Poetry terminology

Question 1

Preposition

Answer 1

A word category which explains where something is (on, under, in) etc

Question 2

polyptoton

Answer 2

repetition of words derived from the same root (such as “blood” and “bleed”)

Question 3

anadiplosis

Answer 3

a rhetorical device that involves repeating the last word or phrase of one clause or sentence at the beginning of the next

Question 4

diacope

Answer 4

where a word or phrase is repeated with a small number of intervening words

Question 5

epizeuxis

Answer 5

a rhetorical device that involves repeating a word or phrase in immediate succession to emphasize a point or create a strong emotional impact

Question 6

Litotes

Answer 6

An understatement (opposite to hyperbole)

Question 7

Sonnet

Answer 7

– 14 lines.
- Abab cdcd efef gg rhyme scheme.
- Iambic pentametre rhythm (10 syllable per line)
- Often about love and romance.

Question 8

Elegy

Answer 8

a mournful, melancholy poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.

Question 9

Ballade

Answer 9

A poem consisting of three stanzas, all ending with the same line (refrain). The
first three stanzas commonly have eight or ten lines each and the same rhyme scheme

Question 10

Quatrain

Answer 10

4 line stanza

Question 11

Sestet

Answer 11

6 line stanza

Question 12

Octave

Answer 12

8 line stanza

Question 13

Cinquain

Answer 13

5 line stanza

Question 14

Refrain

Answer 14

A phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated throughout a poem, usually after
every stanza – kind of like the chorus of a song

Question 15

Iambic pentameter

Answer 15

5 pairs of ‘de dum’ beats in a line of poetry (equalling 10 syllables
in total)

Question 16

Blank verse

Answer 16

A poem written in iambic pentameter (10 syllables per line) but doesn’t
rhyme