Figures of Speech and Prosody MCQs 2026

A quatrain is

1. Aa couplet of two rhymed lines✓
2. Bsix lines forming a sestet only✓
3. Ca stanza or group of four lines✓
4. Dfourteen lines total in any form✓

A couplet in prosody is

1. Athree lines with interlaced rhyme✓
2. Btwo consecutive rhyming lines✓
3. Ca single iambic foot✓
4. Da full fourteen-line poem✓

Masculine rhyme ends on

1. Aa stressed final syllable✓
2. Ban unstressed extra syllable (feminine rhyme)✓
3. Cinternal vowels only✓
4. Dcaesura within the foot✓

Feminine rhyme (double rhyme) involves

1. Aonly the last stressed vowel✓
2. Brhyme on the stressed syllable plus following unstressed syllable✓
3. Cinitial consonants in alliteration✓
4. Denjambment without rhyme✓

Scansion is

1. Athe title of a Shakespeare play✓
2. Bthe analysis of metrical patterns in verse✓
3. Ca figure assigning human traits✓
4. Da type of Petrarchan sestet only✓

A spondee is

1. Aunstressed-unstressed pyrrhic only✓
2. Bunstressed-stressed iamb always✓
3. Ctwo consecutive stressed syllables✓
4. Dfive feet per line by definition✓

The rhyme scheme of a Spenserian sonnet is

1. Aabab cdcd efef gg✓
2. Babba abba cde cde✓
3. Cabab bcbc cdcd ee✓
4. Daabb ccdd eeff gg✓

Blank verse differs from free verse because blank verse

1. Amaintains regular iambic pentameter without rhyme✓
2. Bhas no meter at all✓
3. Calways rhymes in couplets✓
4. Duses only four feet per line✓

In prosody, a foot is

1. Aa line of fourteen syllables only✓
2. Ba rhyming couplet at poem's end✓
3. Ca figure of direct address✓
4. Da basic unit of meter consisting of a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables✓

Elision in scansion often

1. Amerges or drops syllables to preserve meter✓
2. Badds extra unstressed syllables always✓
3. Celiminates all caesuras✓
4. Drequires slant rhyme at line end✓

Run-on lines are another term for

1. Aenjambment✓
2. Bend-stopped lines with full pause✓
3. Ccaesura marked by semicolon only✓
4. Dheroic couplets with closed sense✓

The phrase "sweet silent thought" in a sonnet context illustrates

1. Aalliteration of the s sound✓
2. Bassonance of o only without consonants✓
3. Cpure metaphor without sound✓
4. Diambic trimeter✓

Assonance in "The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain" chiefly repeats

1. Ainitial p and t consonants✓
2. Bend consonants t and n only✓
3. Cthe long a vowel sound✓
4. Dtrochaic stress throughout✓

A Shakespearean sonnet contains

1. Athree quatrains and a final rhyming couplet✓
2. Ban octave and sestet only✓
3. Csix couplets with no quatrains✓
4. Dtwelve lines without couplet✓

Heroic couplets were especially favoured by

1. ANeoclassical poets such as Pope and Dryden✓
2. BRomantic lyric poets writing free verse only✓
3. CBeckett in Waiting for Godot✓
4. DJoyce in Ulysses stream-of-consciousness prose✓

Caesura in "To be, || or not to be" functions to

1. Acreate enjambment to the next line✓
2. Bform a rhyming couplet✓
3. Cchange meter to anapestic✓
4. Dmark a dramatic pause dividing the line's thought✓

Identifying "the pen is mightier than the sword" as metonymy rests on

1. Alikening pen to sword with like✓
2. Bgiving human will to a pen✓
3. Crepeating p at line start only✓
4. Dsubstituting pen and sword for writing and military force✓

A metaphor is a figure of speech that

1. Acompares two things explicitly with like or as✓
2. Bdescribes one thing as if it were another without using like or as✓
3. Crepeats the same initial consonant sound✓
4. Dassigns human traits only to animals✓

"My love is like a red, red rose" is chiefly an example of

1. Ametaphor✓
2. Bpersonification✓
3. Calliteration✓
4. Dsimile✓

Personification gives

1. Aexact rhymes at line ends only✓
2. Ba pause in the middle of a metrical line✓
3. Cten syllables per line always✓
4. Dhuman qualities to non-human things or abstract ideas✓

Assonance is the repetition of

1. Ainitial consonants only✓
2. Bidentical end-rhymes in couplets✓
3. Cvowel sounds within nearby words✓
4. Dmetrical feet without sound pattern✓

Iambic pentameter consists of

1. Afour trochaic feet per line✓
2. Bsix anapests per line always✓
3. Cfive iambic feet per line (typically ten syllables)✓
4. Dany ten words regardless of stress✓

A heroic couplet is

1. Aa pair of rhyming lines in iambic pentameter✓
2. Bthree rhyming lines in tetrameter✓
3. Cunrhymed blank verse only✓
4. Da sonnet's final quatrain✓

The Shakespearean (English) sonnet rhyme scheme is

1. Aabba abba cde cde✓
2. Babab cdcd efef gg✓
3. Caabb ccdd eeff gg✓
4. Dabc abc def def✓

The Petrarchan (Italian) sonnet typically divides into

1. Athree quatrains and a couplet only✓
2. Bsix couplets without an octave✓
3. Can octave (abbaabba) and a sestet✓
4. Dfree verse with no volta✓

A caesura is

1. Aa run-on line without pause at the end✓
2. Bthe final rhyming word of a couplet✓
3. Ca type of end-stopped stanza only✓
4. Da pause or break within a line of poetry✓

In "The fog crept silently on little cat feet," the fog is

1. Aa simile using like or as✓
2. Bpure alliteration without figure✓
3. Ca heroic couplet✓
4. Dpersonified✓

"Life is a journey" is primarily a

1. Asimile✓
2. Bassonance✓
3. Ccaesura✓
4. Dmetaphor✓

Consonance resembles alliteration but repeats

1. Aonly vowels in unstressed syllables✓
2. Bconsonant sounds especially at word ends or within words✓
3. Cthe same rhyme letter at line ends only✓
4. Dmetrical accents without sound✓

An apostrophe in poetry is

1. Aomitting the final letter of a verb✓
2. Ba punctuation mark only with no figure involved✓
3. Ca type of Italian sonnet✓
4. Daddressing an absent person, dead figure, or abstraction✓

Synecdoche uses

1. Aa part to represent the whole or vice versa✓
2. Bhuman traits for nature only✓
3. Clike or as for comparison✓
4. Dunrhymed pentameter✓

End-stopped lines

1. Aalways run on to the next line✓
2. Bpause at the end with punctuation, completing a unit of sense✓
3. Cnever use commas or periods✓
4. Drequire slant rhyme only✓

Slant rhyme (near rhyme) is

1. Aperfect identity of vowel and consonant at line end✓
2. Bapproximate rhyme where sounds are similar but not identical✓
3. Cabsence of any rhyme in blank verse✓
4. Da pause marked by a comma only✓

The meter of "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day" is predominantly

1. Atrochaic tetrameter✓
2. Banapestic trimeter✓
3. Ciambic pentameter✓
4. Ddactylic hexameter✓

Trochaic foot stress pattern is

1. Astressed then unstressed✓
2. Bunstressed then stressed (iamb)✓
3. Ctwo unstressed then stressed (anapest)✓
4. Dstressed then two unstressed (dactyl)✓

An anapest is

1. Aone stressed then one unstressed✓
2. Btwo unstressed syllables followed by one stressed✓
3. Cone stressed then two unstressed✓
4. Dfive iambs in a row only✓

Free verse is characterized by

1. Ano regular meter or rhyme scheme✓
2. Bstrict iambic pentameter throughout✓
3. Cmandatory heroic couplets✓
4. Dfixed fourteen-line form✓

Internal rhyme occurs when

1. Aonly the final words of couplets rhyme✓
2. Bwords within the same line (or nearby) rhyme✓
3. Cno sound repetition appears✓
4. Dassonance replaces all consonants✓

Onomatopoeia is

1. Aa metaphor for silence✓
2. Ba word that imitates the sound it denotes✓
3. Ca sonnet's volta✓
4. Da type of caesura✓

Paradox in poetry presents

1. Asimple literal description only✓
2. Bexact iamb count per line✓
3. Ca Petrarchan octave alone✓
4. Da statement that seems self-contradictory yet reveals truth✓

Allusion is

1. Aa line with five iambs✓
2. Brhyme between internal vowels only✓
3. Ca brief reference to a person, event, or work outside the text✓
4. Ddirect address to the reader always✓

Euphony refers to

1. Aharsh, jarring sound effects (cacophony)✓
2. Ba pause within a pentameter line✓
3. Cpleasant, harmonious combinations of sound✓
4. Dunrhymed dramatic verse only✓

Cacophony deliberately uses

1. Aharsh, discordant sounds for effect✓
2. Bsmooth alliterative sibilants only✓
3. Cperfect heroic couplets✓
4. Da fixed abba octave✓