Poetry Final Exam (2nd exam)

Terms for Janet Deans poetry class - Bryant University

Post Colonial

Literature or theory that explores the effects and aftermath of colonialism, often addressing themes of identity, cultural conflict, and power dynamics.

Hybridity

Concept often used in postcolonial studies to describe the blending of cultures, languages, or identities, resulting in a new, mixed form.

Theme

The central idea, message, or underlying meaning of a poem or literary work

Juxtaposition

Placement of two or more ideas, images, characters, or words close together to highlight their contrasts or create a specific effect

Imagery

Descriptive language that appeals to the senses, creating mental pictures and emotional responses.

Irony

A contrast between expectations and reality, often highlighting the difference between appearance and truth or intention and outcome

Epigraph

A short quotation or phrase placed at the beginning of a poem or literary work, usually hinting at its themes or mood

Lipogram

A type of constrained writing in which the poet deliberately avoids using a particular letter or group of letters

Scansion

Process of analyzing the metrical pattern of a line or verse by marking stressed and unstressed syllables

Meter

The rhythmic pattern of a poem, created by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables

Foot

Basic unit of meter in poetry, typically consisting of a combination of stressed and unstressed syllables

Iamb/ Iambic

A metrical foot consisting of one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable (re-lieve)

Trochee/ Trochaic

Metrical foot consisting of one stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable (ta-ble)

Tercet

A three-line stanza or unit in a poem, often with a specific rhyme scheme

Quatrain

A four -line stanza, often with a regular rhyme scheme like ABAB or AABB

Sestet

A six-line stanza, often found as the second part of the Petrarchan sonnet

Octave

An eight-line stanza, typically the first part of a Petrarchan sonnet, with a rhyme scheme like ABBAABBA

Sonnet

A 14-line poem, usually written in iambic pentameter, with a specific rhyme scheme and thematic structure

Shakespearean sonnet

A type of sonnet with three quatrains followed by a final couplet, using the rhyme scheme ABABCDCDEFEFGG

Petrarchan Sonnet

Also known as the Italian sonnet, it consists of an octave (ABBAABBA) followed by a sestet, which can vary in rhyme scheme

Villanelle

a 19-line poem with 5 tercets followed by a quatrain, with a complex patter of repeating lines and a rhyme scheme of ABA, ABA, ABA, ABA, ABA, ABAA

Sestina

A fixed verse form consisting of six-line stanzas followed by a three-line envoi, using a pattern of word repetition rather than rhyme

Abecedarian

Poem in which each line or stanza starts with the successive letters of the alphabet

Anagrammatic Poem

A type of poem in which each line or section is made up of anagrams, rearranging the letters of words to create new ones.