Understanding Poetry Unit

AP Lit Poetry Unit

form

• physical structure of the poem:

  • line length

  • rhythm + meter

  • system of rhymes + repetition

• developed over time in different cultures

stanza structure

• arrangement of lines into groups, separated by an empty line

rhythm and meter

meter — rhythm and sound pattern of a line of poetry, pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line

line structure

• lineation — when a line of poetry stops and a new line begins

  • *poets choose to place certain words in certain places for a reason

Sound Effects

• the way the poem sounds affects the readers’ interpretation of mood, tone, fluency, possibly even meaning of poem

figurative language

• vivid images

stanza structure (SS)

SS 2 lines

couplet

SS 3 lines

tercet

SS 4 Lines

Quatrain

SS 5 Lines

Cinquain

SS 6 Lines

Sestet7

SS 7 Lines

SeptetS

S 8 lines

octave

Stanzas

• have certain rhyme scheme

  • groups ideas/images together, indicate change in tone, idea, focus, pause for thought / create silence which affects the meaning

Line Structure (LS)

• poets are also specific in how they format their lines

End-Stop (LS)

• break at the end of a line, denoted by a comma, period, semicolon, or other punctuation mark

  • brief pause created between lines

enjabment

• continuation of sentence or clause over a line-break

  • thought runs on from one line to the next

caesura

• strong pause within a line

  • can emphasize certain words

metaphor

comparison between two unlikely things

simile

comparison between two things using the words “like” or “as”

personification

giving human qualities to non-human things

hyperbole

exaggerated statement used to emphasize an idea or make a point

euphemism

softer, less offensive word or phrase used as a substitute for one considered too harsh when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing

synecdoche

a part is used to represent the whole

pun

play on words; can be on different meanings of the same word or on the similar sense or sound of different words

oxymoron

when incongruous or contradictory terms appear side by side

anaphora

the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses

allusion

reference to well-known person, story, idea (often Biblical or mythological), left to the reader to make the connection