CLEP Humanities : Analyzing the Form of Medieval and Renaissance Poetry
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for CLEP Humanities
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Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Analyzing The Form Of Poetry
Which of the following is not a key feature of a sonnet?
Epic length
A specific structure
A strict rhyme scheme
Fourteen lines
Metered lines
Epic length
The sonnet was first developed in thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Italy, but became a popular form of poetry throughout Europe during the Renaissance. William Shakespeare became well known in England for his sonnets in the late sixteenth century. A sonnet typically has just fourteen strictly metered lines, with a specific structure and strict rhyme scheme.
Example Question #255 : Clep: Humanities
The rhythmic scheme of iambic pentameter refers to a line that contains __________.
three feet of two unstressed syllables and one stressed syllable
ten feet of two stressed syllables
three feet of two stressed syllables and one unstressed syllable
five feet of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable
five feet of three long syllables
five feet of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable
Iambic pentameter is most famous as the rhythm scheme used by William Shakespeare in most of his plays. The scheme features five "feet" per line, with each foot having one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable. This rhythm creates a standard speaking pattern for actors and audiences to follow.
Example Question #251 : Clep: Humanities
The Italian poet Petrarch is most famous for working in what poetic form?
Common meter
Blank verse
The cinquain
The villanelle
The sonnet
The sonnet
Petrarch, who lived from 1304 to 1374, is not just famous for writing most of his poems in the sonnet form, but for widely popularizing the form across Europe. Petrarch used a standard fourteen line form with an ABBA rhyme scheme. Petrarch is considered one of the standardizers of the Italian language thanks to his immense popularity.
Example Question #3 : Analyzing The Form Of Poetry
If a stanza of poetry has an ABBA rhyme scheme, which of its lines rhyme?
First and third
Second and fourth
Third and fourth
First and fourth
First and second
First and fourth
When a rhyme scheme is described with letters, the first line automatically gets designated as "A." Any other line that rhymes with the first line will also be marked as "A." Therefore, in an ABBA rhyme scheme, the first and the fourth lines rhyme, as do the second and third lines.
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