Literary Terms and Poetic Devices Quiz List

Alliteration

stylistic device where consecutive words/words that occur close together in a series all began with the same first consonant letter or sound

Cacophonous

Involving or producing a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds. (p, b, t, g, k, ch- sh, etc.)

Connotation

Emotion or feelings that a word invokes.

Denotation

The literal or primary meaning of a word.

Diction

A speaker’s/author’s word choice, typically divided into two components: vocabulary and syntax. (vocabulary - degree of difficulty/ complexity/ abstractness/ formality/ origin of words)

Euphonious

Involving sounds that are soothing or pleasant to the ear. It is the opposite of cacophony

Extended Metaphor

Metaphor developed over several lines or throughout an entire poem.

Free Verse

Poetry without a fixed pattern of meter and rhyme. It can be on any topic.

Iambic Pentameter

Line of five iambic feet with ten syllables repeating the pattern of “unstressed, stressed” five times.

Imagery

 A term used to refer to the language that a writer uses to convey a visual picture or representation of a sensory experience / the use of figures of speech, to express abstract ideas in a vivid and innovative way

Line

A unit of writing in a poem or play.

Metaphor

Comparison where one thing or idea substitutes for another. Uses  “A Verb Like Be” (is, am, are, was, were, will be, being, been, could, should, would, has, have, having, had, may, might, must)

Meter

a literary device that creates a measured beat in a work of poetry. It is established by patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables.

Onomatopoeia

A word imitating the natural sound of a thing.

Personification

figure of speech where human attributes are given to an idea or thing.

Poetry

Literary work with intense expression of feelings and ideas using style and rhythm.

Repetition

Repeating words, phrases, lines, or stanzas, used to emphasize a feeling or idea, create rhythm and/ or develop a sense of urgency

Rhyme

Repetition of similar sounds in two or more words (especially common at the ends of words), pleasing to the ear and also lends a sense of rhythm and order to the language

Rhythm

Pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry.

Simile

Figure of speech  that directly compares two thing using “like” or “as”.

Sonnet

Fourteen-line poem typically about love and romance.

Stanza

Group of lines within a poem, set off from others with either a blank line or indentation

Syntax

Refers to the arrangement — the ordering, grouping, and placement of words within a sentence.

Tone

the attitude of the author toward the reader or the subject matter of a literary work.

Theme

refers to a message about life or human nature implicitly conveyed through a text (NOT a single word)

Voice

The person behind the words speaking out to the audience.