AP Lit devices

Alliteration

the repetition of the same initial sound in a sequence of neighboring words. (king cooking, OR picture perfect)

Consonance

the repetition of the same consonant sounds in nearby words. (mike likes his new bike)

Assonance

the repetition of similar vowel sounds inside nearby words. (the rain in Spain falls mainly)

Caesura

a deliberate pause or break inside a line of poetry, usually marked by punctuation like a comma, dash, or period. ("To err is human; || to forgive, divine.")

End stopped line

a line of poetry that ends with a complete thought, phrase, or sentence, usually marked by punctuation.(I walked to the park**.** (Stop)
The sky was very blue**.** (Stop)
I sat on a bench**,** (Pause)
And ate my lunch**.** (Stop)

external/End rhyme

a rhyming word that occurs at the end of each line

foot

the basic unit of measurement in poetry, made up of a small, repeating pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables (The dog will bark and run away)

Iambic pentameter

a line of poetry with ten syllables arranged in five repeating pairs of unstressed and stressed sounds (Shall I / com PARE / thee TO / a SUM / mer's DAY?)

Internal rhyme

rhyming words that occur within the same line

Meter

the predictable, recurring pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that creates the rhythmic "heartbeat" of a line (Shall I comPARE thee TO a SUMmer's DAY?)

onomatopoeia

a figure of speech in which a word phonetically imitates or suggests the sound it describes (Bang, crash, splash)

rhyme

the repetition of similar or identical sounds in two or more words (word, heard)

approximate/slant rhyme

words sound similar, but do not share an exact identical sound (worm, swarm)

rhythm

the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that creates a poem's beat, pace, and musical flow (And the SHEEP in the FOLD and the COWS in the SHED)

Run-on line

a line of poetry that does not end with punctuation (The autumn leaves fall down
upon the cold, wet ground.")