Poetry Terms 2

Question 1

Epigram

Answer 1

A short, witty, or cleverly-ending poem that makes a point:

To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.

Little strokes fell great oaks.

Question 2

Feminine Rhyme

Answer 2

A rhyme of 2+ syllables, NOT stressing the last syllable, which gives a lighter more “feminine” feel:

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Question 3

Foot

Answer 3

The basic measure of rhythm in a poem.

Question 4

Free Verse

Answer 4

A poem that doesn’t rhyme or follow any poetic form, like prose broken up into lines (don’t confuse this with “blank verse”!).

Question 5

Heptameter

Answer 5

Poetic meter with 7 beats per line.

Question 6

Heroic Couplet

Answer 6

A rhyming pair of lines in iambic pentameter, used in epic poetry:

A little learning is a dangerous thing;
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring….

Question 7

Iambic Pentameter

Answer 7

A line of poetry with ten syllables, with stresses on the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th syllables:

Shall I comPARE thee TO a SUMmer’s DAY?

Question 8

Internal Rhyme

Answer 8

A poem with rhyming words within a line:

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee….

Question 9

Limerick

Answer 9

A five-line poem with ANAPEST meter with the rhyme scheme AABBA:

There was a young rustic named Mallory,
who drew but a very small salary.
When he went to the show,
his purse made him go
to a seat in the uppermost gallery.

Question 10

Lyric Poetry

Answer 10

Poetry that expresses personal emotion or feeling, told in the first person (“I” or “We”), often written to be sung along with musical accompaniment (a “lyre,” hence the name “lyrical” poem).

Question 11

Masculine Rhyme

Answer 11

Words that rhyme at the LAST SYLLABLE of lines, giving them a “tougher,” stronger impact:

I have a picture in my eyes
Of Chick-fil-A and waffle fries.

Question 12

Meter

Answer 12

The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.

Question 13

Monometer

Answer 13

Poetry with only one stressed “beat” per line.

Question 14

Octameter

Answer 14

Poetry with eight stressed “beats” per line.

Question 15

Octave

Answer 15

A poem with eight lines.

Question 16

Ode

Answer 16

A short poem often set to music or sung, often about a noble, dignified subject.

Question 17

Onomatopoeia

Answer 17

A word that sounds like what it represents (e.g., words like “Wham!” or “Clang!” or “tick-tock.”

Question 18

Open Form

Answer 18

Poetry that has no regular or common meter or rhyme scheme (the opposite of “closed form”).

Question 19

Pentameter

Answer 19

Five stressed “beats” to a line:

To LIVE withOUT a WAFfle FRY is SAD.

Question 20

Quatrain

Answer 20

A four-line poem:

The Bridegroom’s doors are opened wide,
And I am next of kin;
The guests are met, the feast is set:
May’st hear the merry din.