poetry techniques Flashcards
(134 cards)
1
Q
A
2
Q
What is an Allegory?
A
A story in which characters and events represent abstract ideas, often about morals, politics, or religion.
3
Q
What is Alliteration?
A
Repetition of the same starting sound or letter in nearby words.
4
Q
What is an Allusion?
A
An indirect or unexplained reference to something outside the text.
5
Q
What is an Analogy?
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A comparison between two unrelated things based on shared qualities.
6
Q
What is Anaphora?
A
Repeating the same phrase at the beginning of sentences or clauses.
7
Q
What is an Anecdote?
A
A short, often amusing story used to illustrate a point.
8
Q
What is an Antagonist?
A
A character who opposes the main character (protagonist).
9
Q
What is Anthropomorphism?
A
Giving animals or objects human traits or personalities.
10
Q
What is Antithesis?
A
The direct opposite of someone or something.
11
Q
What is an Aphorism?
A
A short, wise saying that expresses a general truth.
12
Q
What is an Apostrophe?
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Addressing a person who isn’t present, or a personified object.
13
Q
What is an Archetype?
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A typical example or original model that others copy.
14
Q
What is Assonance?
A
Repetition of similar vowel sounds in nearby words.
15
Q
What is Asyndeton?
A
Omitting conjunctions between words or parts of a sentence.
16
Q
What is a Ballad?
A
A narrative poem, often musical and written in quatrains.
17
Q
What is a Bildungsroman?
A
A novel about the growth and development of the main character.
18
Q
What is Blank Verse?
A
Poetry with no rhyme but a regular metre (usually iambic pentameter).
19
Q
What is a Caesura?
A
A pause within a line of poetry.
20
Q
What is a Caricature?
A
An exaggerated portrayal of a character for comic effect.
21
Q
What is Catharsis?
A
The release of strong emotions by the audience.
22
Q
What is Characterisation?
A
How a writer creates and describes characters.
23
Q
What is Chiasmus?
A
Repetition of ideas in reverse order in a sentence or clause.
24
Q
What is a Cliché?
A
An overused idea or expression that has lost originality.
25
What is Climax?
The moment of highest tension or drama in a story.
26
What is Colloquialism?
Informal language or slang used in writing or speech.
27
What is Connotation?
The ideas or feelings a word suggests beyond its literal meaning.
28
What is Consonance?
Repetition of consonant sounds in nearby words.
29
What is a Couplet?
Two consecutive lines of poetry that form a complete idea.
30
What is Denotation?
The dictionary or literal meaning of a word.
31
What is Denouement?
The resolution of conflict at the end of a story.
32
What is Deus Ex Machina?
An unlikely or sudden ending that easily resolves conflict.
33
What is Dialogue?
The spoken words exchanged between characters.
34
What is Direct Characterisation?
When a writer tells the reader directly what a character is like.
35
What is Dramatic Irony?
When the audience knows something the characters don’t.
36
What is a Dramatic Monologue?
A poem where one speaker reveals thoughts to a silent listener.
37
What is Dystopian?
A fictional, oppressive society full of suffering.
38
What is an Elegy?
A mournful poem written about someone who has died.
39
What is End Rhyme?
Rhyme that occurs at the end of lines in a poem.
40
What is an End-Stopped Line?
A line of poetry that ends with a punctuation mark.
41
What is Enjambment?
When a sentence continues from one poetic line into the next.
42
What is an Epigraph?
A short quote or poem at the start of a book or chapter.
43
What is Ethos?
An appeal to ethics, character, or credibility in argument.
44
What is a Euphemism?
A polite phrase used to replace an unpleasant one.
45
What is Exposition?
The background information given in a story.
46
What is an Extended Metaphor?
A metaphor developed across multiple lines or the whole text.
47
What is Falling Action?
Events after the climax that lead toward resolution.
48
What is Fiction?
Prose writing that describes imaginary events or people.
49
What is Figurative Language?
Non-literal language used for effect or emotion.
50
What is First Person?
A narrative using “I,” “me,” or “my” from the character's view.
51
What is a Flashback?
A scene set in an earlier time than the main story.
52
What is Foreshadowing?
Hints or clues about what will happen later in the story.
53
What is Form?
The structure or type of literary work.
54
What is Formal Verse?
Poetry that follows strict rules of metre and rhyme.
55
What is Free Verse?
Poetry with no fixed rhyme or metre.
56
What is Genre?
A category of literature with specific features.
57
What is a Haiku?
A 3-line Japanese poem with 5, 7, and 5 syllables.
58
What is Hamartia?
A tragic flaw leading to the downfall of the protagonist.
59
What is a Heroic Couplet?
Two rhymed lines of poetry, often used in epic poetry.
60
What is Hubris?
Excessive pride or self-confidence.
61
What is Hyperbole?
Exaggeration used for emphasis or effect.
62
What is Iambic Pentameter?
A line of ten syllables with alternating unstressed and stressed beats.
63
What is an Idiom?
A common phrase with a meaning different from its literal words.
64
What is Imagery?
Descriptive language that appeals to the senses.
65
What is Indirect Characterisation?
Showing what a character is like through actions or dialogue.
66
What is In Medias Res?
A story that begins in the middle of events.
67
What is Internal Rhyme?
Rhyme that happens within a line of poetry.
68
What is Intertextuality?
When a text references or connects to another text.
69
What is Irony?
A difference between appearance and reality, often humorous.
70
What is Juxtaposition?
Placing things side by side to highlight contrasts.
71
What is Language?
The choice of words and techniques used by a writer.
72
What is Litotes?
Understatement used for emphasis, often using double negatives.
73
What is Logos?
An argument that appeals to logic or reason.
74
What is Malapropism?
Misusing words that sound similar, usually for comedic effect.
75
What is a Metaphor?
A direct comparison between two unlike things.
76
What is Metonymy?
Using a related word to refer to something (e.g. “the crown” for monarchy).
77
What is Metre?
The rhythm of poetry, based on syllable patterns.
78
What is a Monologue?
A long speech by one character.
79
What is a Motif?
A recurring idea, image, or symbol in a text.
80
What is a Narrative?
A sequence of events told in a story.
81
What is an Ode?
A poem that praises a person, object, or event.
82
What is an Omniscient Narrator?
A narrator who knows everything about the story and characters.
83
What is Onomatopoeia?
A word that sounds like the noise it describes.
84
What is an Oxymoron?
Two opposite ideas combined for effect (e.g. “bittersweet”).
85
What is a Paradox?
A statement that seems contradictory but may reveal a truth.
86
What is Parallelism?
Using similar structure in related words or ideas.
87
What is a Parody?
A humorous imitation of a style or work.
88
What is Pathetic Fallacy?
Using nature or objects to reflect human emotions.
89
What is Pathos?
An appeal to the audience’s emotions.
90
What is a Persona?
The voice or character adopted by the writer.
91
What is Personification?
Giving human qualities to non-human things.
92
What is Perspective?
The point of view from which the story is told.
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What is Plot?
The sequence of events in a story.
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What is Polysyndeton?
The use of many conjunctions in close succession.
95
What is Prolepsis?
When a future event is told early in a narrative (flash-forward).
96
What is Prose?
Ordinary written language, not arranged as poetry.
97
What is a Protagonist?
The main character of a story.
98
What is a Pun?
A joke using wordplay or double meanings.
99
What is a Quatrain?
A stanza of four lines.
100
What is a Refrain?
A repeated word or phrase in a poem.
101
What is Repetition?
Deliberate reuse of words or phrases for emphasis.
102
What is Rhetoric?
Persuasive language, often in speeches or writing.
103
What is a Rhetorical Question?
A question asked for effect, not meant to be answered.
104
What is Rhyme?
Words with the same end sound.
105
What is a Rhyme Scheme?
The pattern of end rhymes in a poem (e.g. ABAB).
106
What is a Rhyming Couplet?
Two consecutive rhymed lines of poetry.
107
What is Rhythm?
The pattern of sounds created by stressed and unstressed syllables.
108
What is Rising Action?
Events that build tension and lead to the climax.
109
What is Satire?
Writing that criticises using humour, irony, or exaggeration.
110
What is Second Person?
Using “you” or “your” to speak directly to the reader.
111
What is Sibilance?
Repetition of “s,” “sh,” or “z” sounds.
112
What is a Simile?
Comparing two things using “like” or “as.”
113
What is a Soliloquy?
A speech where a character talks alone, revealing thoughts.
114
What is a Sonnet?
A 14-line poem, usually in iambic pentameter with a fixed rhyme.
115
What is a Stanza?
A group of lines forming a unit in a poem.
116
What is Stream of Consciousness?
Narration that reveals a character's thoughts in real time.
117
What is Structure?
How a text is organised or arranged.
118
What is a Symbol?
An object or image that represents a deeper meaning.
119
What is Symbolism?
Using symbols to represent ideas or emotions.
120
What is Synecdoche?
Using part of something to refer to the whole, or vice versa.
121
What is Tautology?
Repeating the same idea in different words.
122
What is a Tercet?
A three-line stanza or verse.
123
What is a Theme?
The central topic or idea in a literary text.
124
What is Third Person?
A story told by a narrator outside of the characters using “he,” “she,” or “they.”
125
What is Tone?
The writer’s or character’s attitude toward a subject.
126
What is a Trope?
A common or recurring theme, image, or idea in literature.
127
What is a Villanelle?
A 19-line poem with five 3-line stanzas and a final 4-line stanza.
128
What is a Volta?
A shift in tone, mood, or focus in a poem.
129
tricolon
the rule of three
130
synaesthesia
131
temporal layering
132
parataxis
133
negative capability
134
ekphrasis
