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Poetic Terminology

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Ballad-a song of sorts with two or more stanzas, sung to a melody, generally of romantic character [EX: There are a number of examples ranging from sock ballads Like Wanted Dead or Alive by Bon-Jove or November Rain by Guns N’ Roses to classics like Angel of Music from Phantom of the Opera or the mournful ballad I Dreamed a Dream from Less Miserable] 7. Blank verse- nurturing verse, generally put in iambic pentameter [EX: The Ball Poem By John Ferryman “What is the boy now, who has lost his ball/What, what is he to do?

I saw it go/Merrily bouncing, down the street, and then/Merrily over-there it is in the water! “] 8. Concrete poetry- the typographical arrangement of the poem Is as Important as the content of the poem Itself LEG: The author Ellen Hopkins writes concrete poetry In all of her books-?crank, Burned, Impulse, Glass, Identical, and Tricks. ] 9. Connotation- implied meaning associated with certain words LEG: Cheap has a negative connotation, implying that someone is too tight with money. Economical has a positive connotation, implying that someone spends their money wisely. 10. Denotation- literal definition of words [EX: Cheap and economical are both defined as spending little money] 11. Dactyl- In essence, the opposite of anapest. One long or stressed syllable, followed by two short or unstressed syllables. LEG: Basketball Is an example of a dactyl. Baa-skeet-ball (short syllables bold, long syllables underlined)] 12. Diction-a way of speaking, where the specific choice of words makes one sound better, more intelligent. [EX: A speaker may sound more distinguished, and his audience may admire his diction more, by certain choice of words. Sing a word like “morose” Instead of simply “sad”, or “elated” Instead of merely “happy”. ] 13. Dramatic monologue- One person performs a speech that defines a certain theatrical moment. [EX: Monologues are common place in plays, musicals, movies TV shows, the whole theatric industry. It is how certain moments are defined. Some very famous monologues, that many have been modeled after is in Shakespearean Othello when the character Ago frequently talks to seemingly to himself, so as to let the audience in on his sinister plots. ] 14.

English sonnet (Shakespearean sonnet) (what is rhyme scheme and how are the 14 lines split)- An English sonnet Is a song following strict Shakespearean sonnets generally have a rhyming scheme of a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g- g. The last two lines are a couplet. [EX: Shakespearean Sonnet Number 18 “Shall I compare thee too summer’s day?… And this gives life to thee. “] 15. Italian sonnet- Patriarchate sonnet) (what is rhyme scheme and how are the 14 lines split)- The structure is based in parts of an argument: proposition describing the problem then proposes the solution.

The ninth line is generally known for being the turn from problem to resolution. It is also traditionally in iambic pentameter as well as English sonnets. The pattern in Italian sonnets starts with a-b-b-a, a-b-b-a, has two options for the middle: c-d-e-c-d-e or c-d-c-c-d-c. [EX: Francesco Patriarch’s Visions is an example of an Italian sonnet “Being one day at my window all alone… Oft makes me Wally so hard a desire”] 16. Elegy-a melancholy, or plaintive poem generally mourning someone who is dead. [EX: Walt Whitman O Captain! My Captain! “Here Captain!

Dear father! /This arm is beneath your head;/let is some dream that on deck,] You’ve fallen cold and dead”] 17. Metaphor- figure of speech that describes something through comparison to something entirely unrelated otherwise. [EX: “feeling blue”, “broken heart” or “early bird” are all metaphors. You can’t feel a color, it just refers to a feeling of sadness. “Broken heart” doesn’t mean that a heart is physically broken, it Just refers to a feeling of hurt feelings. Early bird” doesn’t mean that someone is actually a bird, it Just means they are an early riser. ] 18.

Epic- Traditionally long, it narrates the adventures or lives of heroes fighting their adversaries. [EX: The ‘Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer are both examples of epics. ] 19. Epigram- Satirical and memorable statement, that is brief and interesting. [EX: Oscar Wiled once said “l can resist everything but temptation. ” This is an example of an epigram not found in poetry. Shakespeare wrote “So all my best is dressing old words new,/Spending again what is already spent;/For as the sun is daily new and old,/So is my love still telling what is told. ” 20. Free verse- poem without rhyme or regular meter. EX: “After the Sea-ship-?after the whistling winds;/After the white- gray sails, taut to their spars and ropes,/Below, a myriad, myriad waves, hastening, lifting up their necessitating in ceaseless flow toward the track of the ship. ” After the Sea-Ship By Walt Whitman] 21. Imagery- descriptive language, written to “paint” a picture. [EX: Imagery and metaphors are very similar, I. E. “Her eyes twinkled like starlight” is a metaphor and creates imagery at the same time. ] 22. Iamb-metrical foot in poetry. [EX: Some words that are an iamb would be: behold, amuse, depict, destroy, or insist.