Poetry Terms Flashcard 2

Front

What is a tercet?

Back

A stanza of three lines.

Front

How many lines does a Shakespearean sonnet consist of?

Back

14

Front

What is a volta in a sonnet?

Back

A transition or shift in theme or tone, typically occurring between the octave and sestet.

Front

In which type of poem does the volta typically occur?

Back

Sonnet

Front

What is a synecdoche?

Back

A figure of speech in which a part represents the whole or vice versa.

Front

What is a quatrain?

Back

A stanza of four lines.

Front

What is a couplet?

Back

A stanza of two lines, usually rhymed.

Front

What is iambic pentameter?

Back

A metrical line of verse consisting of five iambs (an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable).

Front

What is a metaphor?

Back

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

Front

What is alliteration?

Back

The repetition of the same initial consonant sounds in a sequence of words.