Poetry Definitions

Question 1

Rhyme

Answer 1

Correspondence of sound between the endings of two or more words OR metrical lines such that the syllables involved carry identical vowel sounds and have (if present) identical final consonants.

Question 2

Rhythm

Answer 2

Senses relating to a regularly repeated pattern of sound or movement.

Question 3

Iambic Pentameter

Answer 3

A rhyme scheme in which each line consists of ten syllables. The syllables are divided into five pairs called iambs or iambic feet.

Question 4

Iamb

Answer 4

A metrical unit made up of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable.

Question 5

Irony

Answer 5

The expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.

Question 6

Sonnet

Answer 6

A piece of verse (properly expressive of one main idea) consisting of fourteen lines with ten syllables each, with rhymes arranged according to certain definite schemes

Question 7

Shakespearian Sonnet

Answer 7

Fourteen lines.
Frst twelve lines are divided into three quatrains with four lines each. In the three quatrains the poet establishes a theme or problem and then resolves it in the final two lines, called the couplet. The rhyme scheme of the quatrains is abab cdcd efef. The couplet has the rhyme scheme gg.

Question 8

Quatrain

Answer 8

A stanza of four lines,especiallyone having alternate rhymes; four lines of verse

Question 9

Ballad

Answer 9

a poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas. Usually unknown authorship. Stories passed down generations in some cultures

Question 10

Imagery

Answer 10

to use figurative language to represent objects, actions, and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses.

Question 11

Symbolism

Answer 11

the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities

Question 12

Symbols

Answer 12

a thing that represents or stands for something other than it’s literal meaning, especially a material object representing something abstract

Question 13

Theme

Answer 13

the subject of a talk, a piece of writing, a person’s thoughts, or an exhibition: a broad topic

Question 14

Internal Rhyme

Answer 14

a rhyme involving a word in the middle of a line and another at the end of the line or in the middle of the next

Question 15

Enjambment

Answer 15

the running over of a sentence or phrase from one poetic line to the next, without the terminal punctuation. No pause at end of line

Question 16

End-Stopped

Answer 16

a metrical line of verse ending at a grammatical boundary or breaks- a dash or closing parenthesis- or with punctuation such as a colon semicolon or a period. A line is considered end-stopped if it contains a complete phrase

Question 17

Metaphor

Answer 17

a comparison that is made directly or indirectly but without pointing out a similarity by using “like”, as or “than”.

Question 18

Simile

Answer 18

a comparison made with “as”, “like” or “than”

Question 19

Anaphora

Answer 19

the deliberate repetition of the first part of a sentence or line to achieve an artistic effect

Question 20

Personification

Answer 20

a figure of speech in which a thing, an idea, or an animal is given human attributes. The non-human objects are portrayed in such a way that we feel they have the ability to act like human beings.

Question 21

Nonsense Verse

Answer 21

makes use of nonsense words: words without a clear meaning or any meaning at all, whimsical and humorous in tone, and normally having a very obvious rhyme or rhythm.

Question 22

Satire

Answer 22

the use of humour, irony, exaggeration or ridicule to expose and criticise people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues