POETRY BASICS:

Terms:

· Line: Group of words from the left margin to the right, regardless of whether the sentence continues to the next line. These are often numbered.

· Stanza: Group of lines; set off in some way to indicate this (space or specific part of rhyme pattern) (Ex: 754)

v Tercet: Group of three lines (754)

v Quatrain: Group of four lines (771)

v Sestet: Group of six lines (754)

v Octave: Group of eight lines (754)

v Couplet: 2 consecutive lines that rhyme (754)

Rhyme Scheme: Pattern of rhymes from line to line:

“A” for 1^st rhyme set, “B” for 2^nd rhyme set... “X” for lines that do not fit the rhyme scheme. (754; Do: 771)

Line Breaks:

· Endstopp(ed/ing): Meaning of a line comes to a definite end (771). End Stops: . ; :

· Enjamb(ed/ment): Meaning continues to the next line. Punctuated with a comma or nothing (759)

In your responses, in order to indicate a line break, put a space followed by a backslash followed by another space:

“A poem should be palpable and mute / As a globed fruit / Dumb / As old medallions to the thumb” (MacLeish 1-3).

Poem citations include line numbers, not page numbers.