Poem terminology Flashcards
What are the characteristics of a sonnet? [2]
- 14 lines
- Iambic pentameter
Rhyme scheme of a petrarchan sonnet?
abba, abba, cdecde
Rhyme scheme of a shakespearean sonnet?
abab, cdcd, efef, gg
What are the characteristics of a ballad? [4]
Narrative poem
Four lines:
1+3 = tetrameter
2+4 = iambic trimester, Rhyme scheme = ABCB
What is a dramatic monologue? [2]
Form of a speech by a persona (not the poet), in which the speaker unintentionally reveals aspects of their character while describing a event/events
What is a lyric? [2]
A short, expressive poem with a songlike quality that is narrated in 1st person
Explores the emotions of the speaker
What is an elegy? [4]
Written in respose to a death Mirrors stages of loss: - expressing grief and sorrow - praise for the dead - consolation
What is a free verse?
Poetry not dictated by a form or meter
What is iambic pentameter?
Rhythm of ten syllables
- five (penta) beats, alternating with five unstressed
beats
What is a change in iambic pentameter used for?
- To illuminate a sudden alteration in idea or emotion
- To mark a change in direction or tone
- To reinforce effects of slowness, weight or difficulty;
- To reinforce the suddenness and force of a vigorous action.
What is a caesura?
A break in a line of poetry
What is an enjambment?
When a line of poetry carries over onto the next line without a piece of punctuation.
What is an end stop?
When the progress of a line of poetry is stopped by
punctuation at the end of the line.
What is anaphora?
The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases,
clauses or lines
What is a blank verse?
Lines of iambic pentameter which do not rhyme
What is a heroic couplet?
Two lines of iambic pentameter which rhyme (AA)
What is alliteration?
The repetition of similar consonant sounds next or near to one another, which has the effect of reinforcing or emphasising the meaning.
What is assonance?
The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds near to each other
What is onomatopoeia?
A word – or group of words - whose sound imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes
What is a simile?
A comparison when one thing is said to be like (similar to) another
What is a metaphor?
A comparison when one thing is said to be another
What is personification?
The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non-human, or the representation of an abstract quality in human
form.
What is a symbol?
An image which represents or sums up a much larger idea
What is irony?
The expression of something which is contrary to the intended meaning; the words say one thing but mean another
