English Literature - Form Key terminology

Question 1

Ballad

Answer 1

A poem that tells a story (often about love or a moral lesson)- it’s usually catchy/repetitive.

Question 2

Blank verse

Answer 2

Non rhyming lines written in iambic pentameter (iam= a beat- du duh; pent = five)

Question 3

Didactic poem

Answer 3

A poem that is meant to teach the reader

Question 4

Dramatic monologue

Answer 4

A poem written similarly to speech and shows the inner feelings of a character

Question 5

Free verse

Answer 5

Poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular rhythm.

Question 6

Lyric poem

Answer 6

A short poem, often with songlike qualities, that expresses the speaker’s personal emotions & feelings

Question 7

Sonnet

Answer 7

A poem which always has 14 lines and each line is 10 syllables long and there are 2 different rhyming schemes. There are different types of sonnets
A Shakespearan sonnet has 3 quatrains and a couplet. ABAB CDCD EFEF GG.
A Petrarchan sonnet has 14 lines with two sections: an eight-line stanza (octave) rhyming ABBAABBA, and a six-line stanza (sestet) rhyming CDCDCD or CDECDE.

Question 8

Verse

Answer 8

Writing arranged with a metrical rhythm, typically having a rhyme. Often it refers to one line of a poem, but it can also be a stanza or part of a poem.

Question 9

Villanelle

Answer 9

A French verse form consisting of five three-line stanzas and a final quatrain, with the first and third lines of the first stanza repeating alternately in the following stanzas. These two refrain lines form the final couplet in the quatrain.