Poetry
Form, sound, and meter.
Poetry organises language by line rather than by sentence. Where the line breaks is itself a meaning-carrying choice, which is the main formal difference from prose.
Fixed forms
| Form | Structure |
|---|---|
| Sonnet | 14 lines, set rhyme scheme, usually iambic pentameter |
| Haiku | Three lines, brief, usually seasonal |
| Villanelle | 19 lines, two refrains, five tercets and a quatrain |
| Limerick | Five lines, AABBA, anapestic |
Sound devices
Alliteration repeats initial consonants; assonance repeats vowel sounds; consonance repeats consonants elsewhere in the word. Onomatopoeia imitates the sound it names.
Meter
Meter is described by foot type and count. An iamb is unstressed-stressed; pentameter means five feet per line. Iambic pentameter is therefore five iambs, the standard line of English dramatic verse.
Related: figurative language, tall tales.