AICE English Literature Poetry Terms
Exam-Graded A
Alexandrine - ANS-a poetic form consisting of a line of iambics with six feet
Blank Verse - ANS-verse written in iambic pentameter which does not have a rhyme at
the end of each line
Caesura - ANS-a slight natural pause in a line of poetry.
Concrete poem - ANS-a poem where the arrangement of the words symbolizes the
meaning they express, and thus describe the poem's character
Consonance - ANS-a feature of language in poetry whereby words with identical
consonants but different vowels are used
Didactic poem - ANS-a poem which is intended primarily to teach a lesson
Ear rhyme - ANS-a true rhyme when spoken aloud, but looks as if it shouldn't be by its
spelling; for example, 'choirs' and 'shires'
End-stopped line - ANS-a line of poetry that expresses a complete thought.
Enjambment - ANS-a line of poetry where the meaning runs on into the following line
Euphony - ANS-a style in which combinations of words pleasant to the ear predominate
Extended metaphor - ANS-the identification of similar qualities elaborated over a
number of lines, perhaps throughout an entire poem or paragraph of prose
Eye rhyme - ANS-when two words look as if they should rhyme from their spelling but
don't
Feminine rhyme - ANS-a rhyme on two or more syllables
Foot - ANS-two or three syllables recurring in a pattern to form a metrical unit of rhythm
Free Verse - ANS-verse with no regular metrical or rhyme scheme, but linking devices
such as repetition, parallelism and the careful use of very short lines, enjambments,
direct speech and sound effects make it as careful a construct as a rhymed iambic
pentameter
Exam-Graded A
Alexandrine - ANS-a poetic form consisting of a line of iambics with six feet
Blank Verse - ANS-verse written in iambic pentameter which does not have a rhyme at
the end of each line
Caesura - ANS-a slight natural pause in a line of poetry.
Concrete poem - ANS-a poem where the arrangement of the words symbolizes the
meaning they express, and thus describe the poem's character
Consonance - ANS-a feature of language in poetry whereby words with identical
consonants but different vowels are used
Didactic poem - ANS-a poem which is intended primarily to teach a lesson
Ear rhyme - ANS-a true rhyme when spoken aloud, but looks as if it shouldn't be by its
spelling; for example, 'choirs' and 'shires'
End-stopped line - ANS-a line of poetry that expresses a complete thought.
Enjambment - ANS-a line of poetry where the meaning runs on into the following line
Euphony - ANS-a style in which combinations of words pleasant to the ear predominate
Extended metaphor - ANS-the identification of similar qualities elaborated over a
number of lines, perhaps throughout an entire poem or paragraph of prose
Eye rhyme - ANS-when two words look as if they should rhyme from their spelling but
don't
Feminine rhyme - ANS-a rhyme on two or more syllables
Foot - ANS-two or three syllables recurring in a pattern to form a metrical unit of rhythm
Free Verse - ANS-verse with no regular metrical or rhyme scheme, but linking devices
such as repetition, parallelism and the careful use of very short lines, enjambments,
direct speech and sound effects make it as careful a construct as a rhymed iambic
pentameter
