Poetry Glossary
Poetry: Style and Content Key Terms
Topic:
What the poem is about (the subject matter) Example: Nature, love, war
Theme:
The theme is the message of the poem and the point the writer wishes to makes
Example: War is futile.
Tone:
Tone is an attitude of a writer toward a subject or an audience. Tone is shown through
the choice of words or the view point of a writer on a particular subject.
Techniques: *Any of poetic language techniques listed on the rest of list
Mood: (Atmosphere)
The feelings expressed. Includes what the writer/speaker feels and how you feel
reading the poem. May also be related to the atmosphere created.
Moral: of the poem/text
What is the poet trying to teach us?
What is the message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from this piece of writing?
Figurative Language Techniques
(Language that you have to figure out) - Metaphors, Similes etc.
Imagery:
Imagery is when a writer/poet uses descriptive words that create a clear image or
picture in your mind and imagination.
Simile: A comparison using like or as or than. “I wandered lonely as a cloud”.
Metaphor:
A figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not
literally applicable. It does not use ‘Like’ or ‘As’
“I won’t fall, I am Titanium”
Personification:
The attribution of human nature or character to animals, inanimate objects, or abstract
notions, especially as a rhetorical figure.
“The sun smiled”
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