poetry quiz terms

alliteration

repetition of initial consonant sounds (Streator stopped on the street)

allusion

reference to something in history or previous literature, suggests a larger meaning in a little space. Often taken from the Bible, Shakespeare, or Classical Mythology.

apostrophe

a literary device where a speaker addresses a person who in not present, or a non-human object, idea, or being.

anaphora

a literary device that involves repeating words or phrases at the beginning of multiple sentences, phrases, or clauses. It’s often used to create ryhthm and structure, and to emphasize the repeated words.

assonance

repetition of vowel sounds anywhere in a word

blank verse

verse without rhyme, especially that which uses iambic pentameter.

blazon

poetic device in which the speaker elaborately describes his lover from head to toe.

cacophony

to the use of words with a sharp, harsh, hissing, and unmelodious sounds - primarily those of consonants - to achieve desired results.

cadence

the momentary changes in rhythm and pitch

connotation

suggested associations with wo

denotation

dictionary meaning of a word

euphony

the use of words and phrases that are distinguished as having a wide range of noteworthy melody or loveliness in the sounds they create.

extended metaphor

a comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph, or lines in a poem

hyperbole

saying more than the truth, overstatement or exaggeration

free verse

literary device that can be defined as poetry that is free from limitations of regular meter or rhythm, and does not rhyme with fixed forms.

iambic pentameter

a line of verse with five metrical feet, each consisting of one short syllable followed by one long syllable

imagery

representation of sensory experience with words

• visual

• auditory

• olfactory

• organic

• kinesthetic

• gustatory

irony

general discrepancy between content and meaning

• verbal 

• dramatic

• situational

metaphor

a comparison that does not express comparison directly (does not use like, as, is, seems, resembles)

onomatopoeia

use of sound words

oxymoron

a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction

paradox

apparent contradiction that is actually true, draws attention to the truthfulness of a statement

parallelism

the use of successive verbal constructions in poetry or prose which correspond in grammatical structure, sound, meter, meaning, etc 

personification

metaphor that gives human attributes to non-human subjects, including animals, objects or concepts

pun

a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words which sound alike but have different meanings

simile

a comparison that is directly expressed (using like, as, is, seems, resembles)

speaker

the voice behind the poem - the person we imagine to be saying the thing out loud.

rhyming couplet

a rhyming couplet is made up of two lines of verse which rhyme with one another. the two lines off a rhyming couplet usually come together to form one complete thought or idea

tone

attitude of speaker towards subject matter, audience, or self

syntax

word order, and the way in which it works with grammatical structures

stanza

a division of four or more lines having a fixed length, meter, or rhyming scheme

symbol

something that means more than what it actually is, can have a variety of different meanings and functions both literally and figuratively.