Poetry Analysis — Answer Key
Part A: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. An obvious exaggeration like 'my backpack weighs a ton' is called hyperbole.
Hyperbole uses bold exaggeration for emphasis or humor, never meant literally.
2. 'It's raining cats and dogs' is a figurative expression known as an idiom.
Idioms have culturally agreed meanings unrelated to the literal sense of the words.
3. A four-line stanza is called a quatrain.
Quatrains contain four lines and are among the most common stanza forms in English poetry.
4. A two-line stanza, often rhymed, is called a couplet.
Couplets pair two lines, often rhymed, and frequently close sonnets or scenes.
5. The blank area on the page where no text appears is called white space.
White space gives poems room to breathe and signals pauses or separation between ideas.
6. When a poet places a single word alone on a line for emphasis, the empty space adds emphasis.
Isolating a word with white space forces the reader to slow down and notice it.
7. 'Time is money' is a metaphor that is also a common idiom in everyday speech.
Many idioms began as metaphors that became common figurative phrases over time.
8. A six-line stanza is called a sestet.
Sestets contain six lines and often close Italian sonnets after the opening octave.
9. Stanzas function in poems much like paragraphs function in prose.
Both organize related thoughts into units, helping readers follow the writer's structure.
Part B: Matching
Match each item on the left to the correct answer on the right.
1. Match each item to its correct answer.
Two-line stanza
→ Couplet
Couplet
Four-line stanza
→ Quatrain
Quatrain
Six-line stanza
→ Sestet
Sestet
Eight-line stanza
→ Octave
Octave
Stanza names usually come from Latin or Greek number roots indicating their line count.