Test questions on identifying and rewriting clichés in poetry

📚 Quick Study Guide

🔍 A cliché is an overused phrase or expression that has lost its original meaning or impact due to excessive use. Think of sayings like "raining cats and dogs" or "all that glitters is not gold."

💡 Recognizing clichés involves identifying phrases that sound familiar and have been used repeatedly in various contexts. They often lack originality and freshness.

📝 Rewriting clichés requires creativity and originality. Try to express the same idea in a new and interesting way, using vivid language and imagery. Instead of saying "quiet as a mouse," you might say "silent as the falling snow."

🎨 Techniques for rewriting clichés include:
• ➡️ Replacing the cliché with a fresh metaphor or simile.
• ➡️ Using specific and concrete details instead of generalities.
• ➡️ Subverting the cliché by twisting its meaning or using it in an unexpected context.
• ➡️ Employing sensory language to create a more vivid and engaging image.

🧪 Practice Quiz

1. Which of the following is the BEST example of a cliché in poetry?
   1. A) "The sun dipped below the horizon."
   2. B) "Her eyes were like stars."
   3. C) "The wind whispered through the trees."
   4. D) "His heart was a lonely hunter."
2. Which of the following techniques is MOST effective for rewriting a cliché?
   1. A) Using a thesaurus to find synonyms for the words in the cliché.
   2. B) Replacing the cliché with a direct and literal statement.
   3. C) Employing vivid and original imagery to convey the same idea.
   4. D) Repeating the cliché multiple times for emphasis.
3. Which of these sentences contains a cliché?
   1. A) The old house stood on a hill.
   2. B) Time heals all wounds.
   3. C) Birds flew overhead.
   4. D) Water flowed in the stream.
4. How can you rewrite "dead as a doornail" to be more original?
   1. A) Extremely deceased.
   2. B) Lifeless like a rock.
   3. C) Still as a statue in winter's grip.
   4. D) Very dead.
5. What is the PROBLEM with using clichés in poetry?
   1. A) They are too complex for the average reader to understand.
   2. B) They lack originality and can make the poem seem uninspired.
   3. C) They are grammatically incorrect and make the poem difficult to read.
   4. D) They are too emotional and can make the reader uncomfortable.
6. Identify the cliché: "They lived ______ after."
   1. A) Happily ever
   2. B) Contentedly so
   3. C) In wedded bliss
   4. D) With joy
7. Which option REPLACES the cliché with a more original description? Cliché: "Sharp as a tack."
   1. A) Mentally acute
   2. B) Very clever
   3. C) Incisive as a surgeon's scalpel
   4. D) Extremely intelligent