POETRY TERMS TEST
a. euphony mm. tone
b. tenor nn. spondee
c. figure of speech oo. pyrrhic
d. vehicle pp. vers libre
e. simile q. onomatopoeia
f. paradox r. alliteration
g. apostrophe s. iamb
h. personification t. end-stopped line
i. synecdoche u. exact rhyme
j. scansion v. slant rhyme
k. overstatement or hyperbole w. eye rhyme
l. understatement x. metonymy
m. feet y. metaphor
n. trochee z. dactyl
o. anapest
p. cacophony
1. A rhetorical figure in which human qualities are attributed to nonhuman things or
abstractions.
2. Meaning bad sound, this term refers to words combining sharp or harsh sounds.
3. The repetition of identical consonant sounds such as Betty Blue.
4. A figure of speech in which a comparison is being made, using like or as.
5. Measured combinations of heavy and light stresses in poetry.
6. A foot of poetry with two unstressed and one stressed syllable, such as in the
moon.
7. A blending of consonant and vowel sounds designed to imitate or suggest the activity
being described.
8. The addressing of a work (poem) to a real or imagined person or thing.
9. An exaggeration for effect.
10. A foot of poetry with one unstressed and one stressed syllable, such as the tree.
11. A devaluing for effect.
12. Meaning good sounds, this term refers to word groups containing pleasant sounds.
13. A three-syllable foot consisting of a heavy stress followed by two lights, such as
Notable parables.
14. Words and expressions that conform to a particular pattern or form, such as
metaphor, simile, etc.
15. The image or figurative language which carries the tenor.
16. The mood or attitude of a poem.
17. A two-syllable foot consisting of a heavy followed by a light stress, such as flower.
18. Words which seem to rhyme because parts of them are spelled identically but
pronounced differently (e.g. bear and fear).
19. A rhetorical figure in which one thing is used as a substitute for another with which it
is closely identified.
20. A near rhyme, such as should and food.
21. A rhetorical figure in which a part stands for a whole, or a whole for a part.
22. The sense, or meaning, of a metaphor, symbol, or other figurative language.
23. A line ending in a full pause, usually indicated by a period, semi-colon, or comma.
24. A two-syllable foot consisting of successive, equally heavy accents (e.g. slow time).
25. A rhetorical figure embodying a seeming contradiction that is nevertheless true.
26. A figure of speech in which a comparison is being made (not using like or as).
27. A metrical foot consisting of two unaccented syllables.
28. Poetry based on the natural rhythms of phrases and normal pauses, not metrical feet;
French phrase for free verse.
29. The act of determining the prevailing rhythm of a poem.
30. Rhyming words in which both the vowel and consonant sounds rhyme, also called
perfect rhyme.
PART II
1. Write two lines of iambi pentameter.
2. Write a line which includes a metaphor and cacophony.
3. Write two lines which end in perfect rhyme.
4. Define the term sonnet.
5. Write a line which includes onomatopoeia.
