de creative writing exam

Question 1

name four rules about writing poems.

Answer 1

create emotion
speak the truth
surprise and avoid cliches
write vividly with imagery and metaphors

Question 2

name four rules about writing fiction.

Answer 2

make likable characters
show! don’t tell
don’t look down!
there’s only bad luck

Question 3

what are the pros of oral tradition?

Answer 3

personal embellishments
accessible to the uneducated
passed down through cultures throughout time

Question 4

what are the cons of oral tradition?

Answer 4

changes over time
if the story is never told by someone and then they die, the story dies with them

Question 5

what are the characterizations of an epic?

Answer 5

a long narrative poem that centers around a hero with supernatural abilities

Question 6

What are the characteristics and purposes of a Homeric Simile?

Answer 6

“Just as the [Familiar thing], so [the thing you’ve never seen before] happened.”
the purpose is to help illustrate something abnormal to a reader that makes sense to them.

Question 7

what are the characterizations of a comedy?

Answer 7

happy ending (usually marriage or reunion)
focus more on situations than characters
involve lower-class characters

Question 8

what are the characterizations of a tragedy?

Answer 8

tragic hero
sad ending
concrete language
higher class main characters

Question 9

According to Aristotle, what are the six aspects of a good story?

Answer 9

1) Plot
2) Character
3) thought (theme)
4) diction
5) melody
6) spectacle

Question 10

What are the characteristics of an Aristotelian tragic figure?

Answer 10

characters who commit, without foul intentions, truly evil acts
truly flawed heroes
morally grounded

Question 11

What are the characteristics of Anglo-Saxon poetry?

Answer 11

alliteration, a lack of rhyming, and kennings

Question 12

What is the language of the Anglo-Saxons called?

Answer 12

Old English

Question 13

How did poetry in England change because of the Norman invasion?

Answer 13

the norman invasion introduced the romance vocabulary to England. this made the language better built for poetry. things were more rhymed/rythmic

Question 14

What year was the Battle of Hastings?

Answer 14

1066

Question 15

What are the characteristics of a ballad?

Answer 15

abcb rhyme scheme, altering 8,6,8,6 syllables per line, tells a story and resolution, contains dialogue, contains a refrain.

Question 16

what are the characteristics of a villanelle?

Answer 16

ABA rhyme scheme, 5 tercets, 1 quatrain, iambic pentameter (10 syllables per line), 2 interweaving refrains.

Question 17

what are the characteristics of a sestina?

Answer 17

6 stanzas of 6 lines, each lines end with the same 6 words, ends with a stanza of 3 lines that contains all 6 words, hide the repeated words

Question 18

what are the characteristics of a rondeau?

Answer 18

aabbaaabcaabbac rhyme scheme, 15 lines, iambic tetrameter (8 syllables), 1 refrain, iambic diameter (four syllables). the weird short line that doesn’t fit with the rest of the poem.