Poetry Techniques

Question 1

Allusion

Answer 1

Reference (usually indirect) to a preson, text or event. Biblical, mythological, intertextual.

Question 2

Antithesis

Answer 2

Two sentences with contrasting meanings in close proximity to one another.

Question 3

Asyndeton

Answer 3

Listing of words or phrases without a conjunction

Question 4

Polysyndeton

Answer 4

Listing of words with many conjunctions

Question 5

Caesura

Answer 5

A grammatical pause or break in a line of poetry. Can be indicated by -

Question 6

Colloquial Language

Answer 6

Informal Language

Question 7

Couplet

Answer 7

Structure of poetry where there are two lines of verse in a poem

Question 8

Disjunction

Answer 8

A conjunction that dramatically interrupts rhythm in a sentence (e.g. but or yet)

Question 9

Ellipsis

Answer 9

… dramatic pause that suggests words can’t be spoken or creates tension

Question 10

Emotive Language

Answer 10

Words that stir the readers emotion

Question 11

Enjambment

Answer 11

A sentence that runs over more than one line (or stanza) or a poem. Assists the flow of the poem

Question 12

Enjambment

Answer 12

A sentence that runs over more than one line (or stanza) or a poem. Assists the flow of the poem

Question 13

Epigraph

Answer 13

A quotation at the beginning of a literary work that suggests its theme

Question 14

Epistrophe

Answer 14

Repetition of a word at the end of successive phrases, clauses, sentences or verses.

Question 15

Euphony

Answer 15

Phrases that possess an extensive degree of notable loveliness.

Question 16

Figurative Language

Answer 16

Language that’s intended to create an image, association, or another effect in the mind of the listener or reader that goes beyond the literal meaning or expected use of the words involved.

Question 17

Foreshadowing

Answer 17

Indicative words or phrases that hint at an upcoming outcome.

Question 18

Free verse

Answer 18

Poetic style that lacks a regular meter or rhyme scheme.

Question 19

Imagery

Answer 19

Vivid pictures created by words.

Question 20

Pronouns

Answer 20

A word that can function as a noun phrase used by itself and that refers either to the participants in the discourse (e.g. I, you) or to someone or something mentioned elsewhere in the discourse (e.g. she, it, this).

Question 21

Sentence Types

Answer 21

The way a sentence expresses itself through the four types.

Question 22

Sound devices

Answer 22

A literary tool employed in verse plays, poetry, and prose to emphasize various sounds.

Question 23

Stanza

Answer 23

Paragraphs in Poems

Question 24

Symbol

Answer 24

A sign representing something other than itself

Question 25

Motif

Answer 25

A symbol repeated throughout the text