Iamb - A metrical foot consisting of one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.
Iambic pentameter - One of the most used poetry terms in English poetry history, iambic pentameter is a metrical line consisting of five iambs. Iambic pentameter is the most common type of meter in English poetry. Shakespeare used it extensively.
Idyll (also Idyl) - One of several poetry terms that has almost gone out of use. A long poem that tells the story of heroic deeds or events in the historic past. Could also be a short poem depicting a peaceful, country setting. Example: Alfred Lord Tennyson’s Idylls of the King, which tells the
story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round
Table.
Irony - Irony is not easy to define. The effectiveness
of the technique requires a certain cultural familiarity. There are
different types of irony, but perhaps the simplest definition of
irony is the use of words to convey the opposite of their literal
meaning. Example: "I'm from the government and I'm here to
help." Find other poetry terms: