The English language is full of exciting words for poets, but many people fall into the habit of using the same ones over and over again. Here is our top list.
In poetry, every word is that much more important because poems are usually shorter than free verse works. As a poet, it is important to learn common poetry terms and new and interesting descriptive words to include in your work. Read on to see our guide of helpful words, including technical words, love words, and sad words for poets.
Contents
What Are Words For Poets?
Words for poets include everything from structural and historical poetry terms to descriptive language commonly used in poetry. Learning these essential words and phrases will benefit old and new poets in learning some of the words that make poetry great.
| Carpe diem | Anaphora | Ballad |
| Beat poets | Canon | Blank verse |
| Anapest | Assonance | Caesura |
| Chapbook | Consonance | Couplet |
| Dactyl | Decasyllable | Didactic |
| Dirge | Eclogue | Epic |
| Alliteration | Allusion | Ambiguity |
| Dissonance | Elision | Enjambment |
| Envoi | Epigraph | Genre |
| Haiku | Hendecasyllable | Hexameter |
| Hyperbole | Imagery | Imagism |
| Irony | Rhythm | Rhyme |
| Quintain | Pun | Personification |
| Pentameter | Parody | Paradox |
| Adored | Intoxicating | Enchanting |
| Delight | Mesmerize | Treasure |
| Passionate | Tender | Doting |
| Chivalrous | Cherish | Bleak |
| Dark | Dull | Earnest |
| Melancholy | Somber | Blue |
| Cloudy | Dreary | Grave |
Technical Words For Poets
Technical words for poets include terms that describe a poem’s structure, poetry techniques, and terms that describe the historical uses of poetry. These words are essential for all poets to understand poetry’s techniques, tone, and structural aspects.
1. Carpe diem
The billionaire acclaimed her success to her belief in carpe diem, to embrace the pleasure of life and seize the day.
2. Anaphora
A poem with anaphora repeats the same word or phrase at the beginning of each line.
3. Ballad
A ballad is a beautiful way to tell poetic historical folk stories.
4. Beat poets
Beat poets wrote free verse, surrealistic, and jazzy poems in a popular style in the 1950s.
5. Canon
Canon poetry is authentic, often tied to moral or religious principles, making it popular in Christianity.
6. Blank verse
Shakespeare’s infamous use of blank verse, free of rhymes and metered lines.
7. Anapest
Lord Byron’s “The Destruction of Sennacherib” is written with an anapest meter, consisting of two unaccented syllables followed by an accented syllable.
8. Assonance
She recited the poem with beautiful assonance, repeating vowel sounds in her descriptive language.
9. Caesura
The poet created deliberate rhythmic pauses, breaks, cuts, and turns to add dramatic caesura.
10. Chapbook
Sarah wrote a small chapbook of poetry as her first published booklet.
11. Consonance
Using consonance adds emotion and power to words due to the repetition of sounds.
12. Couplet
Stanzas are best kept short and sweet; a two-line couplet is perfect for imagery poems.
13. Dactyl
Elephant is an excellent example of a dactyl, with one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables.
14. Decasyllable
Decasyllable poems consist of ten-syllable metric lines, standard in Italian and French poetry.
15. Didactic
The poet was a moral philosopher and wrote didactic poetry to share her knowledge and views on morality.
16. Dirge
The congregation of the church sang the dirge beautifully.
17. Eclogue
The priest spoke his powerful eclogue, telling the congregation his political and social views through emotive poetry.
18. Epic
Long narrative poems, also known as “epic,” often have heroic protagonists and mythical settings.
19. Alliteration
Alliteration is common in kids’ poetry books to help them learn consonant sounds through repetition.
20. Allusion
The poet used allusion to show the villain’s true intentions.
21. Ambiguity
We could not figure out if she were guilty because of her ambiguity in describing the events
22. Dissonance
The dissonance in her speech was jarring, a combination of rhythm and sound out of the sink.
23. Elision
In old-style poetry writing, many poets omit unstressed syllables, also known as elision.
24. Enjambment
Enjambment creates an addictive rhythmic flow evoking passion and emotion in spoken poetry.
25. Envoi
Including an envoi in your ballad can summarise the key points and help listeners better understand your poetry.
26. Epigraph
Including an epigraph in your poem can help readers understand background information not included in the poem itself.
27. Genre
Satire poetry is a genre popular amongst new and creative writers.
28. Haiku (or hokku)
Traditional Japanese Haiku poetry is beautiful and overused to convey love or romance.
29. Hendecasyllable
Writing a hendecasyllable line is challenging because it includes 11 syllables.
30. Hexameter
Poems with 6 metrical feet can be known as a hexameter.
31. Hyperbole
Lee often speaks in hyperbole, so don’t take his exaggerations seriously.
32. Imagery
Poetry with strong imagery created by descriptive language can create a movie in your mind.
33. Imagism
Imagism marked the time period when poetry relied on creating vivid mental images and stories in colloquial language.
34. Irony
The irony of reading political poetry at the socialite event is evident, but Ellie bravely shared her thoughts despite the challenge.
35. Rhythm
The poem’s rhythm had the crowd nodding along with joy and assurance.
36. Rhyme
Some of the most enthralling poems have recurring rhyme throughout the verses.
37. Quintain
Poems composed of five lines or multiple sections with five lines are called quintain.
38. Pun
His jokes included a cheeky pun here and there to add some humor to the dark subject.
39. Personification
With skillful personification, the writer made inanimate objects come to life.
40. Pentameter
A pentameter poem consists of 10 syllables where the first five are stressed and the second five are not stressed.
41. Parody
A poetic parody mimics a specific person with a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor.
42. Paradox
In literature, a paradox is a statement that contradicts itself.
Love Words For Poets
Poetry is a romantic art form often used to convey strong feelings of romantic and platonic love. There are many beautiful words poets can use to describe these strong emotions; we’ll look at some of the top love words below.
43. Adored
The princess was adored by her loyal subjects
44. Intoxicating
He had an intoxicating demeanor that no one could resist.
45. Enchanting
Miss Strot spoke with an enchanting voice that captivated her students.
46. Delight
The child would delight at the sight of new toys and animals.
47. Mesmerize
The stunning sunsets in New Zealand would mesmerize anyone who saw them.
48. Treasure
Treasure the people you love; they won’t be around forever.
49. Passionate
They shared a passionate embrace as Stacey’s husband boarded the train to Germany.
50. Tender
A tender moment between lovers can cure even the saddest souls.
51. Doting
A doting husband makes sure his wife is happy at all times.
52. Chivalrous
The knight was chivalrous and respectful in the presence of the Queen.
53. Cherish
Cherish the moments of silence, as it is a gift to be alive.
Sad Words For Poets
Poetry can be used to convey a feeling of deep sadness within oneself or the world. Therefore, many great poets have turned to writing deep and melancholy poetry in times of trouble. See below some sad words for poets that will convey the true feelings experienced in times of trouble.
54. Bleak
The bleak winter mirrored his dark depression.
55. Dark
A dark soul can be cured only if you are willing to let in some light.
56. Dull
It was a dull conversation, and she couldn’t wait to leave the party.
57. Earnest
With the most earnest smile, the weeping child asked his grandfather for a cuddle.
58. Melancholy
The melancholy sky spoke to her soul; she felt the universe understood her deep sadness.
59. Somber
It was a somber day when Sam cleared out his Father’s old apartment, knowing it was the last day he would be there.
60. Blue
Teenagers often feel blue when their first crush doesn’t like them back, but it will get easier.
61. Cloudy
Her eyes were cloudy with tears as she swallowed her pride and apologized for her actions.
62. Dreary
Dark and dreary times are ahead; the war has just begun.
63. Grave
It is a grave task to combat oncoming battles, but it must be done.
To learn more on this topic, check out our round-up of the 15 best poetry books you must read!
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