, or literary technique, in which successive words (more strictly, stressed syllables) begin with the same consonant sound or letter. Assonance The repetition of vowel sounds within a short passage of verse. Connotation The set of associations implied by a word in addition to its literal meaning.
Consonance The repetition of consonant sounds in a short sequence of words. Dactyls An element of meter in poetry. In quantitative verse, such as Greek or Latin, a dactyl is a long syllable followed by two short syllable. Denotation The literal dictionary meaning(s) of a word as distinct from an associated idea or connotation. End Rhyme A rhyme in the final syllable(s) of a verse. End-stopped A feature in poetry where the syntactic unit (phrase, clause, or sentence) corresponds in length to the line.
Enjambment The breaking of a syntactic nit (a phrase, clause, or sentence) by the end of a line or between two verses. Its opposite is end-stopping, where each linguistic unit corresponds with a single line. Extended Metaphor A metaphor which is drawn out beyond the usual word or phrase to extend throughout a stanza or an entire poem, usually by using multiple comparisons between the unlike objects or ideas. Figurative The use of words, phrases, symbols, and ideas in such as way as to evoke mental images and sense impressions.
Foot A unit of rhythm or meter; the division in verse of a group of willable, one of which is long or accented. Haiku A Japanese form of poetry consisting of three unrushed lines of five, seven, and five syllables. Traditionally, they contain either a direct or oblique reference to a season. Lambs A metrical foot consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable or short syllable followed by a long syllable. Imagery The use of expressive or evocative images in poetry, art, literature, or music.
Internal Rhyme Also called middle rhyme, a rhyme occurring within the line. The rhyme may be with words within the line but not at the line end, or with a word within the line and a word at the end of the line. Metaphor A rhetorical trope defined as a direct comparison between two or more seemingly unrelated subjects. This device is known for usage in literature, especially in poetry, where with few words, emotions and associations from one context are associated with objects and entities in a different context. Meter A measure of rhythmic quantity in poetry.
