Poetry Terms
Figurative Language
Tone
Theme
Random Poetry Trivia
100

Word choice intended to convey a certain effect.

What is diction?
100

A comparison of two different things or ideas through the use of the words like or as. Not meant to be taken literally. Look for deeper meaning. 

What is a simile?
100
Tone is the speaker or author's ___________ toward the subject of the text. 
What is attitude?
100
Theme is the central ____________ of the literary work.
What is message?
100
In what year did Tupac Shakur die?


1989, 1990, 1996, or 2001

What is 1996?
200

An arrangement of a certain number of lines, usually four or more, sometimes having a fixed length, meter, or rhyme scheme, forming a division of a poem (the paragraph of the poem).

What is a stanza?
200

Differs from a regular metaphor in that it is sustained for several lines or sentences or throughout a work. Not meant to be taken literally. Look for deeper meaning.

What is an extended metaphor?
200
Which of the following is an example of a TONE? 


HOPE, HOPING, HOPEFUL, or HOPING FOR CHANGE

What is hopeful?
200
The word 'hope' is NOT a theme but a ______________  ________.
What is a thematic idea/topic?
200
In the poem "Mother to Son," the speaker creates a metaphor by claiming that her life has NOT been a _________ _________. 
What is a crystal stair?
300

The feelings and attitudes associated with a word.


What is connotation?
300

A comparison of two different things or ideas not using like or as. Not meant to be taken literally. Look for deeper meaning.

What is a metaphor?
300
In the song "Dear Mama" by Tupac Shakur, the tone could be described as...
What is APPRECIATIVE, GRATEFUL, ADMIRING


*other answers MAY be acceptable.

300
The following sentence is NOT a theme but a _______________.


"The theme of 'Mother to Son' by Langston Hughes is a mother telling her son that her life has been difficult but that she has kept going."

What is a summary?
300

This poet was the father of the Harlem Renaissance, an African-American literary movement that began in the 1920s. 

Who is Langston Hughes?
400

A change or movement in a piece resulting from an epiphany, realization, or insight gained by the speaker, a character, or the reader.

What is a shift?
400

The following line - from the poem "Dear Michelle Obama" by Jasmine Mans - is an example of this type of figurative language:

"I wrap my grandmother's pearls around her neck like a gravity-stricken halo." 

What is a simile?
400
Before identifying TONE in a text, good readers do this. (Hint: Chart)
What is identify positive, negative, and/or neutral words from the text itself. (Positive/Negative chart)
400
Name two thematic ideas/topics (NOT theme) present in the poem "Ars Politica" by Julia Alvarez.
Multiple correct responses (coming of age, change, empowerment, art, progress...)
400
Julia Alvarez mentions this famous English author/poet in her poem "Ars Politica" (no cheating). 


Hint: "If ______ had it right, and the child is / father of the man"

Who is (William) Wordsworth?
500

The emotional atmosphere in a literary work; how the reader feels when reading the text. 

What is mood?
500

A kind of metaphor that give inanimate objects or abstract ideas human characteristics. Not meant to be taken literally. Look for deeper meaning.

What is personification?
500
Without looking at the TONE wall (no cheating!), name 2 positive, 2 negative, and 1 neutral tone word.
(Many acceptable answers - must all be ADJECTIVES describing an attitude the author might have toward his/her subject)
500

Take the following sentence and improve it to make it an appropriate THEME.

"A theme in 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings' by Maya Angelou is coming of age."

Multiple correct responses - must:

- Be a statement about people in general

- Not use personal pronouns (I, you, we, etc.)

- Incorporate the thematic IDEA of 'coming of age.'

500

In his poem "Complainers," does Rudy Francisco believe that the glass is half empty or half full?

Neither. 


"It doesn't matter... there's water in the cup. / Drink that **** and stop complaining."