English Comp Test Flashcards
Ambiguity
When a word, phrase, or statement has more than one meaning or interpretation. Example: “The bark was painful” could refer to the sound of a dog barking or the rough exterior of a tree
Analogy
A comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation or clarification. Example: “Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.”
Anaphora
The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences. Example: “We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets…”
Anastrophe
The inversion of the usual order of words for emphasis or poetic effect. Example: “Patience I lack” instead of “I lack patience.”
Antithesis
The contrast or opposition between two things. Example: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”
Apostrophe
When a speaker addresses someone or something that isn’t present or alive. Example: “O Death, where is thy sting?”
Catalogue
A list of items or people, often used for poetic or rhetorical effect. Example: “She packed her bags: shoes, dresses, hats, scarves…”
Chiasmus
A reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases. Example: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
Conceit
An extended metaphor comparing two very dissimilar things. Example: “Love is a battlefield.”
Consonance
Repetition of consonant sounds within or at the end of nearby words. Example: “The boat floats on the moonlit moat.”
Diction
The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing. Example: The poet’s diction was simple yet powerful, using words like “gleaming” and “gentle.”
Dramatic Monologue
A poem in which a single character speaks to a silent listener, revealing their thoughts and feelings. Example: In the forest, the ancient oak whispered its secrets to the passing breeze.
Elegy
A poem mourning the loss of someone or something. Example: The sunset cast a solemn hue over the landscape, as if nature itself were mourning the passing of the day.
End rhyme, internal rhyme
End rhyme occurs at the end of lines, while internal rhyme occurs within lines. Example of end rhyme: The cat sat on the mat, wearing a hat. Example of internal rhyme: I wandered lonely as a cloud.
End-stopped lines
Lines of poetry that end with punctuation, creating a pause. Example: The river flowed gently, its waters clear and calm.
Enjambment
The continuation of a sentence or clause from one line of poetry to the next without a pause. Example: The sun set behind the mountains, painting the sky in shades of pink and gold.
Epigram
A short, witty poem or saying expressing a single thought or observation. Example: “I can resist everything except temptation.” - Oscar Wilde
Euphony
The quality of being pleasing to the ear, achieved through the use of harmonious sounds. Example: The gentle rustle of leaves in the breeze created a sense of euphony in the forest.
Free verse
Poetry that does not follow a regular meter or rhyme scheme. Example: The poet’s words flowed freely, unrestricted by the constraints of form or structure.
Heroic couplet
A pair of rhymed lines in iambic pentameter. Example: The knight rode forth into the fray, With sword in hand and heart so brave.
Image
A word or phrase that appeals to the senses, creating a mental picture. Example: The scent of roses filled the air, mingling with the sound of distant laughter.
Imagery
The use of vivid language to create mental images or sensory experiences. Example: The waves crashed against the shore, their foam sparkling in the sunlight.
Line length
The number of metrical feet or syllables in a line of poetry, such as monometer, dimeter, trimeter, tetrameter, pentameter, hexameter, etc.
Masculine rhyme
When the rhyme falls on a single stressed syllable. Example: “light” and “night.”
Iamb (iambic)
A metrical foot consisting of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable. Example: “To-DAY.”
Feminine rhyme
when the rhyme falls on the last two or more syllables, with the stress on the penultimate syllable. Example: “ending” and “bending.”
Anapest (anapestic)
A metrical foot consisting of two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable. Example: “un-der-STAND.”
Trochee (trochaic)
A metrical foot consisting of one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable. Example: “WIN-ter.”
Pyrrhic
A metrical foot consisting of two unstressed syllables. Example: “to the.”
Dactyl (dactylic)
A metrical foot consisting of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables. Example: “MER-ri-ly.”
Spondee (spondaic)
A metrical foot consisting of two stressed syllables. Example: “HEART-BEAT.”
Common meter
A hymn meter consisting of alternating lines of iambic tetrameter (four metrical feet per line) and iambic trimeter (three metrical feet per line), usually in a rhyming pattern of ABAB or ABCB.
Short meter
A hymn meter similar to common meter but with the second and fourth lines in iambic trimeter, creating a rhyming pattern of ABAB.
Long meter
A hymn meter in which all lines are in iambic tetrameter, typically with a rhyming pattern of ABAB.
Ode
A lyrical poem typically expressing praise or celebration of a person, event, or object. Example: “Ode to Joy” by Friedrich Schiller.
Onomatopoeia
Words that imitate or suggest the sound they describe. Example: “Buzz” and “hiss.”
Ottava rima
A stanza of eight lines in iambic pentameter, typically used in epic poetry. Example: Lord Byron’s “Don Juan.”
Prosody
The study of meter, rhythm, and intonation in poetry. Example: The prosody of Shakespeare’s sonnets is known for its iambic pentameter.
Persona
The voice or character speaking in a poem, separate from the poet. Example: Robert Browning’s “My Last Duchess.”
Refrain
A repeated line or phrase in a poem, typically at the end of each stanza. Example: “Quoth the Raven, ‘Nevermore’” in Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven.”
Rhyme royal
A seven-line stanza in iambic pentameter with a rhyme scheme of ABABBCC. Example: Chaucer’s “Troilus and Criseyde.”
Riddle
A puzzling question or statement requiring thought or creativity to solve. Example: “What has keys but can’t open locks? A piano.”
Satire
A literary work that uses humor, irony, or exaggeration to criticize or mock society. Example: Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal.”
Sestina
A complex poetic form consisting of six six-line stanzas followed by a three-line stanza, all using the same six end words in different order. Example: Elizabeth Bishop’s “Sestina.”
Sonnet (English or Shakespearean)
A 14-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme, typically iambic pentameter. Example: Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”
Stichic Verse
Continuous verse, with lines following one after another without stanza breaks. Example: Paradise Lost by Milton
Sonnet (Italian or Petrarchan)
A 14-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme and two parts: an octave followed by a sestet. Example: Petrarch’s Sonnet 18, “Chiare, fresche et dolci acque.”
Strophic verse
Organized verse into stanzas. Example: Hymns.
Stress
The emphasis placed on a syllable in pronunciation. Example: In “banana,” the stress falls on the second syllable.
Stanza
A group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem. Example: A quatrain is a stanza of four lines.
Synaeresis
The merging of two adjacent vowels or syllables into one. Example: “Fire” pronounced as one syllable instead of two.
Substitution
The replacement of one metrical foot with another in a line of poetry. Example: Trochee substitution in iambic pentameter.
Syncope
The omission of one or more sounds or letters from the middle of a word. Example: “Ne’er” instead of “never.”
Terza Rima
A verse form consisting of tercets in iambic pentameter with an interlocking rhyme scheme. Example: Dante’s “Divine Comedy.”
Tone
The attitude or mood conveyed by a literary work. Example: The tone of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” is dark and suspenseful.
Villanelle
A 19-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme and repeating lines. Example: Dylan Thomas’s “Do not go gentle into that good night.”
Voice
The distinctive style or personality of a writer or narrator in a literary work. Example: The voice of Holden Caulfield in J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye.”
Wit
Cleverness and humor in writing, often involving wordplay or unexpected connections. Example: Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” is known for its witty dialogue.
