1. ACTIVE REVISION LESSONS Poetry and Life and Death
VOLUME LESSON 3 B
Poetry and Life and Death

2. Complete the sentences on poetry
visual
sound
Poems are compositions in which both ……………………. and …………………. aspects
as well as language are important.
Very often the words of a poem are organised into separate ………………………..
whose length is decided by the poet and not by the printer.
lines

3. Complete the sentences on layout in poetry
appears on the page
The form or layout of a poem refers to how it ……………………………
Lines are often organised into groups referred to as…………………………
There is often a close relationship between the stanzas and the ……………………….
of a poem.
Stanzas have different names according to their length, for example
………………… (2 lines), …………… (3 lines), ……………… … (4 lines), …………………
(5 lines), ………………….. (6 lines), …………......…… (7 lines), …………………….
(8 lines).
The term ‘…………… ………..’ is used to describe a grouping of lines
into a kind of paragraph, often with no rhyme.
stanzas
content
couplet
tercet
quatrain
quintet
or quintain
sestet
septet
octave
verse paragraph

4. Complete the sentences on layout in poetry
aligned
Poems can be ………… …… (form a straight line) along the left-hand side or
make use of ……………… ……………… to underline changes in content or rhyme.
Traditionally the first word of each line begins with a ………………… letter.
Lines are referred to as ………………… ………. if the line end coincides with a
clear pause created by the end of a sense unit, grammar and punctuation.
If the line flows into the next with no pause, it is referred to as a
……………………… …. .
indentation
capital
end-stopped
run-on line

5. Complete the sentences on figures of speech
The most common figures of speech are
… …… …….. (when something with similar characteristics is used to
describe the original),
…….....………... (when something with similar characteristics is compared to the
original, using ‘as’ or ‘like’),
…………… ….… (when a part of something is used to refer to the whole thing).
metaphor
simile
synecdoche

6. Complete the sentences on figures of speech
irony
………...……... (when the words express the contrary of what is really meant),
……… ….....….. (a statement which seems to be contradictory but which is
shown to be true),
……… …….. (an exaggeration for effect, not to be taken literally),
………… ….. (omission of a word),
……… …….. (an expression which appeals to more than one sense)
……… …….... (when an inanimate object is given animate
characteristics).
paradox
hyperbole
ellipsis
syn(a)esthesia
personification

7. Complete the sentences on rhyme
sound(s)
Words rhyme when they have the same last …………………………………. .
……………………………………………..…………...….. occurs when the final stressed vowel sounds,
and any other sounds which follow that vowel sound, are the same.
……………………………………………………..…………………………………………………………..………… occurs when not
all the final sounds are the same.
If rhyme occurs between the last words in the lines of poetry it is
called ………………………………..… .
Perfect or full rhyme
Imperfect (or near-rhyme or half-rhyme)
end-rhyme

8. Complete the sentences on rhyme schemes
When a rhyme scheme is maintained and links the stanzas of a poem it is
called …………………………………..…. .
If a poem has no regular rhyme scheme it is in ……………………………… .
Rhyme can also take place within a line or across closely placed lines. This
kind of rhyme is called ……………………………………………. and it sometimes replaces or
complements end-rhyme.
chain rhyme
free verse
internal rhyme

9. Complete the sentences on repetition of sounds
alliteration
Three important repetitions of sounds are …………………………………………….
(the close repetition of consonant sounds in an initial position),
…………………………………. (the close repetition of consonant sounds) and
…………………………………… (the close repetition of vowel sounds).
consonance
assonance

10. Which words are missing from this short analysis of the poem Dreams by Langston Hughes?
quatrains
This is a short poem in two ………………….………….. . Each contains an important
………………………..…… through which the speaker compares a life without …………………………
to an …………………….…………….. and a ……………………….…………... . Although the poem is short,
it is rich in …………………………. and meaning – the word ‘barren’ for example conjures
up both ideas of …………………………….… but also of a life without ……………………………………………
…………………………………………………… .
metaphor
dreams
injured bird
barren field
images
infertility
imagination
and aspirations

11. Say one or two sentences regarding each aspect listed below for the poem Life Doesn’t Frighten Me At All
This poem is by Maya Angleou and its tone is powerful and empowering
She lists the dark, ghosts and shadows, dogs and monsters
The language of the poem suits its speaker and subject matter – it is simple, dynamic and at times onomatopoeic.
The stress pattern, metre and stanza length vary to quicken and slow down the pace of the poem at different moments.