Poetry Terms

The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.

A Japanese poem of seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five, traditionally evoking images of the natural world.

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

In poetry, the repetition of the sound of a vowel or diphthong in nonrhyming stressed syllables near enough to each other for the echo to be discernible (e.g., penitence, reticence ).

An expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.

Visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work.

The general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc.

The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

A comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification.

The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g., cuckoo, sizzle ).