Terms of Poetic Structure and Meter

Question 1

scansion

Answer 1

the process of analyzing a poem’s meter and rhythm

Question 2

rhythm

Answer 2

the “beat” of the poem, as achieved by arrangement of syllables

Question 3

meter

Answer 3

arrangement of accented and unaccented syllables in a line of poetry

Question 4

foot

Answer 4

a basic repeated sequence of meter comprised of two or more accented or unaccented syllables

Question 5

line length

Answer 5

the number of feet in a line of poetry

Question 6

blank verse

Answer 6

unrhymed iambic pentameter (meant to mimic actual speech pattern)

Question 7

alexandrine

Answer 7

line of poetry that has 12 syllables (often iambic)

Question 8

end-stopped

Answer 8

a line of poetry in which the reader is meant to pause at the end

Question 9

enjambment

Answer 9

a line of poetry which is not end-stopped, in which the thought continues into the next line without any pause

Question 10

inversion

Answer 10

a change in what would be considered “normal” syntax; aka Yoda-speak
ex. “Happy I am that you came here today.”

Question 11

stanza

Answer 11

a grouping of lines of poetry
includes couplets, tercets, quatrains, sestets, and octaves

Question 12

canto

Answer 12

a division, or “chapter” in a lengthy poem

Question 13

caesura

Answer 13

a purposeful pause in a poem, sometimes mid-line

Question 14

parallelism

Answer 14

repetition of the syntactical structure of a line or phrase

Question 15

refrain

Answer 15

a repeating stanza or line

Question 16

internal rhyme

Answer 16

rhyme that occurs within the middle of lines of poetry

Question 17

end rhyme

Answer 17

rhyme that occurs at the end of lines of poetry; denoted with letters of the alphabet to signify which lines rhyme (ex. abba abba)

Question 18

approximate rhyme

Answer 18

“almost” rhyming; aka near rhyme or slant rhyme

Question 19

feminine rhyme

Answer 19

end rhyme that occurs on final unstressed syllable (ex. va’ por / pa’ por)

Question 20

masculine rhyme

Answer 20

end rhyme that occurs on a final stressed syllable (ex. re hearse’ / so terse’)