Poetry Theory Flashcards
What is a prose?
Sentences or paragraphs
What is a verse?
Poetry
What’s a simile?
A comparison of 2 unlike things using “like” or “as”
What’s a metaphor?
A comparison of 2 unlike things NOT using “like” or “as”
What is personification?
Giving non human things, human characteristics
What’s an oxymoron?
Words or phrase which contradict (opposite)
What’s a paradox?
A sentence or statement that contradict
What’s an allusion?
An indirect reference to a famous event, place, object, or person back in time
What’s an apostrophe?
Speaking or addressing someone or something in a line of poetry
What’s a pun?
A play upon words
What are the 3 forms of a pun?
- A word with 2 different meanings
- Similarity of meaning in two words that are homonyms
- 2 words spelled and pronounced similarly but have different meanings
What’s a metonymy?
One thing is a direct substitute for another
What is a synecdoche?
A part that represents a whole
What’s a free verse?
A poem which has rhythm or rhyme
What’s a blank verse
2 or more lines of iambic pentameter that don’t rhyme (unrhyme iambic pentameter)
What’s an iambic pattern?
2 syllables; first is unstressed and second is stressed
What’s an iambic foot?
(Unit of measure) 2 syllables
What’s a pentameter?
Means 5 feet ( equal to 10 syllables)
What a hyperbole?
An extreme exhaggeration
What is a hyperbole?
An extreme exhaggeration
What’s onomatopoeia?
Sound of the words suggest its meaning
What’s symbolism?
Something represents something else
What’s dénotation?
The literal or dictionary meaning of a word
What’s a connotation?
The implied meaning of a word
What’s juxtaposition?
Placing 2 or more words side by side. In a Line of poetry that are unrelated
What’s alliteration?
The same consonant or vowel sound at the start of words
What assonance ?
Repetition of similar vowel sounds in a line of poetry
What’s consonance?
Repetition of similar consonant sounds in a line of poetry
Whats litotes?
Negative is stated; affirmative (positive) is meant to
What is cacophony?
Poem has harsh, discordant sounds
What’s euphony?
Poem has smooth, pleasant sounds
What’s imagery?
Figurative language using the five senses to create metaphors, similes, personification, vivid descriptions to produce mental pictures
What is repetition?
Repeating words, phrases, lines or stanzas for four possible reasons
What are the 4 possible reasons for repetition?
1.rhyme
2. Rhythm
3. Emphasis
4. Continuity
What a refrain?
Lines of poetry are repeated at regular intervals within the poem (a chorus in a song)
What’s.a refrain?
Lines of poetry that are repeated at regular intervals within the poem (a chorus in a song)
What’s a stanza?
Group of lines separated by a line space for four possible reasons
What are the 4 possible reasons for a stanza ?
- Different ideas
- Rhyme
- Rhythm
- Emphasis
What’s a rhyming couplet?
2 lines which end rhyme
What’s a tercet?
Three line stanza
What’s a quatrain?
Four line stanza
What’s a cinquain?
Five line stanza
What’s a cinquain?
Five line stanza
What’s a sestet?
Six line stanza
What an octave?
Eight line stanza
What is satire?
Any work which ridicules people, ideas, or institutions to make a point for reform
What’s parody?
Any work which humorously, ridicules a particular style or literacy composition through imitation purely for entertainment
What’s a rhyme?
Similar sounds in words positioned closely together
What are the different types of rhyme?
-beginning rhyme
-internal rhyme
-end rhyme
- masculine rhyme
-feminine rhyme
-triple rhyme
-eye/sight rhyme
-half/slant/imperfect rhyme
What is beginning rhyme?
The rhyme occurs at the beginning of two or more lines
What is internal rhyme?
The rhyme occurs within a single line
What is end rhyme?
The rhyme occurs at the end of two or more lines (most common form of lines)
What is masculine rhyme?
The rhyme consists of a single syllable
What is feminine rhyme?
Two syllables rhyme
What is a triple rhyme?
Three Syllables rhyme
What is an eye/site rhyme?
Words appear to rhyme (based on site), but they do not sound the same
Eg. creak and break
What is a half/slant/imperfect rhyme?
Words in which the final consonants are identical, but the proceeding vowels differ
Eg. bought and fight
What is a rhyme scheme?
An alphabetical labelling system used to describe the rhyming pattern in a
Poem
What figurative language?
The use of figures of speech, such as a metaphor, simile, personification, etc.
What is a persona?
-The character who narrates the poem, NOT the author
-The author creates the speaker sometimes the two resemble one another other
What is rhythm?
A recurrent beat it stress of the line
What is the mood?
The feelings the reader gets from reading the work
What is the tone?
The writers attitude towards the subject and the audience
What is the voice
-The distinctive personality of the speaker or persona, (or the author) coming through in a work
-Created through the writers choice of diction point of view, and tone
What are the four main classes of poetry?
- narrative poetry class
- lyrical poetry class
- dramatic poetry class
- social commentary class
What is narrative poetry class?
Tells about people involved in a sequence of important events (story arc) (tells a story)
What do the most common narrative poems include?
- Ballads
- Epic
What are ballads?
A form of verse, singing or recitation which presents a story, often about a tragic event, popular legend, courageous act, or great love
What are the two main types of ballads?
- Popular/traditional/folk ballads.
- Literary/art/modern ballads
What’s a popular/traditional/folk ballads?
-Early period
-usually anonymous since it’s passed on from generations
-usually sung
-tragic
-repetition
What’s literary/art/modern ballads?
-name of author is given
-composed by poet
-not much repetition
-not composed to be sung
What’s an epic?
-Long serious, narrative poem recounting the deeds of heroic figures from legends or history
-super natural forces
-Sophisticated
What is dramatic poetry class?
-read aloud or performed
-revealed through monologue or dialogue
-tragic, comedic, dramatic
What is social commentary class?
-society’s social habits, customs, attitudes and problems in order to promote much needed changes
Eg. Political structures, treatment of immigrants, etc
What is lyrical poetry class?
-most popular
-poet express his desires, feelings, emotions, or ideals
-may be joyful or painful emotion
What are the main types of lyrical poetry?
-short lyrical poetry
-longer lyrical poetry
What is short lyrical poetry?
-formula poetry (haiku, tanka, cinquain, fumante, and the limerick)
-the epigram (brief, witty statement expressed in 2 to 4 lines
-the epitaph(2 to 4 line poetic inscription on a tombstone)
-nonsensical or humorous poetry
What is longer lyrical poetry?
-3-8 stanzas usually
-the elegy (expresses sorrow)
-the ode (addressed to some one or thing)
-the sonnet ( has 3 characteristics)
-14 lines
-written in iambic pentameter
-has complicated rhyme scheme
What are the main types of sonnets?
-Shakespearean/ English sonnet
-Petrarchan/Italian sonnet
What’s the Shakespearean/English sonnet?
-Rhyme scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
-3 quatrains and rhyming couplet
What’s the Petrarchan/Italian sonnet?
-Rhyme scheme: ABBA ABBA CDECDE
-one octave and a sestet
