PSSA Word of the Day Poetry Vocabulary

26. poem – a piece of writing, often in rhyme, in which words are chosen for their sound and

beauty as well as meaning.

27. narrative poems – these poems tell stories about real or fictional events

28. free verse – these poems do not rhyme or follow a paterm; therefore, thay are the easiest

to write

29. haiku – a Japanese poem composed of 3 unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five

syllables. They are usually about something nature.

30. limericks – five-line poems in which the first, second, and fifth lines rhyme and have

three beats to the rhythm. The third and fourth lines also rhyme with two beats each.

31. lyric poems – this type of poetry began in ancient Greece. It was accompanied by a

(lyre, which is a stringed instrument related to the harp) These poems are like songs and

have a musical quality.

32. sonnet – a lyric poem that is 14 lines long

33. rhyme – agreement in the final sounds of two or more words, syllables, or final lines of

34. rhythm – a written or spoken or musical pattern with a series of regular accented beats

35. meter – the arrangement of a line of poetry by the number of syllables and the rhythm of

accented (or stressed) syllables

36. ballad – a poem that tells a story similar to a folktale or legend and often has a repeated

refrain – (repeated verse)

37. epic – a long serious poem that tells the story of a heroic figure 38. stanza – two or more lines of poetry that together form one of the division of a poems.

They are usually the same length and follow the same pattern

39. alliteration – the repetition of the same or similar sounds at the begin of words.

Example: She sells seashells by the sea shore.

40. dialogue – the talking between characters in a story

41. mood – the feeling a reader gets from the story: happy, sad, peaceful

42. narrator – the person or character who is telling the story

43. antagonist – the villain, the person or thing fighting against the hero of the story

Example: Joker is Batman’s antagonist.

44. protagonist – the hero of the story

45. tragedy – a story about a hero or heroine who is destroyed by a personal weakness or

flaw: envy, jealousy, greed, etc.

46. plot line – shows the action as it happens, in a story through a diagram

3 2 4 1 5 6

1. Introduction 2. Events and Conflicts 3. Turning Point

4. Turning Point 5. Falling Action 6. Conclusion

47. introduction – this is the part of the story where we meet the characters and begin to

picture the setting

48. conflict – the problems the character must solve

49. events – the twists and turns and things happening in the story

50. turning point – this part of the plot is how the conflict is solved 51. resolution – the solution to the problem

52. falling action – when the problems are solved and the story is getting ready to end

53. conclusion – the ending of the story