Poetry - Literary terms

Question 1

Stanza

Answer 1

A stanza in poetryis a group of lines usually set of from each other by using a blank line. Stanzas are able to rhyme but are not required to.

Question 2

Lines

Answer 2

A line in poetryis a subdivision of a poem. A group of words arranged into a row that ends for a reason other than the end of a sentence.

Question 3

Foot / Feet

Answer 3

A poetic foot is’’a unit of stressed and unstressed ( accented and unaccented) syllables in a line of poetry.’’ Each foot has exactly 1 stressed syllable and 1 OR 2 unstressed syllables.

Question 4

Meter

Answer 4

A reoccuring pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.

Question 5

Iambic pentameter

Answer 5

A short syllable is followed by a long syllable.
da DUM / da DUM / da DUM…

Question 6

Repetition

Answer 6

Repetition is the repeating of a word or a phrase

Question 7

Rhyme

Answer 7

Words or phrases that have the same ending sound

Question 8

End rhyme

Answer 8

End rhyme occurs when the last words of two or more lines rhyme.

Question 9

Rhyme scheme

Answer 9

A rhyme scheme is a regular pattern of rhyme at the end of the lines in a poem

Question 10

Eye rhyme

Answer 10

A similarity between words in spelling but not in pronunciation, for example love and move.

Question 11

Sonnet

Answer 11

A fourteen‐line poem with a fixed rhyme scheme; ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. Often written in iambic pentameter and is about love.

Question 12

Free verse

Answer 12

where there are no rhyme schemes or consistent patterns a poem has to follow.

Question 13

Alliteration

Answer 13

Alliteration is the repetitionn of the same sound at the start of a series of words in succession.
E.g. Coca-cola

Question 14

Assonance

Answer 14

A repetition of vowel sounds (e, a, u, i, o) in any part of a word.
E.g. Good day, I’ll be on my way. or: Hear the mellow wedding bells

Question 15

Onomatopoeia

Answer 15

The naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it.
E.g. BOOM, POW, BANG

Question 16

Allusion

Answer 16

An allusion occurs when a general fact, famous person, place, special occurrence, etc. are referred to people, objects, places in a text.
E.g. He is a real Einstein

Question 17

Simile

Answer 17

The subject of the poem is described by comparing it to another object or subject, using ‘as’ or ‘like’.
E.g. Sleeping like a log.

Question 18

Metaphor

Answer 18

A metaphor compares an object, setting or behaviour to something it is not or cannot be.
E.g. A sea of knowledge

Question 19

Personification

Answer 19

Personification is used to make inanimate object seem like they are living by giving them human qualities.

Question 20

Irony

Answer 20

A situation in which something was intended to have a particular result has the opposite result. Irony also means that something different was meant instead of what was literally said, it has a deeper meaning.
E.g. Coming home to a big mess and saying, “it’s great to be back”

Question 21

Hyperbole

Answer 21

Exaggerating extremely to make your point clearer in a poem or in normal English, by using examples or different punctuation marks.
E.g. I’m so hungry that I could eat a horse.

Question 22

Imagery

Answer 22

Imagery is when elements of a poem invoke any of the five senses to create a mental image. To represent objects or concepts.
E.g. The autumn leaves are a blanket on the ground.

Question 23

Paradox

Answer 23

A paradox is a sentence or statement that is self‐contradictory, but then under further inspection makes sense.
E.g. Less is more.

Question 24

Oxymoron

Answer 24

Two words orphrasesused together that have, orseemto have opposite meanings.
E.g. The dog seems to be pretty ugly.

Question 25

Euphemism

Answer 25

Euphemisms are polite, mild phrases which subsitute unpleasant ways of saying something sad or uncomfortable.
E.g. Your grandma has gone to a better place.

Question 26

Anaphora

Answer 26

The repetition of words or phrases in a group of sentences, clauses or poetic lines.
E.g. Go big or go home.

Question 27

Pathetic fallacy

Answer 27

Pathetic fallacy is giving human emotions to a non‐human thing.
E.g. I wandered lonely as a cloud. Or: The night has been unruly.

Question 28

Enjambment

Answer 28

The continuation of a sentence or phrase from one line of poetry to the next, without a natural pause.