Poetry Writing Terms

Question 1

The repetition of consonant sounds, particularly at the start of words.

Answer 1

Alliteration

Question 2

A reference to another piece of literature, work of art, person, place etc.

Answer 2

Allusion

Question 3

A word or expression which has two or more possible meanings.

Answer 3

Ambiguity

Question 4

Giving human qualities or feelings to something which isn’t human. Ex: In Vachel Lindsay’s “What the Rattlesnake Said,” for example, a snake describes the fears of his imagined prey.

Answer 4

Anthropomorphism

Question 5

The repetition of vowel sounds. Ex: The rain in Spain stays mainly on the plains

Answer 5

Assonance

Question 6

A local or regional expression which may not be understood by outsiders. Ex: Some say “soccer,” others say “football.” They’re talking about the same sport, but what they call it is a matter of this.

Answer 6

Colloquialism

Question 7

The repetition of consonants or consonant patterns, usually at the end of words. The words need not rhyme or contain the same vowel sounds. ‘Think, blank’; ‘Stroke, luck’. Ex: He struck the clock with a quick flick”: This example uses this to add rhythm and a catchy feel.

Answer 7

Consonance

Question 8

An established technique, literary device or practice.

Answer 8

Convention

Question 9

Two lines, usually rhyming and having the same metre, which form a complete thought.

Answer 9

Couplet

Question 10

A particular category of writing. Each genre has its own style, form etc. Imagery: Figurative language (metaphors, similes etc.)

Answer 10

Genre

Question 11

A poem in which personal and subjective feelings are expressed. Lyric poems are usually short and songlike.

Answer 11

Lyric

Question 12

Drawing a comparison to suggest a likeness. ‘She’s an angel’. A simile is like a metaphor except that the comparison is usually introduced by ‘like’ or ‘as’. ‘My love is like a red, red rose.’ A metaphor is usually considered stronger than a simile.

Answer 12

Metaphor / Simile

Question 13

A set of eight lines.

Answer 13

Octet

Question 14

A word which sounds like its meaning: ‘squelch’, ‘slap’, ‘thud’, ‘screech’, ‘cheep’.

Answer 14

Onomatopoeia

Question 15

A seeming contradiction. “Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” (C.S. Lewis to his godchild, Lucy Barfield, to whom he dedicated The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)

Answer 15

Paradox

Question 16

A character assumed by the poet. Derek Mahon adopts the persona of Bruce Ismay in ‘After the Titanic’.

Answer 16

Persona

Question 17

The representation of an abstraction or a thing as a human or some sort of divine being. For example, the idea of death is often represented by the Grim Reaper.

Answer 17

Personification

Question 18

A group of four lines of verse.

Answer 18

Quatrain

Question 19

A group of six lines of verse.

Answer 19

Sestet

Question 20

Words which make or contain an ‘s’ or ‘sh’ sound. ‘The hissing snake…’

Answer 20

Sibilance

Question 21

A poem consisting of fourteen lines arranged according to a prescribed scheme. Shakespearean sonnets consist of three quatrains and a couplet. The couplet usually sums up the main idea (theme) of the poem or looks at the theme in a fresh way.

Answer 21

Sonnet

Question 22

Something which represents something else. Symbols have a deeper meaning than signs and can sometimes provoke strong, emotional responses.

Answer 22

Symbol

Question 23

A group of three lines of verse. The lines often rhyme.

Answer 23

Tercet

Question 24

The attitude or feeling implied by the style of writing. A tone may be melancholy or optimistic, for example. The tone may change one or more times during the course of the poem.

Answer 24

Tone

Question 25

A formal, ordered poem which consists of nineteen lines divided into five tercets (three-line stanzas) and a quatrain (four-line stanza). There are only two rhymes throughout, and two refrains. The two refrains are used as the first and third lines of the first stanza, and thereafter alternately repeated as the final line of the remaining tercets. The refrains come together again as the final two lines of the quatrain. (This sounds quite complicated until you look at the poem and see how straightforward it actually is.) Villanelles are associated with thoughts of death and grief.

Answer 25

Villanelle

Question 26

This comes from the Italian word for ‘turn’. A volta is the turn in thought in a sonnet that is often indicated by such initial words as ‘but’, ‘yet’ or ‘and yet’.

Answer 26

Volta