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Poetry Terms Trivia Quiz

What sets poetry apart from prose? In this quiz you will test your knowledge about the distinctive set of terms that gives poetry its literary uniqueness.

A multiple-choice quiz by 57wordsmith. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
57wordsmith

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
211,286

Updated
Apr 04 23

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
3718

Last 3 plays: Guest 159 (6/10), Guest 39 (7/10), Guest 72 (1/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. What term best applies to this line: "The wind screamed about my window that February night"? Hint

simile

personification

metaphor

consonance

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. What term would you choose when coming across this line: "The soft sound of the sea soothed my troubled soul"? Hint

assonance

onomatopoeia

euphemism

alliteration

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. When two words sound the same, especially at the end of each line, as in "He shall no longer be/a visitor to the sea", what do we call this device? Hint

personification

alliteration

rhyme

consonance

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. "This summer day is like sweet music" is an example of what device? Hint

metaphor

onomatopoeia

personification

simile

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. "Her love for him was a campaign of ignorance" would be considered as what kind of poetic device? Hint

simile

rhythm

personification

metaphor

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. This term simply refers to how the poem is divided, and could be loosely referred to as the structure of the poem. Do you know what the term is? Hint

form

shape

lines

meter

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. The following are examples of this device: "boom" "buzz" "crunch". Do you know what term I am referring to? Hint

assonance

alliteration

consonance

onomatopoeia

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. If you read the line: "He whispered into the dark, dank heart of the night", you would think of what term to use to describe it? Hint

rhythm

meter

assonance

consonance

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. If I wrote the line "The ship was in distress upon the livid sea", I would be using which poetic device? Hint

consonance

rhyme

assonance

alliteration

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. This term refers to the repeated rhythmic pattern found in the poem; the one William Shakespeare used when writing his sonnets is known as "iambic". Do you know this term? Hint

meter

verse

form

line

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What term best applies to this line: "The wind screamed about my window that February night"?

Answer: personification

Personification gives human qualities to inanimate objects, animals, and ideas. Wind can scream, a dog can smile, and truth can cheer.

2. What term would you choose when coming across this line: "The soft sound of the sea soothed my troubled soul"?

Answer: alliteration

The repetition of sounds at the beginning of words is known as alliteration, and it's what gives many a tongue twister its twist--just ask Peter Piper...

3. When two words sound the same, especially at the end of each line, as in "He shall no longer be/a visitor to the sea", what do we call this device?

Answer: rhyme

Rhyme is the likeness of sounds at the end of the lines, and it is what people tend to think of when poetry is mentioned. The pattern of rhyme is called rhyme scheme.

4. "This summer day is like sweet music" is an example of what device?

Answer: simile

Similes compare one thing to another using the words "like" or "as".

5. "Her love for him was a campaign of ignorance" would be considered as what kind of poetic device?

Answer: metaphor

Metaphors are a direct comparison, while similes use "like" or "as" in the comparison. Which works better, "Her love for him was like a campaign of ignorance" or "Her love for him was a campaign of ignorance"? Often it is just personal preference...

6. This term simply refers to how the poem is divided, and could be loosely referred to as the structure of the poem. Do you know what the term is?

Answer: lines

Lines are the way the words appear within the poem, making up the separate divisions within the form. Stanzas would be the grouping of the lines, and they are more or less the paragraphs of the poem.

7. The following are examples of this device: "boom" "buzz" "crunch". Do you know what term I am referring to?

Answer: onomatopoeia

All those words that sound like what they refer to are known as onomatopoeia, which is an amazing word in itself, if you think about it. It comes from a Greek word, "onomatopoiia", which means word making.

8. If you read the line: "He whispered into the dark, dank heart of the night", you would think of what term to use to describe it?

Answer: consonance

Did you hear all those "d" "t" and "k" sounds at the end of the words? Consonance refers to the repeating ending consonant sounds of each word used.

9. If I wrote the line "The ship was in distress upon the livid sea", I would be using which poetic device?

Answer: assonance

The short "i" sound in "ship" "in" "distress" and "livid" are using assonance, or relying on the similar vowel sound found in non-rhyming words.

10. This term refers to the repeated rhythmic pattern found in the poem; the one William Shakespeare used when writing his sonnets is known as "iambic". Do you know this term?

Answer: meter

Meter in poetry is similar to the beats per measure in music in that it keeps a certain cadence or rhythm to the poem. Think of Longfellow's narrative poetry, like "Hiawatha". The meter, the rhythm, makes it easy to remember, which is probably why so many people can still recite this poem, even though it was learned in the fifth grade!

Source: Author 57wordsmith

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