AP English Poetry Terms Flashcards
alliteration
the repetition of identical or similar consonant sounds, normally at the beginnings of words
allusion
a reference in a work of literature to something outside the work, especially to a well-known historical or literary event, person or work
antithesis
a figure of speech characterized by strongly contrasting words, clauses, sentences, or ideas. Balancing of one term against another for emphasis or stylistic effectiveness.
apostrophe
figure of speech in which someone, some abstract quality, or a nonexistent personage is directly addressed as though present
assonance
the repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds
ballad meter
a four line stanza rhymed abcd with four feet in lines one and three and three feet in lines two and four
blank verse
unrhymed iambic pentameter
cacophony
a harsh, unpleasant combination of sounds or tones
caesura
pause, usually near the middle of a line of verse, usually indicated by the sense of the line, and often greater than the normal pause
conceit
an ingenious and fanciful notion or conception, usually expressed through an elaborate analogy, and pointing to a striking parallel between two seemingly dissimilar things. May be a brief metaphor or the entire poem
consonance
the repetition of similar consonant sounds in a group of words. Refers to words in which the ending consonants are the same but the vowels that precede them are different.
diction
use of words in a literary work; may be described as formal, informal, colloquial, or slang
didactic poem
intended primarily to teach a lesson
dramatic poem
employs a dramatic form or some element or elements of dramatic techniques as a means of achieving poetic ends
elegy
a sustained and formal poem setting forth the poet’s meditations upon death or another solemn theme
end-stopped
a line with a pause at the end (comma, period, colon, semi-colon)
enjambment
the continuation of the sense and grammatical construction from one line of poetry to the next
extended metaphor
an implied analogy, or comparison, which is carried throughout a stanza or an entire poem
eye/slant rhyme
looks like and feels like it should rhyme but it doesn’t
feminine rhyme
a rhyme of two syllables, one stressed and one unstressed
internal rhyme
rhyme that occurs within a line, rather than at the end
metonymy
the substitution of a term naming an object. An object for the whole. Such as calling a king the crown.
Oxymoron
form of paradox that combines. a pair of contrary terms into a single expression. serves the purpose of shocking the reader into awareness
paradox
situation or action or feelings that appears to be contradictory but on inspection turns out to be true or at least make sense
synecdoche
form of metaphor which in mentioning a part signifies the whole. “field hands” for manual laborers
syntax
the ordering of words into patterns or sentences
