Poetry Terms

Question 1

Abstract Idea

Answer 1

A general idea; that which exists in the mind rather than in the external world.

Question 2

Allegory

Answer 2

A complete work in which the elements and ideas of the work represent abstractions.

Question 3

Alliteration

Answer 3

Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words in quick succession.

Question 4

Allusion

Answer 4

Reference to something form literature, history, or pop culture that the author believes a majority of the audience will know about.

Question 5

Anaphora

Answer 5

Repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of consecutive lines.

Question 6

Antithesis

Answer 6

Two opposing ideas.

Question 7

Apostrophe

Answer 7

A specialized type of personification in which
the persona addressing someone or
something that is not present and can’t speak
back

Question 8

Assonance

Answer 8

Repetition of vowel sounds throughout words.

Question 9

Connotation

Answer 9

The implied or associated meaning of a chosen word.

Question 10

Consonance

Answer 10

Repetition of consonant sounds at the middle or end of words.

Question 11

Couplet

Answer 11

2 lines.

Question 12

Denotation

Answer 12

The dictionary definition of a word.

Question 13

Diction

Answer 13

Word choice.

Question 14

Dramatic Irony

Answer 14

The audience knows something the characters don’t.

Question 15

End Rhyme

Answer 15

Words that rhyme at the end of lines.

Question 16

Enjambment

Answer 16

The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.

Question 17

Extended Metaphor

Answer 17

A metaphor which runs through the entirety of a stanza or poem.

Question 18

Imagery

Answer 18

Language that appeals to the senses (visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, gustatory).

Question 19

Internal Rhyme

Answer 19

Words that rhyme anywhere within a line or series of lines but do not both occur at the end of lines.

Question 20

Irony

Answer 20

A contrast between expectation and reality.

Question 21

Juxtaposition

Answer 21

Placing two varying ideas, concepts, or structural choices next to each other.

Question 22

Metaphor

Answer 22

Comparing or contrasting two unlike things.

Question 23

Meter

Answer 23

The rhythm of the poem.

Question 24

Mood

Answer 24

The feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader.

Question 25

Onomatopoeia

Answer 25

Words that sound like sounds.

Question 26

Oxymoron

Answer 26

Two words together that contradict.

Question 27

Paradox

Answer 27

An apparent contradiction that reveals a truth.

Question 28

Paralellism

Answer 28

Repetition of grammatical structure.

Question 29

Personification

Answer 29

Giving human qualities to something that is not human.

Question 30

Quatrain

Answer 30

A four line stanza.

Question 31

Refrain

Answer 31

A line or set of lines repeated several times over the course of a poem.

Question 32

Repetition

Answer 32

Repeating the same word or phrase most often for emphasis.

Question 33

Rhyme

Answer 33

Repetition of the same or similar sounds occurring in two or more words, usually at the end of lines in a poem.

Question 34

Rhyme Scheme

Answer 34

The structure of end words in poetry.

Question 35

Shift

Answer 35

Change

Question 36

Simile

Answer 36

Comparing or contrasting two unlike things using a comparison word.

Question 37

Speaker

Answer 37

The voice of the poem.

Question 38

Stanza

Answer 38

A group fo lines in a poem.

Question 39

Symbol

Answer 39

When one idea or image is used to represent something larger and more complex.

Question 40

Theme

Answer 40

The central idea of a work of literature.

Question 41

Title

Answer 41

The name of an artistic work.

Question 42

Tone

Answer 42

The attitude a writer takes toward the audience, a subject, or a character.

Question 43

Triplet

Answer 43

A three line stanza.

Question 44

Trope

Answer 44

The generic name for a figure of speech such as image, symbol, simile, and metaphor.