A LEVEL ENGLISH LITERATURE-POETRY TERMS
EXAM #14
Alliteration - correct answer The repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of
sounds at the beginning of words.
Allusion - correct answer An indirect reference.
Ambiguity - correct answer Uncertainty as regards interpretation.
Assonance - correct answer The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, often in
the middle of words.
Blank verse - correct answer Unrhymed verse having a regular meter, usually of iambic
pentameter.
Caesura - correct answer A pause in a line of verse dictated by sense or natural speech
rhythm rather than by metrics.
Cliché - correct answer An expression which has become overused to the point of
having lost its original meaning or effect.
Colloquial - correct answer Employed in conversational or informal language but not in
formal speech or formal writing.
Conceit - correct answer An extended metaphor that compares two ideas in unusual or
surprising ways.
Didatic - correct answer Intended to instruct/with an instructional tone.
Dramatic irony - correct answer When the reader understands the incongruity between
the situation and what is, that is not apparent to the speaking persona.
Dramatic monologue - correct answer A literary composition where a single speaker
reveals their character to a presumed listener.
Dysphemism - correct answer Where more taboo terms are used for something that
could be described politely.
Elision - correct answer The omission of a syllable/letter within a word.
Euphemism - correct answer A more polite term used to describe something taboo
Enjambment - correct answer The running of one line of verse into another, with the
absence of punctuation.
, Heteroglossia - correct answer The presence of multiple voices within the same text.
Hyperbole - correct answer Use of exaggeration.
Litotes - correct answer Under-estimation-the opposite of exaggeration.
Juxtaposition - correct answer Setting two contrasting images against each other in
close proximity.
Imagery - correct answer The use of sensory language to create visual and auditory
pictures in the reader's mind.
Irony - correct answer An expression or utterance marked by a deliberate contrast
between apparent and intended meaning/what is expected and what happens.
Metaphor - correct answer One thing conceived as representing another.
Monosyllabic - correct answer Words or phrases that contain a single syllable.
Motif - correct answer A recurrent theme/element in a poem.
Omniscient voice - correct answer An "all-seeing" narrator capable of viewing multiple
eras/perspectives.
Oxymoron - correct answer The combining of incongruous/contradictory terms.
Pace - correct answer The rate of speed at which the poem develops.
Parody - correct answer Work or persona that imitates another for humour.
Pathetic fallacy - correct answer The use of the weather to contribute to the mood of the
poem.
Pathos - correct answer feelings of sympathy or tenderness
Persona - correct answer The character that narrates the poem (not necessarily the
writer!)
Personification - correct answer Giving human characteristics to inanimate objects.
Protagonist - correct answer Main character.
Pun - correct answer A play on words that creates humour.
Repetition - correct answer Recurring words or phrases within a line/poem.
EXAM #14
Alliteration - correct answer The repetition of the same sounds or of the same kinds of
sounds at the beginning of words.
Allusion - correct answer An indirect reference.
Ambiguity - correct answer Uncertainty as regards interpretation.
Assonance - correct answer The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, often in
the middle of words.
Blank verse - correct answer Unrhymed verse having a regular meter, usually of iambic
pentameter.
Caesura - correct answer A pause in a line of verse dictated by sense or natural speech
rhythm rather than by metrics.
Cliché - correct answer An expression which has become overused to the point of
having lost its original meaning or effect.
Colloquial - correct answer Employed in conversational or informal language but not in
formal speech or formal writing.
Conceit - correct answer An extended metaphor that compares two ideas in unusual or
surprising ways.
Didatic - correct answer Intended to instruct/with an instructional tone.
Dramatic irony - correct answer When the reader understands the incongruity between
the situation and what is, that is not apparent to the speaking persona.
Dramatic monologue - correct answer A literary composition where a single speaker
reveals their character to a presumed listener.
Dysphemism - correct answer Where more taboo terms are used for something that
could be described politely.
Elision - correct answer The omission of a syllable/letter within a word.
Euphemism - correct answer A more polite term used to describe something taboo
Enjambment - correct answer The running of one line of verse into another, with the
absence of punctuation.
, Heteroglossia - correct answer The presence of multiple voices within the same text.
Hyperbole - correct answer Use of exaggeration.
Litotes - correct answer Under-estimation-the opposite of exaggeration.
Juxtaposition - correct answer Setting two contrasting images against each other in
close proximity.
Imagery - correct answer The use of sensory language to create visual and auditory
pictures in the reader's mind.
Irony - correct answer An expression or utterance marked by a deliberate contrast
between apparent and intended meaning/what is expected and what happens.
Metaphor - correct answer One thing conceived as representing another.
Monosyllabic - correct answer Words or phrases that contain a single syllable.
Motif - correct answer A recurrent theme/element in a poem.
Omniscient voice - correct answer An "all-seeing" narrator capable of viewing multiple
eras/perspectives.
Oxymoron - correct answer The combining of incongruous/contradictory terms.
Pace - correct answer The rate of speed at which the poem develops.
Parody - correct answer Work or persona that imitates another for humour.
Pathetic fallacy - correct answer The use of the weather to contribute to the mood of the
poem.
Pathos - correct answer feelings of sympathy or tenderness
Persona - correct answer The character that narrates the poem (not necessarily the
writer!)
Personification - correct answer Giving human characteristics to inanimate objects.
Protagonist - correct answer Main character.
Pun - correct answer A play on words that creates humour.
Repetition - correct answer Recurring words or phrases within a line/poem.
