Poetry Terms (all 47)

Question 1

Elegy

Answer 1

Work of literature or music written to mourn a loss (Example: “Oh Captain! My Captain!” written to mourn Lincoln’s death).

Question 2

Imagery

Answer 2

Any part of a poem or any other work that appeals to the senses in a way to create a vivid or emotionally resonant picture.

Question 3

Anaphora

Answer 3

The repetition of short words or phrases at the beginning of successive lines/sentences to enhance rhythm and emotion.

Question 4

Repetition

Answer 4

When a word or phrase is used multiple time to produce rhythmic emphasis.

Question 5

Petrarchan Sonnet

Answer 5

Type of sonnet with fourteen lines divided into an octave (8 lines, ABBAABBA pattern), followed by a sestet (6 lines) with either a CDECDE or CDCDCD rhyme scheme.

Question 6

Shakespearian Sonnet

Answer 6

A sonnet written iambic pentameter made up of three quatrains (4-line stanzas) and one couplet at the end.

Question 7

Allusion

Answer 7

Unexplained reference to someone or something outside the story.

Question 8

Extended Metaphor

Answer 8

A metaphor (figuratively comparing two unrelated things) that extends over multiple lines/stanzas.

Question 9

Metaphor

Answer 9

Direct statement/comparison between two unlike things that highlights one shared quality

Question 10

Synecdoche

Answer 10

Figure of speech where a part is used to represent a whole

Question 11

Metonymy

Answer 11

Figure of speech in which a related term is substituted for the word itself

Question 11

Slant rhyme

Answer 11

Rhyme scheme with words that sound similar but not exactly the same

Question 12

End rhyme

Answer 12

The rhyming of final syllables in two or more lines of poetry (does not have to be consecutive lines)

Question 13

Motif

Answer 13

Recurring image, idea, or theme reinforcing a central message (usually throughout the whole poem)

Question 14

Ode

Answer 14

Type of poem generally written to praise and address a subject

Question 15

Pathetic Fallacy

Answer 15

The attribution of human emotion to inanimate objects, nature, and animals

Question 16

Anthropomorphism

Answer 16

The attribution of human characteristics, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities/objects

Question 17

Catalog

Answer 17

Collection of people, objects, ideas, and other elements in a list-form within poetry

Question 18

Stanza

Answer 18

Group of lines within a poem

Question 19

Couplet

Answer 19

Two lines of poetry that usually rhyme

Question 20

Euphony

Answer 20

Combining of words to form pleasing sounds

Question 21

Cacophony

Answer 21

Combinations of words that sound harsh when they’re together

Question 22

Meter

Answer 22

The poem’s rhythmic structure or pattern of emphasis.

Question 23

Caesura

Answer 23

Break or pause in a line of a poem often used to get the attention of a viewer or for dramatic effect

Question 24

Understatement

Answer 24

Figure of speech where a writer makes a situation seem less intense or significant

Question 25

Hyperbole

Answer 25

A literary device using exaggeration to an extreme to emphasize the text

Question 26

Conceit

Answer 26

Type of figurative language in which a writer establishes a comparison between two very different subjects

Question 27

Onomatopoeia

Answer 27

A literary device that uses or creates words that imitates or creates a sound

Question 28

Dactylic Foot

Answer 28

A metrical foot consisting of a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables (BOOM-ba-ba)

Question 29

Trochaic Foot

Answer 29

A metrical foot composed of one stressed and one unstressed syllable (BOOM-ba)

Question 30

Anapestic Foot

Answer 30

A metrical foot composed of two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable (ba-ba-BOOM)

Question 31

Iambic Foot

Answer 31

A metrical foot consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable (ba-BOOM)

Question 32

Enjambment

Answer 32

The continuation of a phrase or sentence from one line to the next without any punctuation

Question 33

Oxymoron

Answer 33

Words or phrases that when placed together create contradictions (old news, deafening silence, organized chaos)

Question 34

Paradox

Answer 34

A statement that appears to have contradictions at the surface level but has deeper meanings

Question 35

Free verse

Answer 35

A poetic style that doesn't follow a set meter or rhyme scheme

Question 36

Verbal irony

Answer 36

Where a person says one thing but actually means the opposite, tends to be expressing humor, frustration, or anger

Question 37

Situational irony

Answer 37

When an outcome for a situation is contrary to what is expected

Question 38

Dramatic irony

Answer 38

When the reader or audience knows more than the characters they were following

Question 39

Alliteration

Answer 39

The repetition of the beginning consonant/vowel sounds in multiple words across a line, sentence, or phrase

Question 40

Consonance

Answer 40

The repetition of consonant sounds in adjacent or in nearby words

Question 41

Assonance

Answer 41

The repetition of vowel sounds in adjacent or nearby words

Question 42

Apostrophe

Answer 42

When a speaker addresses an absent person or non-human object, idea, or being

Question 43

Zeugma

Answer 43

Figure of speech using one word to modify two others in two different ways (She broke his car and his heart)

Question 44

Synesthesia

Answer 44

A blending of different senses for dramatic effect ("Bitter cold” “Loud dress” “Chilly gaze”)

Question 45

Internal Rhyme

Answer 45

Internal rhyme is rhyme that occurs in the middle of lines of poetry, instead of at the ends of lines.

Question 46

Juxtaposition

Answer 46

A literary device that places contrasting elements side by side to highlight their differences