Poetry Literary Terms

Question 1

Stanza

Answer 1

groups of lines of poetry

Question 2

Rhyme Scheme

Answer 2

pattern of rhymes within a unit of verse; each end rhyme-sound is represented by a letter. (ex. ababcc)

Question 3

Imagery

Answer 3

the use of words to represent things, actions, or ideas by sensory description

Question 4

Cinquain

Answer 4

5 lines in a stanza

Question 5

Limerick

Answer 5

humorous nonsense-verse in five anapestic lines rhyming aabba, a-lines being trimeter and b-lines dimeter.

Question 6

Haiku

Answer 6

Japanese verse in three lines of five, seven and five syllables, often depicting a delicate image.

Question 7

Free Verse

Answer 7

unrhymed lines without regular rhythm

Question 8

Ode

Answer 8

elaborate lyric verse that deals seriously with a dignified theme

Question 9

Sonnet

Answer 9

a rigid 14-line verse form, Shakespearean

Question 10

Ballad

Answer 10

simple, narrative verse that tells a story to be sung or recited; the folk ballad is anonymously handed down (like summer camp songs), while the literary ballad has a single author.

Question 11

Epic

Answer 11

a long, dignified narrative poem that gives the account of a hero important to his nation or race

Question 12

Monologue

Answer 12

a lyric poem in which the speaker tells an audience about a dramatic moment in his/her life and, in doing so, reveals his/her character

Question 13

Elegy

Answer 13

a poem of lament, meditating on the death of an individual