SAT II Literature : Literary Terminology Describing Poetry

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT II Literature

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store

Example Questions

Example Question #71 : Literary Terminology And Devices

1 Infer the wilds which next pertain. 

2 Though travel here be still a walk,

3 Small heart was theirs for easy talk.

4 Oblivious of the bridle-rein

5 Rolfe fell to Lethe altogether,

6 Bewitched by that uncanny weather

7 Of sultry cloud. And home-sick grew

8 The banker. In his reverie blue

9 The cigarette, a summer friend,

10 Went out between his teeth—could lend

11 No solace, soothe him nor engage.

12 And now disrelished he each word

13 Of sprightly, harmless persiflage

14 Wherewith young Glaucon here would fain

15 Evince a jaunty disregard.

16 But hush betimes o’ertook the twain—

17 The more impressive, it may be,

18 For that the senior, somewhat spent,

19 Florid overmuch and corpulent,

20 Labored in lungs, and audibly. 

 

(1876)

The endings of lines 5 and 6 comprise a(n) __________________.

Possible Answers:

masculine rhyme

paradox

feminine rhyme

antithesis

allusion

Correct answer:

feminine rhyme

Explanation:

"Altogether" and "weather," at the ends of lines 5 and 6 respectively, comprise a "feminine rhyme." A feminine rhyme is a rhyme in which two or more syllables at the end of words are identical in sound. In this case, the last two syllables of both words match; phonetically, they both end in a short "e" sound and "-ther." Feminine rhymes also have the feature of being unstressed in their final syllable.

Passage adapted from Herman Melville's epic poem Clarel (1876).

Example Question #72 : Literary Terminology And Devices

1 Infer the wilds which next pertain. 

2 Though travel here be still a walk,

3 Small heart was theirs for easy talk.

4 Oblivious of the bridle-rein

5 Rolfe fell to Lethe altogether,

6 Bewitched by that uncanny weather

7 Of sultry cloud. And home-sick grew

8 The banker. In his reverie blue

9 The cigarette, a summer friend,

10 Went out between his teeth—could lend

11 No solace, soothe him nor engage.

12 And now disrelished he each word

13 Of sprightly, harmless persiflage

14 Wherewith young Glaucon here would fain

15 Evince a jaunty disregard.

16 But hush betimes o’ertook the twain—

17 The more impressive, it may be,

18 For that the senior, somewhat spent,

19 Florid overmuch and corpulent,

20 Labored in lungs, and audibly. 

 

(1876)

"Word" (line 12) and "disregard" (line 15) are an example of ___________________.

Possible Answers:

true end rhyme

slant rhyme

feminine rhyme

internal rhyme

sprung rhythm

Correct answer:

slant rhyme

Explanation:

A "slant rhyme" is a rhyme which is almost a true rhyme, but not quite. That is, the ending sounds of the words are close to matching, but are not precisely the same. Here, "word" and "disregard" have the same ending consonant sounds: "rd." Their vowel sounds do not match, however. The "o" in "word" and the "a" in "disregard" are similar sounds, but not identical, so this is a slant rhyme and not a true rhyme.

Passage adapted from Herman Melville's epic poem Clarel (1876).

Example Question #73 : Literary Terminology And Devices

1 Infer the wilds which next pertain. 

2 Though travel here be still a walk,

3 Small heart was theirs for easy talk.

4 Oblivious of the bridle-rein

5 Rolfe fell to Lethe altogether,

6 Bewitched by that uncanny weather

7 Of sultry cloud. And home-sick grew

8 The banker. In his reverie blue

9 The cigarette, a summer friend,

10 Went out between his teeth—could lend

11 No solace, soothe him nor engage.

12 And now disrelished he each word

13 Of sprightly, harmless persiflage

14 Wherewith young Glaucon here would fain

15 Evince a jaunty disregard.

16 But hush betimes o’ertook the twain—

17 The more impressive, it may be,

18 For that the senior, somewhat spent,

19 Florid overmuch and corpulent,

20 Labored in lungs, and audibly. 

 

(1876)

Lines 1-3 are written in _________________.

Possible Answers:

iambic pentameter

blank verse

trochaic tetrameter

iambic tetrameter

trochaic hexameter

Correct answer:

iambic tetrameter

Explanation:

Lines 1-3 (like most of the passage) is written in iambic tetrameter. It is "tetrameter," and not pentameter or hexameter, because each line contains four metrical feet. It is "iambic" (and not trochaic) because each metrical foot consists of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable.

Passage adapted from Herman Melville's epic poem Clarel (1876).

Example Question #71 : Literary Terminology And Devices

1 Red Rose, proud Rose, sad Rose of all my days!
2 Come near me, while I sing the ancient ways:
3 Cuchulain battling with the bitter tide;
4 The Druid, grey, wood-nurtured, quiet-eyed,
5 Who cast round Fergus dreams, and ruin untold;
6 And thine own sadness, whereof stars, grown old
7 In dancing silver-sandalled on the sea,
8 Sing in their high and lonely melody.
9 Come near, that no more blinded by man's fate,
10 I find under the boughs of love and hate,
11 In all poor foolish things that live a day,
12 Eternal beauty wandering on her way.
 
13 Come near, come near, come near—Ah, leave me still
14 A little space for the rose-breath to fill!
15 Lest I no more hear common things that crave;
16 The weak worm hiding down in its small cave,
17 The field-mouse running by me in the grass,
18 And heavy mortal hopes that toil and pass;
19 But seek alone to hear the strange things said
20 By God to the bright hearts of those long dead,
21 And learn to chaunt a tongue men do not know.
22 Come near; I would, before my time to go,
23 Sing of old Eire and the ancient ways:
24 Red Rose, proud Rose, sad Rose of all my days.
 
(1893)

This poem makes use of ________________.

Possible Answers:

free verse

aphorism

analogy

blank verse

apostrophe

Correct answer:

apostrophe

Explanation:

The poem makes frequent and consistent use of apostrophe. Apostrophe is a literary device in which the speaker addresses something or someone that cannot hear the speaker. Usually the speaker is addressing an inanimate object, an abstract idea, or an absent person. In this case, the speaker is addressing the "Rose," which is an inanimate object; it therefore qualifies as apostrophe when the speaker calls out to the Rose in lines 1-2 and elsewhere.

Passage adapted from "To the Rose Upon the Rood of Time" by William Butler Yeats (1893)

Example Question #75 : Literary Terminology And Devices

1 Red Rose, proud Rose, sad Rose of all my days!
2 Come near me, while I sing the ancient ways:
3 Cuchulain battling with the bitter tide;
4 The Druid, grey, wood-nurtured, quiet-eyed,
5 Who cast round Fergus dreams, and ruin untold;
6 And thine own sadness, whereof stars, grown old
7 In dancing silver-sandalled on the sea,
8 Sing in their high and lonely melody.
9 Come near, that no more blinded by man's fate,
10 I find under the boughs of love and hate,
11 In all poor foolish things that live a day,
12 Eternal beauty wandering on her way.
 
13 Come near, come near, come near—Ah, leave me still
14 A little space for the rose-breath to fill!
15 Lest I no more hear common things that crave;
16 The weak worm hiding down in its small cave,
17 The field-mouse running by me in the grass,
18 And heavy mortal hopes that toil and pass;
19 But seek alone to hear the strange things said
20 By God to the bright hearts of those long dead,
21 And learn to chaunt a tongue men do not know.
22 Come near; I would, before my time to go,
23 Sing of old Eire and the ancient ways:
24 Red Rose, proud Rose, sad Rose of all my days.
 
(1893)

Lines 1 and 24 function as a __________________.

Possible Answers:

refrain

metaphor

parallelism

periodic sentence

sonnet

Correct answer:

refrain

Explanation:

A "refrain" is a line (or several lines) that are repeated throughout a poem. The last and first line of this poem, being identical in each repetition, form a refrain.

Parallelism, on the other hand, refers not to the repetition of the same exact sentence within a poem, but rather the use of a similar syntactical structure imposed on sentences that have differing content. Parallelism is thus not limited to poetry, but is found very often in prose as well.

Passage adapted from "To the Rose Upon the Rood of Time" by William Butler Yeats (1893)

Example Question #76 : Literary Terminology And Devices

Passage adapted from Sonnet 12 by William Shakespeare (1609)
 
When I do count the clock that tells the time,
And see the brave day sunk in hideous night;
When I behold the violet past prime,
And sable curls all silvered o'er with white;
When lofty trees I see barren of leaves,
Which erst from heat did canopy the herd,
And summer’s green all girded up in sheaves
Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard;
Then of thy beauty do I question make,
That thou among the wastes of time must go,
Since sweets and beauties do themselves forsake
And die as fast as they see others grow,
  And nothing 'gainst Time’s scythe can make defense
  Save breed to brave him when he takes thee hence.

Iambic pentameter describes the ________________ of this sonnet. 

Possible Answers:

Tone

Meter

Rhythm

Rhyme scheme

Correct answer:

Meter

Explanation:

"Meter" describes the rhythmic structure of a poem or line of poetry based on the pattern and number of stressed and unstressed syllables. "Iambic" means an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. "Pentameter" means that syllabic pattern is repeated five times in a single line of poetry. Thus, "Iambic pentameter" is a line of poetry with ten total syllables alternating unstressed to stressed.

Example Question #71 : Literary Terminology Describing Poetry

Passage adapted from "Ozymandias" by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1818)
 
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Which poetic device is used in this poem.

Possible Answers:

Triple rhyme

Sextameter

Alliteration

Simile

Correct answer:

Alliteration

Explanation:

An alliteration is the repetition of letters or sounds at the beginning of two or more words, usually in a single line of poetry. "Cold command," "survive, stamped," "boundless and bare," and "lone and level" are all examples of alliteration. None of the other multiple choice answers are exemplified in this poem.

Example Question #72 : Literary Terminology Describing Poetry

Passage adapted from "When You Are Old" by William Butler Yeats (1916)

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

 

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

 

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

The treatment of "Love" in the final stanza is an example of which poetic device?

Possible Answers:

Litany

None of the other answers

Synecdoche 

Personification

Correct answer:

Personification

Explanation:

Yeats describes "Love" figuratively as having human qualities. In the final stanza, Love "paced," "hid," and "fled;" all metaphors used to illustrate the way it feels to fall out of love by giving the emotion human traits.

Example Question #79 : Literary Terminology And Devices

Passage adapted from "When You Are Old" by William Butler Yeats (1916)

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

 

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

 

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

Who is the narrator of the poem? 

Possible Answers:

Love

None of these

"You;" the speaker is writing to him/herself

A speaker whose love was unrequited

Correct answer:

A speaker whose love was unrequited

Explanation:

The speaker in the poem gives himself away in lines 7-8. We know that the speaker is directly addressing "You," somebody with whom he is personally familiar. He goes on to describe both the nature of his love for "you:" "the pilgrim soul," "the sorrows of your changing face," and his physical response to those emotions. The speaker would likely only know this if the "one man" character was himself, and an omniscient narrator would not address the first character "you" in the second person.

Example Question #73 : Literary Terminology Describing Poetry

Passage adapted from "When You Are Old" by William Butler Yeats (1916)
 
When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.
 

The stanzas of this poem are written in which form?

Possible Answers:

Quatrains

Couplets

Triplets

Free verse

Correct answer:

Quatrains

Explanation:

Quatrains are stanzas containing exactly four lines. Couplets are two-line stanzas, triplets three-line, and free verse describes any type of poem that doesn't adhere strictly to a rhythmic or formal structure.

Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors