Irony, Oxymoron, Alliteration, and More: A Quiz

Question: What is the Japanese poetic form consisting of 17 syllables arranged in three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables each?

Answer: The haiku originated in the first three lines of the traditional 31-syllable tanka, or short poem. The term haiku is derived from the first element of the word haikai (a comic verse of 17 syllables) and the second of hokku; for centuries the two terms haikai and hokku were used as synonyms of haiku.

Question: What term refers to a phrase, line, or group of lines repeated at intervals throughout a poem?

Answer: A refrain is a phrase, line, or group of lines repeated at intervals throughout a poem, generally at the end of the stanza. A refrain may be an exact repetition, or it may exhibit slight variations in meaning or form.

Question: Which term refers to the language device, in spoken or written form, in which the real meaning is concealed or contradicted by the literal meaning of the words?

Answer: Irony, in spoken or written form, expresses a meaning that is concealed or contradicted by the literal meaning of the words used. It arises from a sophisticated or resigned awareness of contrast between what is and what ought to be. It is a form of indirection that avoids overt praise or censure, as in the casual irony of the statement “That was a smart thing to do!” (smart meaning “very foolish”).

Question: What term refers to the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words or stressed syllables?

Answer: The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words or stressed syllables is called alliteration. Sometimes the repetition of initial vowel sounds (head rhyme) is also referred to as alliteration. Alliteration is found in many common phrases, such as “pretty as a picture” and “dead as a doornail.”

Question: What term refers to the recurrence or repetition of identical or similar consonants at the end (or in the middle) of syllables or words?

Answer: Consonance is the correspondence of end or intermediate consonants unaccompanied by like correspondence of vowels at the end of two or more syllables, words, or other units of composition. As a poetic device, it is often combined with assonance and alliteration. Consonance is most commonly found as an internal sound effect, as in Shakespeare’s song, “The ousel cock so black of hue,” or “The curfew tolls the knell of parting day,” from Thomas Gray’s “Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard.”

Question: What is an oxymoron?

Answer: An apparently self-contradictory statement, the underlying meaning of which is revealed only by careful scrutiny, is a paradox. When a paradox is compressed into two words, as in “loud silence,” “lonely crowd,” or “living death,” it is called an oxymoron.

Question: In which type of novel are the thoughts, feelings, and motivations of the characters of equal or greater interest than the external action of the narrative?

Answer: In a psychological novel the emotional reactions and internal states of the characters are influenced by and in turn trigger external events in a meaningful symbiosis. Plot in the psychological novel is subordinate to and dependent upon the probing delineation of character.

Question: What term refers to a “compromise” language used between groups having no other language in common?

Answer: A lingua franca is a language used as a means of communication between populations speaking vernaculars that are not mutually intelligible. English and French, for example, are lingua francas for diplomatic purposes. The term lingua franca (“Frankish language”) was perhaps first applied to a jargon or pidgin based on southern French and Italian, developed by Crusaders and traders for use in the eastern Mediterranean during the Middle Ages.