Poetry Vocab

1
Poetry Vocab

• Apostrophe
• Hyperbole
• Metaphor
• Oxymoron
• Paradox
• Personification
• Pun
• Simile
• Irony

• Imagery
• Symbolism
• Alliteration
• Assonance
• Onomatopoeia
• Allusion
• Connotation
• Denotation

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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.

3
Oxymoron

• apparent paradox achieved by the juxtaposition of
  words which seem to contradict one another.
• EX I must be cruel to be kind.
• Ex Jumbo Shrimp, Baby Grand

4
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

5
Personification

• The act of giving living or life-like
  characteristics to non-living things.
• Ex. The flames danced in the wind.

6
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

7
Simile

• Making a comparison between two things using
  like or as.
• Ex. The boy ran as slow as a turtle.

8
Imagery

• Language that creates, in the readers mind,
  pictures that appeal to the senses.

9
Symbolism

• A symbol is an object, action, or idea that
  represents something other than itself, often of
  a more abstract nature.
• Conch (LOTF)- represented civilization/ rules

10
Alliteration

• The repetition of a consonant in words that are
  close together.
• Ex. Live the life you love.

11
Assonance

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

12
Onomatopoeia

• The use of a word whose sound imitates or
  suggests its meaning.
• Ex. Murmur, Boom!

13
Allusion

• a reference, within a literary work, to another
  work of fiction, a film, a piece of art, or even
  a real event.

14
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