Poetry Terms

Question 1

Alliteration

Answer 1

Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing, doubting dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.

Question 2

Hyperbole

Answer 2

A figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated for emphasis or humorous effect

My books weighed a ton.

Question 3

Idiom

Answer 3

Common figure of speech whose meaning is different from the literal meaning of its words.

It’s raining cats and dogs

Question 4

Metaphor

Answer 4

Figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things that are basically unalienable but gave something in common without using like or as.

My dog is an angel

Question 5

Personification

Answer 5

Figure of speech in which human qualities are given to an object, animal, or idea

The grey-eyed morn smiles on the frowning night.

Question 6

Internal rhyme (need example)

Answer 6

Similar sounds within lines

Question 7

Slant rhyme- or approximate rhyme

Answer 7

rhyme in which either the vowels or the consonants of stressed syllables are identical

eyes, light; years, yours.

Question 8

End rhyme (need example)

Answer 8

Similar sounds at the ends of lines

Question 9

Exact rhyme

Answer 9

Two or more words have identical sounds in their final stressed syllables

yams and hams

Question 10

Rhymes (need example)

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Rhyme scheme

Answer 11

A regular pattern of rhyme

A
B
C
B

Question 12

iambic pentameter

Answer 12

To describe what you find
Meter- (reSiŚT)
Number of feet- pentameter (5)

Question 13

Repetition

Answer 13

A sound, word, phrase or line that is repeated for emphasis or unity

Back off from this poem
It has drawn in yr feet
Back off from this poem

Question 14

Pun

Answer 14

A joke that comes from a play on words.
Words have multiple meanings

Ask for me tomorrow, and you shall find me a GRAVE man.
Grave means solemn, and tomb

Question 15

Blank Verse

Answer 15

Unrhymed poetry written in iambic pentameter. Imitates the natural rhymes of the English speech.

But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is east, and Juliet is the sun!

Blank verse has rhythm but no rhyme

Question 16

Free Verse- free of rhyme and rhythm

Answer 16

Poetry that does not contain regular patters of rhythm or rhyme

 The hunger of this poem is legendary
It has taken in many victims 
Back off from this poem
It has drawn in yr feet
Back off from this poem
It has drawn in yr legs

Question 17

Onomatopoeia

Answer 17

Use of words whose sounds echo their meaning

Buzz, whisper, gargle, murmur, pop, crackle

Question 18

Lyric poem

Answer 18

Short poem in which a single speaker expresses personal thoughts or feelings

“Theme fro English B” by Langston Hughes

Question 19

Epic

Answer 19

A long narrative poem on a serious subject, presented in an elevated or formal style. Universal concerns such as, good evil, life death.

The odyssey

Question 20

Sonnet

Answer 20

Lyric poem of 14 lines, commonly written in iambic pentameter. Consists of three quatrains, or four-line in its, and a final couplet.

Question 21

Ballad

Answer 21

Type of narrative poem that tells a story and was originally meant to be sung or recited. It has a setting, plot, and characters.

Question 22

Simile

Answer 22

Figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unalike things, using the words like or as.

My heart is like a singing bird

Question 23

Oxymoron

Answer 23

Special kind of concise paradox that brings together two contradictory terms.

Bright smoke, brawling love, loving hate, pretty ugly.

Question 24

Paradox

Answer 24

Seemingly contradictory or absurd statement that may nonetheless suggest important truth.

I found the treasure and it was hidden in plain sight.

Question 25

Archetype

Answer 25

A pattern in literature that is found in a variety of works from different cultures through the ages
Can be a plot, character, image, or setting

Association of death and rebirth with winter and spring.
The hero and villain, side kick.