poetry test

Allegory

A narrative in which characters, events, and settings symbolize abstract qualities and ideas, often conveying a moral or lesson.

Alliteration

The repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words (e.g., "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers").

Allusion

An indirect reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art.

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds within non-rhyming words (e.g., "The early bird catches the worm").

Asyndeton

The omission of conjunctions between parts of a sentence for a rhythmic or emphatic effect (e.g., "I came, I saw, I conquered").

Blank Verse

Unrhymed iambic pentameter, often used in English dramatic, epic, and reflective verse.

Conceit

An extended metaphor with a complex logic that governs a poetic passage or entire poem.

Connotation

The emotional or cultural associations surrounding a word, beyond its literal meaning.

Denotation

The literal, dictionary definition of a word.

Diction

The choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing.

Dramatic Irony

When the audience knows something that the characters do not, creating tension or humor.

English Sonnet Rhyme Scheme

A sonnet with the rhyme scheme ABABCDCDEFEFGG, also known as a Shakespearean sonnet.

Enjambment

The continuation of a sentence or clause over a line break.

Epanalepsis

The repetition of the initial part of a clause or sentence at the end of that same clause or sentence (e.g., "The king is dead, long live the king").

Extended Metaphor

A metaphor that continues over several lines or throughout an entire literary work.

Flashback

A scene set in a time earlier than the main story, providing background information.

Hyperbole

Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

Imagery

Descriptive language that appeals to the senses, creating vivid mental pictures.

Inversion

The reversal of the normal word order in a sentence or phrase.

Metaphor

A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without using "like" or "as."

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which one thing is represented by another that is commonly and often physically associated with it (e.g., "The White House" for the U.S. President).

Onomatopoeia

The use of words that imitate the sounds they describe (e.g., "buzz," "hiss").

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines contradictory terms (e.g., "deafening silence").

Personification

Attributing human characteristics to non-human entities or objects.

Refrain

A repeated line, phrase, or group of lines in a poem or song, typically at the end of a stanza.

Rhetorical Question

A question asked for effect or to make a point rather than to elicit an answer.

Scansion

The analysis of a poem's meter, marking stressed and unstressed syllables and identifying the rhythmical pattern.

Simile

A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things using "like" or "as."

Symbol

An object, person, or situation that represents more than its literal meaning.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part represents the whole or vice versa (e.g., "all hands on deck" for "all sailors on deck").

Theme

The central idea, topic, or point of a literary work.

Tone

The attitude or approach that the author takes toward the work's central theme or subject.

Understatement (Litotes)

A figure of speech that makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is, often using double negatives for effect.

Verbal Irony

When what is said is the opposite of what is meant, often for humorous or emphatic effect.