Poetry Terms

Question 1

situational irony

Answer 1

incongruity between what is expected to happen and what actually happens

Question 2

verbal irony

Answer 2

a figure of speech that occurs when a person says one thing but means the opposite

Question 3

dramatic irony

Answer 3

a discrepancy between what a character believes or says and what the reader or audience member knows to be true

Question 4

cosmic irony

Answer 4

the use of god, destiny, or after to dash the hopes and expectations of a character of humankind in general

Question 5

elegy

Answer 5

a mournful, contemplative lyric poem written to commemorate someone who is dead, often ending in a consolation

Question 6

ode

Answer 6

a relatively lengthy lyric poem that often expresses loft emotions in a dignified style. characterized by a serious topic such as truth, art, freedom, justice, or the meaning of life; their tone tends to be formal

Question 7

parody

Answer 7

a humorous imitation of another, usually serious, work. it can take any fixed or open form because the parodists imitate the tone language, and shape of the original in order to deflate the subject matter, making the original work seem absurd.

Question 8

Stanza

Answer 8

consists of grouping of lines, set off by a space, that usually has a set pattern of meter and rhyme

Question 9

rhymes scheme

Answer 9

the pattern of end rhymes

Question 10

couplet

Answer 10

consists of two lines that usually have rhyme and have the same space meter

Question 11

meter

Answer 11

when a rhythmic pattern of stresses recurs in a poem. they are determined by the type and number of feet in a line of verse. there is rising, which moves from unstressed to stressed sounds, and falling, which refers to metrical feet that move from stressed to unstressed sounds.

Question 12

iambic pentameter

Answer 12

is a metrical pattern in poetry that consists of five iambic feet per line (an iamb, or iambic foot, consists of one unstressed syllable followed by a stresses syllable)

Question 13

blank verse

Answer 13

unrhymed iambic pentameter. this is in the English verse is closest to the natural rhythms of English speech and therefore is the most common pattern found in traditional english narrative and dramatic poetry (used heavily in Shakespeare)

Question 14

italian sonnet

Answer 14

a sonnet is lyrical poetry of 14 lines written in iambic pentameter. (also known as a petrarchan sonnet, the italian sonnet is divided into an octave with the abba abba rhyme scheme. the sonnet often introduces a situation which is resolved by the subsequent sestet - cdecde/cdcdcd

Question 15

english sonnet

Answer 15

also known as the Shakespearean sonnet, it is organized into three quatrains and a couplet, following the abab, cdcd, efef, gg pattern. it is best fit to the English language in terms of thematic ideas, break between the quatrains and couplets and flow of speech.

Question 16

sestina

Answer 16

39 lines total with 6 sestets (6 lined stanza) and 3 line concluding stanza (envoy). the last 6 words in every line of the first stanza are repeated in the following sestets in varying order and in the 3 liens of the envoy.

Question 17

villanelle

Answer 17

19 line poem with 5 tercets (3 lined stanza) and a quatrain (4 line stanza). they have rhymes of the first and third lines (aba format) which is then followed in each subsequent line. and also followed in the quatrain in the last two lines (abaa) 1st and third line are also repeated throughout the poem

Question 18

ballad

Answer 18

traditionally a ballad is a song, passed form generation to generation, which makes it difficult to trace the ballad back to one author.group of authors, they contain dramatic aspects, are usually somewhat condensed and imperson narratives.

Question 19

epigram

Answer 19

normally written in couplets, they are witty, brief poems, usually making a satiric or humorous point.

Question 20

free verse

Answer 20

also referred to as open form poetry, this form takes on no “expected” patterns such as meter, rhyme, and stanza. this type of poetry uses speech patterns, grammar, emphasis, and breath pauses to create line breaks.

Question 21

formal diction

Answer 21

a dignified, impersonal and elevated use of language; it follows the rules of syntax exactly and is often characterized by complex words and lofty tone

Question 22

informal diction

Answer 22

the plain language of everyday talk and often includes idiomatic expressions, slang, contraction, and many simple, common words

Question 23

colloquial diction

Answer 23

a type of informal diction that reflects casual, conversational language and often includes slang expressions, abbreviations, and other phrases that are known to native speakers of a dialect.

Question 24

visual imagery

Answer 24

utilizing descriptive qualities of how something looks to create an image in the reader’s head

Question 25

auditory imagery

Answer 25

utilizing descriptions of what is heard to appeal to a reader's sense of hearing

Question 26

olfactory imagery

Answer 26

utilizing descriptions of what is smelled to appeal to reader's sense of smell

Question 27

tactile imagery

Answer 27

utilizing descriptions of what is felt to appeal to a reader's sens of touch

Question 28

gustatory imagery

Answer 28

utilizing descriptions of taste to appeal to a reader's sense of taste

Question 29

pun

Answer 29

play on words, it rely's on words having more than one definition or sounding like another word

Question 30

paradox

Answer 30

statement or ideas that initially appears to be self-contradictory but makes it work (statement)

Question 31

oxymoron

Answer 31

condensed form of paradox in which two contradictory words are used together (two words)

Question 32

denotation

Answer 32

the dictionary meaning of a word

Question 33

connotation

Answer 33

associations and implications that go beyond a word's literal meaning and arriving from how the word has been commonly sued and the associations people make with it

Question 34

syntax

Answer 34

the ordering of words into meaningful verbal patterns such as phrases, clauses, and sentences (stanzas, lines)

Question 35

Dialect

Answer 35

a form of language that is specific to a region or social group (region)

Question 36

Jargon

Answer 36

specific words or expressions used to associate with complete explanation a profession or group that outsiders would find difficult to understand (profession)

Question 37

Ambiguity

Answer 37

when something is unclear or can be interpreted in many different ways

Question 38

Metaphor

Answer 38

a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without using the words like or as

Question 39

Implied metaphor

Answer 39

an implied metaphor is a more subtle comparison where the terms being compared are not so specifically explained

Question 40

Extended metaphor

Answer 40

an extended metaphor is a sustained comparison win which part or all of a poem consists of a series of related metaphors

Question 41

Persona

Answer 41

a speaker created by a writer to tell a story or to speak in a poem, a separate self, created by and distinct from the author, through which he or she speaks

Question 42

Dramatic monologue

Answer 42

a type of lyric poem in which a character (the speaker) addresses a distinct by silent audience, imagining to be present in the poem in such a way as to reveal a dramatic situation and, often unintentionally some aspect of his or her temperament of personality.

Question 43

Tone

Answer 43

the author's implicit attitude towards the reader or the people, places and events in a work as revealed by the elements of the author’s style. Tone is any attitudes and feelings that human beings experience

Question 44

Masculine rhyme

Answer 44

masculine rhyme describes the rhyming of single-syllable words, such as grade or shade. They also occur when rhyming words are of more than one syllable and the same sound occurs in a final stressed syllable.

Question 45

Feminine rhyme

Answer 45

feminine rhyme consists of a rhymed stressed syllable followed by one or more identical unstressed syllables

Question 46

Slant: near, off, approximate

Answer 46

in near rhyme (also called off rhyme, slant rhyme, and approximate rhyme) the sounds are almost but not exactly alike. A common form of near rhyme is CONSONANCE, which consists of identical consonant sounds preceded by different vowel sounds

Question 47

Allusion

Answer 47

a brief reference to a persona, place, thing, event or idea in history or literature. They conjure up biblical authority, historical figures, wars, great love stories, and anything else that might enrich an author’s work. They imply reading and cultural experiences shared by the writer and reader, and the recall something outside the work that supplies an emotional or intellectual context

Question 48

Carpe diem

Answer 48

the latin phrase meaning “seize the day”. This is a very common literary theme, especially in the lyric poetry, which emphasizes that life is short, time is fleeting, and one should make the most of present pleasures.

Question 49

Didactic poetry

Answer 49

poetry designed to teach an ethical, moral, or religious lesson

Question 50

Eye rhyme

Answer 50

is where the two words are spelled similarly and look alike but do not rhyme

Question 51

End rhyme

Answer 51

end rhyme is when the two words at the end of a line rhyme with one another

Question 52

Internal rhyme

Answer 52

occurs when two words rhyme within the same phrase or line

Question 53

Symbol

Answer 53

a person, object, image, word or event that evokes a range of additional meaning beyond the usually more abstract than its literal significance

Question 54

Allegory

Answer 54

a narration or description usually restricted to single meaning because of its events. Actions, characters, settings, and objects represent specific abstractions or ideas

Question 55

Satire

Answer 55

the literary art of ridiculing a folly or vice in order to expose or correct it. It evokes attitudes of amusement, contempt, scorn, or indignation toward it’s faulty subject in the hope of somehow improving it

Question 56

Apostrophe

Answer 56

an address, either or someone who is absent and therefore can not hear the speaker or to something nonhuman that cannot comprehend; apostrophe often provides a speaker the opportunity to think aloud

Question 57

Euphony

Answer 57

“good sound” - refers to language that is smooth and musically pleasant to the ear

Question 58

Cacophony

Answer 58

“bad sound” - refers to language that is discordant and difficult to pronounce

Question 59

Onomatopoeia

Answer 59

a term referring to the use of a word that resembles the sound it denotes

Question 60

Tercet

Answer 60

a three line stanza

Question 61

Triplet

Answer 61

a tercet with all 3 lines in rhyme

Question 62

Quatrain

Answer 62

a four-line stanza

Question 63

Abstract diction-

Answer 63

the words and phrases used to describe intangible qualities, ideas, and feelings, like love, death, or beauty

Question 64

Concrete diction

Answer 64

using words for their literal meanings. This means that the meaning of the words is not open for interpretation because the author is straightforward and detailed in his or her phrasing

Question 65

Poetic diction

Answer 65

the way poets sometimes use an elevated diction that deviates significantly from the common speech and writing of the their time, choosing words for their supposedly inherent poetic qualities

Question 66

Simile

Answer 66

a simile is a common figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things that are very different, using words such as “like'' and “as''. Are most effective when comparing two things that are extremely different yet have a shared trait

Question 67

Personification

Answer 67

a form of metaphor that attributes human characteristics to nonhuman things. Thai increases the liveliness of works through giving common human behaviors and emotions to animals, inanimate objects, etc

Question 68

Conceit

Answer 68

this is a type of figurative language that establishes a comparison that is extremely ridiculous or improbable. This is similar to metaphors and similes. However it differs mainly in the degree to which the comparison is so ridiculous or unlikely that the connection between the two is challenging for the reader to decipher

Question 69

Alliteration

Answer 69

the repetition of the same consonant sounds in a sequence of words, usually at the beginning of a word or stressed syllable

Question 70

Assonance

Answer 70

the repetition of internal vowel sounds in nearby words that do not end the same

Question 71

Consonance

Answer 71

a common type of near rhyme that consists of identical consonant sounds preceded by different vowel sounds

Question 72

enjambment

Answer 72

the continuation of a sentence without pause beyond the end of a poetic line; also known as a run-on line

Question 73

caesura

Answer 73

a pause within a line of poetry that contributes to the rhythm/emphasis of the line