Poetic licence is a term applied to a poet's _______

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks what "poetic licence" refers to in relation to a poet's work.

Step 2: Explain the concept A licence is a permission or a freedom to do something. In literature, poetic licence is the liberty a poet takes to depart from the normal rules of grammar, spelling, sentence structure, pronunciation, or even facts, in order to achieve a particular effect such as rhythm, rhyme, or emphasis.

Examples:

• Inversion: "Down the road went he" instead of "He went down the road."
• Contraction or elision: "o'er" for "over", "ne'er" for "never".
• Unusual word coinage or archaic words: "thou", "thee", "hath".
• Bending facts or grammar to fit a metre or create imagery.

Step 3: Check the options

• A. Choice of word: Every writer chooses words (this is diction), so this is not what licence means.
• B. Choice of characters: This relates to prose and drama, not to poetic licence.
• C. Restrictions in the use of language: This is the opposite of licence, which means freedom, not restriction.
• D. Freedom in the use of language: Correct. It matches the definition exactly.

Step 4: Answer Poetic licence is a poet's freedom in the use of language, so the answer is D.

Exam tip: Break the term into its two parts. "Licence" means permission or freedom, so look for the option that suggests freedom and avoid any that suggest restriction. Don't confuse it with diction, which is the choice of words.