Poetry terms

Question 0

Allegory

Answer 0

Narrative or description having a second meaning beneath the surface one

Question 1

Alliteration

Answer 1

Repetition of initial constant sound in two or more closely associated words

Question 2

Allusion

Answer 2

A brief reference to a person, event or thing that the writer assumes the reader will recognize

Question 3

Analogy

Answer 3

A complex idea is compared to simple, more familiar idea (love is..)

Question 4

Antithesis

Answer 4

Contrasting or strongly opposing statements are balanced against each other for emphasis

Question 5

Apostrophe

Answer 5

Addressing an absent person, thing, or idea as if it/he could appreciate it

Question 6

Assonance

Answer 6

Close repetition of similar vowel sounds, usually in stressed syllables (like Han, ran, amber or vein, made)

Question 7

Ballad

Answer 7

Fairly short narrative poem written in a song-like stanza form

Question 8

Blank verse

Answer 8

Unrhymed iambic pentameter

Question 9

Cacophony

Answer 9

Harsh, unpleasant combination of sounds or tones euphony: word combinations that sound pleasant to the ear

Question 10

Consonance

Answer 10

Repetition at the ends of lines or words with identical constant sounds after different vowels (click and flock or fellow and shallow)

Question 11

Contrast

Answer 11

Writing that highlights differences

Question 12

Couplet

Answer 12

Two liners of verse with similar end rhymes

Question 13

Didactic verse

Answer 13

Poems which seem to preach or moralize

Question 14

Dissonance

Answer 14

Hash sounds or discordance

Question 15

Elegy

Answer 15

Mournful or reflective poem (usually about death)

Question 16

Epic

Answer 16

Long, narrative poem in elevated language about legendary achievements or adventure

Question 17

Epigram

Answer 17

A short poem expressing a single idea, that is usually satirical and witty (ex. Prose is the kind of witting everybody understands, poetry is the other kind)

Question 18

Extended metaphor

Answer 18

Developing a metaphor to explore further points of similarity

Question 19

Euphemism

Answer 19

An indirect statement is substituted for a direct one to avoid bluntness

Question 20

Euphony

Answer 20

Musical effect of combing pleasant, harmonious sounds and rhythms

Question 21

Figurative language

Answer 21

Writing that incorporates figurative language (metaphor, personification…) to gain strength and freshness of expression

Question 22

Literal language

Answer 22

Adhering strictly to the original meaning of the word or text

Question 23

Form

Answer 23

Shape and structure of a work, as opposed to it content

Question 24

Free verse

Answer 24

Poetry without structured form, rhyme scheme, or metre

Question 25

Hyperbole

Answer 25

Deliberate exaggeration

Question 26

Iambic pentameter

Answer 26

Unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable for five feet…there will always be ten syllables

Question 27

Image/imagery

Answer 27

Figurative language used to evoke mental pictures for an imaginative, emotional, response

Question 28

Internal rhyme

Answer 28

Thyme occurring within the same line

Question 29

Juxtaposition

Answer 29

Combing two (or more) unlikely elements close to each other…the effect is the shock created by the combination

Question 30

Lyric

Answer 30

Poetry marked by emotion, melody, imagination, and a unified effect

Question 31

Metaphor

Answer 31

Comparisons that are implied rather than directly expressed

Question 32

Metonymy

Answer 32

The name of one thing is substituted for that of another with which is it closely associated (the pen is mightier than the sword or Vancouver beat Calgary)

Question 33

Metre

Answer 33

Arranged pattern of rhythm is a lie of verse

Question 34

Octave

Answer 34

First eight lines of an Italian sonnet

Question 35

Ode

Answer 35

A lyric poem of excite exalted, elaborate vocabulary and tone, often in praise of something

Question 36

Oxymoron

Answer 36

Bringing together two contradicting terms (pretty ugly)

Question 37

Paradox

Answer 37

A statement that seems contradictory, yet is true (I lived in poverty and died rich or I must be cruel to be kind)

Question 38

Pastoral

Answer 38

An idealized image of rural life and nature

Question 39

Personification

Answer 39

Giving animals, ideas, or things human form, character or feeling

Question 40

Refrain

Answer 40

A line or group of lines that recurs at regular intervals, especially at the end of verses

Question 41

Repetition

Answer 41

Of words, phrases or sounds to create rhythm or emphasis

Question 42

Rhetorical question

Answer 42

A question to which no reply is intended

Question 43

Rhyme scheme

Answer 43

The pattern of rhyme: ababbc

Question 44

Satire

Answer 44

Ridicules some aspect of humour behaviour, customs or attitudes in an attempt to brig about positive change

Question 45

Sestet

Answer 45

The last six lines of a sonnet

Question 46

Sonnet

Answer 46

A lyric poem of fourteen lines written in iambic pentameter

Question 47

Stanza

Answer 47

Lines of verse forming a separate unit within a poem (“paragraphs”)

Question 48

Style

Answer 48

Something that exists in it’s own right, yet stands for something else

Question 49

Symbolism

Answer 49

The use of objects or actions to suggests ideas or emotions

Question 50

Synecdoche

Answer 50

A metaphor in which the part mention signifies the whole (He asked for her hand in marriage)

Question 51

Theme

Answer 51

The central or domination idea

Question 52

Tone

Answer 52

The authors attitude towards the subject

Question 53

Understatement

Answer 53

Saying less than what we mean (the bombing in Hiroshima killed a few people)

Question 54

Wit

Answer 54

Humour of intellectual quality which is primarily expressed through ingenious phraseology, brilliant epigrams, clever comparisons, etc…