Poetry for Students

Volume 19 325

may use a different name for each genre he or she

publishes in. Some publishing companies maintain

“house pseudonyms,” under which any number of

authors may write installations in a series. Some

authors also choose a pseudonym over their real

names the way an actor may use a stage name.

Pun:A play on words that have similar sounds but

different meanings.

Pure Poetry:poetry written without instructional

intent or moral purpose that aims only to please a

reader by its imagery or musical flow. The term

pure poetry is used as the antonym of the term

“didacticism.”

Q

Quatrain:A four-line stanza of a poem or an en-

tire poem consisting of four lines.

R

Realism:A nineteenth-century European literary

movement that sought to portray familiar charac-

ters, situations, and settings in a realistic manner.

This was done primarily by using an objective nar-

rative point of view and through the buildup of ac-

curate detail. The standard for success of any

realistic work depends on how faithfully it trans-

fers common experience into fictional forms. The

realistic method may be altered or extended, as in

stream of consciousness writing, to record highly

subjective experience.

Refrain:A phrase repeated at intervals throughout

a poem. A refrain may appear at the end of each

stanza or at less regular intervals. It may be altered

slightly at each appearance.

Renaissance:The period in European history that

marked the end of the Middle Ages. It began in

Italy in the late fourteenth century. In broad terms,

it is usually seen as spanning the fourteenth, fif-

teenth, and sixteenth centuries, although it did not

reach Great Britain, for example, until the 1480s or

so. The Renaissance saw an awakening in almost

every sphere of human activity, especially science,

philosophy, and the arts. The period is best defined

by the emergence of a general philosophy that em-

phasized the importance of the intellect, the indi-

vidual, and world affairs. It contrasts strongly with

the medieval worldview, characterized by the dom-

inant concerns of faith, the social collective, and

spiritual salvation.

Repartee:Conversation featuring snappy retorts

and witticisms.

Restoration:SeeRestoration Age

Restoration Age:A period in English literature be-

ginning with the crowning of Charles II in 1660

and running to about 1700. The era, which was

characterized by a reaction against Puritanism, was

the first great age of the comedy of manners. The

finest literature of the era is typically witty and ur-

bane, and often lewd.

Rhetoric:In literary criticism, this term denotes

the art of ethical persuasion. In its strictest sense,

rhetoric adheres to various principles developed

since classical times for arranging facts and ideas

in a clear, persuasive, appealing manner. The term

is also used to refer to effective prose in general

and theories of or methods for composing effective

prose.

Rhetorical Question:A question intended to pro-

voke thought, but not an expressed answer, in the

reader. It is most commonly used in oratory and

other persuasive genres.

Rhyme:When used as a noun in literary criticism,

this term generally refers to a poem in which words

sound identical or very similar and appear in par-

allel positions in two or more lines. Rhymes are

classified into different types according to where

they fall in a line or stanza or according to the de-

gree of similarity they exhibit in their spellings and

sounds. Some major types of rhyme are “mascu-

line” rhyme, “feminine” rhyme, and “triple” rhyme.

In a masculine rhyme, the rhyming sound falls in

a single accented syllable, as with “heat” and “eat.”

Feminine rhyme is a rhyme of two syllables, one

stressed and one unstressed, as with “merry” and

“tarry.” Triple rhyme matches the sound of the ac-

cented syllable and the two unaccented syllables

that follow: “narrative” and “declarative.”

Rhyme Royal:A stanza of seven lines composed

in iambic pentameter and rhymed ababbcc.The

name is said to be a tribute to King James I of Scot-

land, who made much use of the form in his po-

etry.

Rhyme Scheme:SeeRhyme

Rhythm:A regular pattern of sound, time inter-

vals, or events occurring in writing, most often and

most discernably in poetry. Regular, reliable

rhythm is known to be soothing to humans, while

interrupted, unpredictable, or rapidly changing

rhythm is disturbing. These effects are known to

authors, who use them to produce a desired reac-

tion in the reader.

Rococo: A style of European architecture that

flourished in the eighteenth century, especially in

Glossary of Literary Terms

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