Getting a Handle on
Literary Terminology

Introduction

Much of the terminology surrounding poetry--and literature in general--is quite ancient and often unfamiliar, even to strong students. Knowing the terminology allows for the structural analysis of literature and facilitates discussion of the features of a given work. That is the point of this project--to establish a vocabulary for the discussion of the various literary forms.
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The Task

The resources listed below will take you to information about literary terminology. Once you have learned the basic concepts, you will apply them to this Robert Frost poem entitled "The Road Not Taken" and to William Shakespeare's " Sonnet 130."
NOTE: Go HERE for a recording of Frost reading "The Road Not Taken" and other poems.
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The Process

You will write a literary analysis paper, one that describes the poems using the appropriate terminology learned from studying the accompanying resources. You should determine what type of verse each example exemplifies and include structural information on the poems' main features. While you're at it, try to determine at least some aspects of the poems' possible deeper meanings.
NOTE: These are not what students tend to call "hidden" meanings. Typically, they are just meanings conveyed or suggested to the reader through different methods than those one might find in an essay or other text.

Terms you should really investigate and incorporate include (but are not limited to) the following: versification, stanza, rhyme, meter, foot, (ex. iamb, trochee, spondee, dactyl, anapest, amphibrach), blank vs. free verse, rhyme scheme, sonnet, couplet, alliteration, onomatopoeia, assonance, consonance, imagery, simile, metaphor,etc.
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Resources

The following resources may be helpful in getting started:

-- Poetry Review
-- Versification (from Columbia Encyclopedia)
-- Rhyme Scheme of Sonnet 116

Then go on to explore the following:
-- Lynch, Glossary of Literary and Rhetorical Terms
-- The UVic Writer's Guide - Alphabetical List
-- Literary Terms
-- A Glossary of Literary Terms
-- Listening to Poetry: Sounds of the Sonnet

NOTE: Your text also contains an extensive glossary of literary terms

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Evaluation

You needn't belabor this assignment in an effort to add pages to your paper's length. Neither should you spend time defining the terms used in your paper. Your knowledge of the terms will usually show through just by the fact that you use them correctly.
This is the kind of paper that will be difficult to write unless you do the preliminary research. If you do a good job of that, though, you should find the paper relatively easy to put together. The best papers will be thorough but well paced and interesting. They will fully describe the works, and the literary terminology will not draw undue attention to itself but will instead enhance the discussion.
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Conclusion

This type of terminology figures prominently in the AP exam, so learning it now will make everything easier for you as we progress toward the test. Beyond that, the terminology is part of the normal North Carolina high school English curriculum. This is the kind of material you need to know to call yourself "educated."
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Designed by Michael Byers
Orange High School
Hillsborough, NC
Last updated June, 2008.
Based on a template from The WebQuestPage

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