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Poetic and Literary Terms Trivia Quiz

When reading about poems and literature, you will come across a multitude of terms, some of which are familiar, others you may never have heard of. This quiz is to see how many of these terms you know!

A multiple-choice quiz by Crystallina. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
Crystallina

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
70,542

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
15

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
9 / 15

Plays
1677

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 15

1. Okay, to start you off: What is the term used for a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry? Hint

rhyme

strophes

meter

enjambment

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Question 2 of 15

2. What is the definition of imagery? Hint

the use of figurative language

words describing a sense-related picture

sonic devices used in a poem

poems written to look like pictures

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Question 3 of 15

3. What is the basic unit of metrical measurement, in poetry? Hint

ellipsis

dactyl

foot

iamb

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Question 4 of 15

4. What is the term used for a tired, overused phrase? Hint

image

abstraction

cliche

metaphor

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Question 5 of 15

5. What word is used for the Japanese form of poetry that is written in three lines consisting of 5 syllables, 7 syllables, and 5 syllables respectively? Hint

haiku

sestina

tanka

triolet

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Question 6 of 15

6. Which one of these is not a poetic form? Hint

dactyl

sestina

villanelle

tanka

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Question 7 of 15

7. What is the definition of enjambment? Hint

the capitalization of the first word of every line

the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line

the use of sonic devices in a poem

the continuance of a sentence onto the next line without end punctuation

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Question 8 of 15

8. Which one of these is not a type of meter? Hint

pyrrhic

amphibrachic

balladic

iambic

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Question 9 of 15

9. What is the definition of free verse? Hint

poems written with no pattern of rhyme or meter

the first draft of a poem

'stream of consciousness' poetry

poems written with strict rhyme and rhythm

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Question 10 of 15

10. What are end-stopped lines? Hint

lines that rhyme with others

lines that continue onto the next without punctuation

lines that are ended by punctuation

lines in a strict meter

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Question 11 of 15

11. What is a caesura? Hint

a short stanza that ends poems such as ballades or sestinas

a poetic form characterized by trochaic trimeter

the change in subject matter and rhyme groups of a sonnet

a pause in the line often indicated by punctuation

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Question 12 of 15

12. What is the term used for a rhyme scheme similar to this: aba bcb cdc ded, et cetera? Hint

inverted rhyme

enjambment

terza rima

villanelle

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Question 13 of 15

13. What is the definition of a corona? By the way, this does not mean the beer, and this is not the astronomical corona, so what is the definition of the poetic corona? Hint

a sonnet sequence with the last line of one being the first line of the next

an irregular rhyme scheme in a poem

the last couplet of a sonnet

a pause in a line usually indicated by punctuation

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Question 14 of 15

14. What is the definition of an envoy? Hint

a turn in subject matter and rhyme groups in a sonnet

a short poem in rhyming couplets

the sudden abandonment of a rhyme scheme

a short stanza that ends poems such as ballades or sestinas

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Question 15 of 15

15. What is the term used for the change in subject matter and rhyme group in a sonnet? Hint

caesura

volta

envoy

spondee

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Okay, to start you off: What is the term used for a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry?

Answer: meter

Terms like iambic meter, trochaic meter, etc. describe the exact patterns of stresses. Terms such as dimeter, pentameter, etc. describe the number of stressed syllables in a line.

2. What is the definition of imagery?

Answer: words describing a sense-related picture

Imagery is just what it sounds like: words that evoke images. Much stronger than abstractions, vague words that do not evoke images, such as 'love' or 'fear'.

3. What is the basic unit of metrical measurement, in poetry?

Answer: foot

Dactyls and iambs are kinds of feet, but the foot is the actual unit. An ellipsis is the 'dot-dot-dot', or ... .

4. What is the term used for a tired, overused phrase?

Answer: cliche

Some good examples of cliches: the ubiquitous 'broken heart', the ever-present 'spinning world', and the irritating 'burning love'. These weaken poems. Very much so.

5. What word is used for the Japanese form of poetry that is written in three lines consisting of 5 syllables, 7 syllables, and 5 syllables respectively?

Answer: haiku

Haikus usually are related to nature, but not always.

6. Which one of these is not a poetic form?

Answer: dactyl

A dactyl is a metrical foot with one stressed then two unstressed syllables, such as 'hamburger' or 'idiot'. Don't confuse this with a double dactyl, which is a poem written in dactylic dimeter.

7. What is the definition of enjambment?

Answer: the continuance of a sentence onto the next line without end punctuation

Here's an example of enjambment from one poem (no, not a famous poet, but still a good example): 'A splinter will slip inside my arch and work its way upward, not to worry through the brain but to wind its root around my hips and trunk my vertebrae...' The words 'work' and 'trunk' seem to be nouns, but in the next lines are revealed to be verbs. Very interesting poetic device.

8. Which one of these is not a type of meter?

Answer: balladic

Amphibrach: STRONG weak STRONG Dactylic: STRONG weak weak Pyrrhic: weak weak

9. What is the definition of free verse?

Answer: poems written with no pattern of rhyme or meter

Free verse has no pattern of rhyme or meter, but that does not mean it is inferior; there are many exemplary free verse poems.

10. What are end-stopped lines?

Answer: lines that are ended by punctuation

Enjambed lines are the opposite of end-stopped lines.

11. What is a caesura?

Answer: a pause in the line often indicated by punctuation

When there is a comma or a period, a caesura usually occurs there.

12. What is the term used for a rhyme scheme similar to this: aba bcb cdc ded, et cetera?

Answer: terza rima

An example, from Shelley's 'The Triumph of Life': 'Swift as a spirit hastening to his task Of glory and of good, the Sun sprang forth Rejoicing in his splendour, and the mask Of darkness fell from the awakened Earth The smokeless altars of the mountain snows Flamed above crimson clouds, and at the birth...'

13. What is the definition of a corona? By the way, this does not mean the beer, and this is not the astronomical corona, so what is the definition of the poetic corona?

Answer: a sonnet sequence with the last line of one being the first line of the next

Example: The 7 sonnets that come before the holy sonnets of John Donne.

14. What is the definition of an envoy?

Answer: a short stanza that ends poems such as ballades or sestinas

15. What is the term used for the change in subject matter and rhyme group in a sonnet?

Answer: volta

One of the four characteristics of sonnets (the other three are 14 lines, iambic pentameter, and a rhyme scheme).

Source: Author Crystallina

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor LadyCaitriona before going online.
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