Poetry Fundamentals and Figurative Language

Comprehensive review of poetry terms, stanza structures, sonnet types, and figurative language devices based on lecture notes.

How is poetry defined in the transcript?

Writing in its most creative form—written in verse or lines.

What is rhythm in the context of poetry?

The beat in a line of poetry.

What is a foot in poetry and what does it typically contain?

One beat (or measure) in a line of poetry; it typically contains one stressed syllable and one or more unstressed syllables.

What are the stress patterns for iambic and trochee feet?

An iambic foot is (unstressed/stressed) as in 'be-long', while a trochee foot is (stressed/unstressed) as in 'gar-den'.

What does meter refer to in a poem?

The number of beat or feet in a line of poetry.

How many feet are in dimeter, trimeter, tetrameter, and pentameter?

Dimeter has $2$ feet, trimeter has $3$ feet, tetrameter has $4$ feet, and pentameter has $5$ feet.

Define iambic pentameter based on syllables and feet.

It consists of $2$ syllables in each foot (iambic) and $5$ feet in a line (pentameter).

What is rhyme and how is it marked in a poem?

Rhyme is when the poem has the same sound at the end of two or more lines; it is indicated by marking rhyming words with the same letter at the end of a line (e.g., A, A, A, A).

What is the definition of free verse?

Poetry that does not rhyme.

What is a stanza and how are they classified?

A group of lines in a poem where the number of lines determines the type of stanza.

Name the stanza types from two to eight lines.

Couplet ($2$ lines), Tercet ($3$ lines), Quatrain ($4$ lines), Quintain ($5$ lines), Sestet ($6$ lines), Septet ($7$ lines), and Octave ($8$ lines).

What is a refrain?

A line or group of lines in a poem that repeat at intervals, similar to a hook or chorus in a song.

What are the general characteristics of a sonnet?

A $14$ line poem typically written in iambic pentameter.

How is a Petrarchan sonnet structured?

It is divided into an octave (rhyme scheme ABBA ABBA) and a sestet (CDE CDE or CDCDEE).

Describe the structure and rhyme scheme of a Shakespearean sonnet.

It consists of three quatrains and a couplet with the rhyme scheme ABAB, CDCD, EFEF, GG.

What is the rhyme scheme of a Spenserian sonnet?

ABAB, BCBC, CDCD, EE.

What are the definitions of theme and shift in poetry?

Theme is the message the poet is conveying, and a shift is a turn or change in direction or attitude in the poem.

What is figurative language?

All figures of speech that make comparisons to create deeper meaning and creative intention in a poem.

What is the difference between a simile and a metaphor according to the notes?

A simile is a comparison using 'like' or 'as' (e.g., 'Her eyes are like diamonds'), while a metaphor is a comparison that does not use 'like' or 'as' (e.g., 'Her eyes are diamonds').

What is personification?

Giving an inanimate object human like characteristics, such as 'The wind whispered my name'.

Define hyperbole and provide the example from the transcript.

Hyperbole is extreme exaggeration; for example, 'I must have told you a $1,000$ times'.

What is onomatopoeia?

When a word sounds like what it does, such as 'Drip, drip, drip'.

What are the definitions for oxymoron and paradox?

An oxymoron is two opposite words together that somehow make sense, while a paradox is two opposite ideas found in one thing that somehow makes sense.

Define assonance and provide an example.

Assonance is when the vowel sounds in a line of poetry create internal rhyme or rhythm; for example, 'lazy, crazy, hazy day in May'.

What is consonance and how does it differ from alliteration?

Consonance is when consonant sounds in a line create rhyme (e.g., 'toss the glass, boss'), whereas alliteration is when the beginning of several words in a line are the same (e.g., 'Hummingbirds hovered in heavenly harmony').

Define imagery and irony.

Imagery is creating pictures with words, and irony is the least likely thing you would expect to have happen.