Poetry Terms Test

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Stanza

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A group of lines whose metrical pattern (and usually its rhyme scheme) is repeated throughout a poem.

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Assonance

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The repetition at close intervals of the vowel sounds of accented syllables or important words.

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Ballad

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A fairly short narrative poem written in a songlike stanza form.

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Free Verse

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Nonmetrical poetry in which the basic rhythmic unit is the line, and in which pauses, line breaks, and formal patterns develop organically from the requirements of the poem.

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Refrain

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A repeated word, phrase, line, or group of lines, normally at some fixed position in a poem written in stanzaic form.

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Alliteration

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

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Consonance

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The repetition of consonant sounds in close proximity, often at the end of words.

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Limerick

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A humorous, often nonsensical poem of five lines with a specific rhythm and rhyme scheme (AABBA).

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Haiku

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A traditional form of Japanese poetry consisting of three lines with a syllable pattern of 5-7-5.

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Sonnet

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A 14-line poem, typically written in iambic pentameter, with various rhyme schemes.