More English Poetry Terms

Front 1

mock epic

Back 1

makes fun of a trivial subject using elements of a classical epic

Front 2

national/folk epic

Back 2

expresseses legends, traditions and religious beliefs of a culture (song of Roland-France)

Front 3

literary/book epic

Back 3

an epic created by one author using elements of an epic. (ex.divine comedy-Dante)

Front 4

epic

Back 4

a long narrative poem about the deeds of a national hero (ex.Iliad-trojan war)

Front 5

ballad

Back 5

a story told in song, predates folk songs, written in quatrain form, uses simple language, handed down through generations. (ex greensleeves)

Front 6

Lyric poem

Back 6

a subjective poem where the poet expresses his/her opinion on the subject

Front 7

song

Back 7

a poem that is sung that usually rhymes

Front 8

elegy

Back 8

poem that deals with death, a lament, a tribute to the memory of someone or something.

Front 9

ode

Back 9

poems in praise of someone/something, exalted and enthusiastic in tone

Front 10

sonnet

Back 10

a 14 line poem written in iambic pentameter. in Shakespearean rhyme scheme (abab cdcd efef gg)
has a fixed rhyme and meter

Front 11

descriptive poem

Back 11

an objective poem that is an impersonal word painting. Things are depicted, not commented on.

Front 12

satirical

Back 12

a poem that ridicules a vice/bad habit
- makes fun of a person or institution the poet holds in contempt.
(ex. rape of the lock by pope, makes fun of fashion and society)

Front 13

pastoral

Back 13

it depicts country and nature scenes, landscapes and usually deals with nymphs and shepherds. (ex. passionate shepherd to his love by Marlow)

Front 14

dramatic monologue

Back 14

a long poem in monologue form that reveals the identity of the listener and the speaker (ex. my last success by Robert Browning) characters are always created by the poet, it is never the poet who is speaking.

Front 15

analogy

Back 15

explanation of one thing by comparing point by point to something else (ex. life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get.)

Front 16

allegory

Back 16

a poem where it is understood that characters and events symbolize people and events (ex. lion, witch and the wardrobe+animal farm)

Front 17

dramatic poem

Back 17

a poem that is performed, play written in lines of poetry, includes tragedies and comedies (ex. the raven by Edgar allan Poe)

Front 18

blank verse

Back 18

lines using iambic pentameter iambic-every other syllable is stressed to mimic human speech. pentameter-5 groups of 2 syllables in each line. no rhyme! (ex. mac Beth has many speeches in that play written in blank verse.)

Front 19

free verse

Back 19

a poem with no consistency in meter, line length, stanza form or rhyme scheme

Front 20

couplet

Back 20

stanza of 2 lines (usually a rhyming couplet)

Front 21

apostrophe

Back 21

directly addressing an inanimate object as if it were there. (love, time)

Front 22

oxymoron

Back 22

2 contradictory ideas used to express 1 meaning. (ex.pretty ugly, cold fire, jumbo shrimp)

Front 23

allusion

Back 23

reference to a figure, object, event out of history, bible, myths or literature. (ex. his nose was growing like Pinocchio's)

Front 24

verbal irony

Back 24

when the opposite meaning from the literal meaning is expressed. (ex. clear as mud, their house is as quiet as an after hours club.)

Front 25

personification

Back 25

giving human characteristics to inanimate objects (ex. the sun glared down at me from the sky)

Front 26

euphemism

Back 26

using pleasant words to describe unpleasant events (ex. passed away)

Front 27

rhetorical question

Back 27

"Are you kidding me?"

Front 28

paradox

Back 28

2 contradictory ideas with 1 meaning. a statement which appears contradictory, bit underlines a basis truth. (ex. nobody goes to that restaurant because it is too crowded.)

Front 29

situational irony

Back 29

the opposite happens to what is expected (ex. a fire station burns down)