literature exam

are a series of lines grouped together and separated by an empty line

are a series of lines grouped together and separated by an empty line

Stanza

(2 lines)

couplet

(3 lines)

tercet

4 lines

quatrain

5 lines

cinquain

6 lines

sestet / sexain

7 lines

septet

8 lines

octave

It is any poem with one speaker (not necessarily the poet) who expresses strong thoughts and feelings. (Most poems, especially modern ones)

Lyric Poetry

It is a poem that tells a story; its structure resembles the plotline of a story [i.e. the introduction of conflict and characters, rising action, climax and the denouement].

Narrative Poem

It is a poem that describes the world that surrounds the speaker. It uses elaborate imagery and adjectives. While emotional, it is more “outward-focused” than lyric poetry, which is more personal and introspective.

Descriptive Poem

It is usually a lyric poem of moderate length, with a serious subject, an elevated style, and an elaborate stanza pattern.

Ode

It is a lyric poem that mourns the dead. It has no set metric or stanzaic pattern, but it usually begins by reminiscing about the dead person, then laments the reason for the death, and then resolves the grief by concluding that death leads to immortality. It often uses “apostrophe” (calling out to the dead person) as a literary technique.

Elegy

It is a lyric poem consisting of 14 lines and, in the English version, is usually written in iambic pentameter.

Sonnet

is named after Petrarch, an Italian Renaissance poet. It consists of an octave (eight lines) and a sestet (six lines).

Italian/Petrarchan sonnet

consists of three quatrains (four lines each) and a concluding couplet (two lines). divides the thought into four, the final couplet is the summary

Shakespearean sonnet

It is a narrative poem that has a musical rhythm and can be sung. It is usually organized into quatrains or cinquains, has a simple rhythm structure, and tells the tales of ordinary people.

Ballad

It is a long narrative poem in elevated style recounting the deeds of a legendary or historical hero.

Epic

Qualities of an Epic Poem

narrative poem of great scope; written in deliberately ceremonial style

It has an unrhymed verse form having three lines (a tercet) and usually 5,7,5 syllables, respectively. It’s usually considered a lyric poem.

Haiku

It has a very structured poem, usually humorous & composed of five lines (a cinquain), in an aabba rhyming pattern; beat must be anapestic (weak, weak, strong) with 3 feet in lines 1, 2, & 5 and 2 feet in lines 3 & 4. It’s usually a narrative poem based upon a short and often ribald anecdote.

Limerick

sometimes collectively called sound play because they take advantage of the performative, spoken nature of poetry.

rhyme scheme, meter (ie. regular rhythm) and word sounds (like alliteration).

the repetition of initial sounds on the same line or stanza

Alliteration

The repetition of vowel sounds (anywhere in the middle or end of a line ormstanza)

Assonance

The repetition of consonant sounds (anywhere in the middle or end of a line or stanza)

Consonance

words that sound like that which they describe

Onomatopoeia

The repetition of entire lines or phrases to emphasize key thematic ideas.

Repetition

a form of repetition where the order of verbs and nouns is repeated; it may involve exact words, but it more importantly repeats sentence structure

Parallel Structure

Is the repetition of similar sounds.

Rhyme

the most common kind of rhyme, which occurs at x of two or more lines.

End rhyme

rhyme that occurs in the middle of a line

Internal rhyme

the systematic regularity in rhythm; this systematic rhythm (or sound pattern) is usually identified by examining the type of “foot” and the number of feet.

Meter

The traditional line of metered poetry contains a number of

rhythmical units

Poetic foot / feet

weak syllable followed by strong syllable.

Iamb (Iambic)

strong syllable followed by a weak syllable.

Trochee (Trochaic)

two weak syllables followed by a strong syllable.

Anapest (Anapestic)

a strong syllable followed by two weak syllables.

Dactyl (Dactylic)

one foot

monometer

two feet

dimeter

three feet

trimeter

four feet

tetrameter

five feet

pentameter

six feet (alexandrine when in iambic rhythm)

hexameter

Many metered poems in English avoid perfectly regular rhythm because it is monotonous. This in rhythm add interest and emphasis to the lines.

Irregularity

Any poetry that does have a set metrical pattern (usually iambic pentameter), but does not have rhyme.

Blank Verse

no longer follows strict rules of meter or rhyme, has no rules about meter or rhyme whatsoever

Free verse

a piece of writing that partakes of the nature of both speech and song that is nearly always rhythmical, usually metaphorical, and often exhibits such formal elements as meter, rhyme, and stanza structure.

something that arouses strong emotions because of its beauty.

Poem

is a character taken on by a poet to speak in a first-person poem.

Persona

Person comes from

Latin of mask

an be defined as style of speaking or writing determined by the choice of words by a speaker or a writer

Diction

Are used by the writer to describe their impressions of their topic or object of writing

Senses and images

what the writer wants you to see

Visual Imagery

what the writer wants you to smell

Olfactory Imagery

what the writer wants you to taste

Gustatory Imagery

what the writer wants you to feel

Tactile Imagery

what the writer wants you to hear

Auditory Imagery

is a single unit of measurement that is repeated within a line of poetry. made up of STRESSED And UNstressed syllables.

Metrical Foot

is something that represents something else.

Symbolism

is a figure of speech that uses symbolism.

Metaphor

an extended use of symbolism and metaphors. A story, a poem, or even a whole book can be in this and the symbolism will permeate throughout.

Allegory

formal words are used in formal situations, such as press conferences and presentations

Formal diction

uses informal words and conversation, such as writing or talking to friends.

Informal diction

uses words common in everyday speech, which may be different in different regions or communities.

Colloquial diction

is the use of words that are newly coined, or even impolite.

Slang diction

it refers to the “feel” of a piece of writing. instead it is closer to the meaning of “style” or “voice” in writing, possibly referring to any or all of the stylistic qualities of the writing, such as formality, dialect, and atmosphere.

Tone

the overall emotional color of a piece

mood

words function exactly as defined

Literally

figure out what it means

Figuratively

is a figure of speech in which the arguments previously stated are presented again in a forceful manner.

ACCUMULATION

is a figure of speech in which a word, phrase, or clause is placed at the beginning or the end of a sentence. Kind of how that character Yoda “Star Wars” speak.

ADJUNCTION

is the repetition of words with a change in letter or sound

ADOMINATION

is the repetition of initial sounds in neighbouring words

ALLITERATION

is a figure of speech that quickly stimulates different ideas and associations using only a couple of words; making indirect reference.

ALLUSION

is a stylistic device that consists of repeating a sequence of words at the beginning of neighbouring clauses to give them emphasis.

ANAPHORA

is a rhetorical device in which a word is repeated and whose meaning changes in the second instance.

ANTANACLASIS

refers to a figure of speech in which statements gradually descend in order of importance.

ANTICLIMAX

is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is used to mean the opposite of its normal meaning to create ironic humorous effect.

ANTIPHRASIS

is a figure of speech that refers to the juxtaposition of opposing or contrasting ideas. It involves the bringing out of a contrast in the ideas by an obvious contrast in the words, clauses, or sentences within a parallel grammatical structure.

ANTITHESIS

is an exclamatory rhetorical figure if speech in which a speaker or writer breaks off and direct speech to an imaginary person or abstract quality or idea.

APOSTROPHE

is a figure of speech that refers to the repetition of vowel sounds to create internal rhyming within phrases or sentences.

ASSONANCE

refers to a figure of speech where an earlier expression refers to or describes a forward expression.

CATAPHORA

is a figure of speech in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order, in the same or a modified form.

CHIASMUS

refers to a figure of speech in which words, phrases, or clauses are arranged in order of increasing importance.

CLIMAX

is the use of a harsh, more offensive word instead of one considered less harsh.

DYSPHEMISM

is the omission of a word or words. It refers to constructions in which words are left out of a sentence, often to avoid redundancy, but in a manner that a sentence can still be understood.

Ellipsis (or Elliptical construction)

is a figure of speech used to express a mild, indirect, or vague term to substitute for a harsh, blunt, or offensive term.

EUPHEMISM

refers to a concise, witty, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement.

EPIGRAM

is a rhetorical device that consists of repeating a sequence of words at the end of neighbouring clauses to give them emphasis.

EPIPHORA (OR EPISTROPHE)

is a figure of speech that uses exaggerations to create emphasis or effect; it is not meant to be taken literally.

HYPERBOLE

is a figure of speech in which the speaker raises a question and then answers it.

HYPOPHORA

is a figure of speech in which there is a contradiction of expectation between what is said and what is meant. It is characterized by an incongruity, a contrast, between reality and appearance.

IRONY

is a contrast between what is said and what is meant.

VERBAL IRONY

occurs when the audience or the reader knows more about the events than the characters themselves. In other words, what the character thinks is true is incongruous with what the audience knows.

DRAMATIC IRONY

refers to the contrast between the actual result of a situation and what was intended or expected to happen.

SITUATIONAL IRONY

is a figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite.

LITOTES

is a figure of speech by which something is referred to by a conventional phrase that enumerates several of its constituents or traits.

MERISM

is a figure of speech in which reference is made to something by means of another thing that is remotely related to it, either through a causal relationship, or through another figure of speech.

METALEPSIS

is a figure of speech that makes an implicit, implied or hidden comparison between two things or objects that are poles apart from each other but have some characteristics common between them.

METAPHOR

is a figure of speech in which a thing or concept is not called by its own name, but by the name of something intimately associated with that thing or concept.

METONYMY

is a figure of speech that combines incongruous or contradictory terms.

OXYMORON