TERMS USED IN POETRY

AND

POETICAL CRITICISM.

TERMS USED IN POETRY

AND POETICAL CRITICISM.

ACCENT. The part of a word or sentence on which the stress is laid.

ACCENTUATION. Making the accents.

ACCIDENCE. The arrangement of words according to their

sense.

ACROSTIC. A poem, the lines of which are so arranged that the first letter of each forms a word or name. ADONIC. A short verse in which the death of Adonis is bewailed.

AFFLATUS. The influence which conveys the power of the poem to the mind of the reader. Tully attributes all great actions to the divine afflatus.

ALEXANDRINE. A line of verse consisting of twelve syllables, or twelve and thirteen syllables alternately, the pause being on the sixth syllable.

ALLEGORY See page 70.]

ALLITERATION. A repetition of the same consonants or syllables of the same sound in one sentence.

AMPHIBRACH. A foot of three syllables, the middle one long, the first and last short.

ANADIPLOSIS. A figure in poetry, when the last word or words of a sentence are repeated at the beginning of the next.

ANAGRAM. A transposition of the letters of a word by which another word is formed.

ANALECTA. A collection of extracts.

ANAPEST. A foot consisting of three syllables, the first two short, the last long.

ANAPESTIC. The anapestic measure.

ANAPHORA. A repetition of the same word or phrase at the commencement of successive phrases.

ANASTROPHE. An inversion of the natural order of words. ANGLICISM. The idiom of speech peculiar to the English. ANNOTATION. A brief commentary on a book or poem. ANTEPENULT. The last syllable but two of a word. ANTEPENULTIMATE. Pertaining to the last syllable but

two.

ANTEPOSITION. The placing of one word before another.
ANTHOLOGY. A collection of beautiful passages from
various authors; a collection of poems.
ANTITHESIS. [See page 69.]

ANTITHETIC. Abounding with antitheses.

APHORISM. A precept or sentiment briefly expressed. APOCOPATE. To cut off or drop the last letter or syllable of a word.

APOCOPATED. Shortened by the omission of the last letter or syllable.

APOLOGUE. A poetical fiction; a moral fable.

APOSTROPHE. A figure, in which the poet turns from his subject to address his reader or some absent person. ARGUMENT. The heads of a poem divided into books or parts, giving their subject-matter.

ATTIC. Applied to style. An Attic style-pure, classical, and elegant.

AURIGRAPHY. The art of writing with liquid gold.
AUSCULTATORY. Pertaining to hearing or listening.

BALLAD. Originally, a lyric composition, or tale in verse; now applied to a short poem set to music.

BARD. Originally, a semi-barbarous poet; now applied to any professor of verse.

BATHOS. Ludicrous, unmeaning writing.

BOMBAST. An inflated style of composition.

BOUTS-RIMES. Rhymes disposed in order, and given to a versifier to fill up.

BUCOLIC. A poem relating to rural affairs, chiefly in ancient poetry.

BURDEN. The part of a song which is repeated at the end of each verse.

CADENCE. The flow or periods of verses.