Literary Terms and Concepts

Iambic Pentameter

• A metrical foot of two unstressed syllables

• Five repeating metrical feet of iambs

• A type of rhyme scheme

• A poetic form with no specific meter

Tercet

• A two-lined stanza

• A three-lined stanza

• A four-lined stanza

• A single line of verse

Quatrain

• A four-lined stanza

• A three-lined stanza

• A five-lined stanza

• A two-lined stanza

Denotative

• The emotional or cultural meaning of a word.

• The dictionary or literal meaning of a text.

• A figure of speech that implies a comparison.

• The way a word is used in a specific context.

Simile

• A comparison of two unlike things using like or as.

• A type of metaphor that does not use like or as.

• A direct comparison between two similar things.

• An exaggeration used for emphasis.

Blank Verse

• A type of poetry that rhymes

• Unrhymed, iambic pentameter

• A form of prose used in novels

• A style of writing used exclusively by the lower classes

Couplet

• A two-lined stanza

• A three-lined stanza

• A four-lined stanza

• A single line of verse

Oxymoron (Oxymora plural)

• A figure of speech that combines contradictory terms

• A type of metaphor that uses exaggeration

• A literary device that involves repetition

• A rhyme scheme used in poetry

Hyperbole

• A figure of speech that uses understatement for effect.

• A gross exaggeration for literary effect.

• A type of metaphor that compares two unlike things.

• A rhetorical question that does not require an answer.

Paradox

• A logical contradiction

• An impossible truth

• A simple statement

• A common belief