AP English Literature Poetry Test Study Guide

alliteration

the repetition of initial consonant sounds

anapest

a metrical foot consisting of two unaccented syllables followed by one accented syllable

blank verse

unrhymed iambic pentameter

assonance

the repetition of the vowel sounds

dactyl

a metrical foot consisting of one accented syllable followed by two unaccented syllables

elegy

a poem that mourns the death of an individual, the absence of something deeply loved, or the transience of mankind

consonance

repetition of the final consonant sounds

couplet

two successive lines linked by rime

dimeter

a metrical line containing two feet

masculine rime

a rime in which only one syllable rimes

hexameter

a metrical line containing six feet

iamb

a metrical foot consisting of one unaccented syllable followed by one accented syllable

internal rime

a rime in which one or both of the rime words occurs inside the line

limerick

a five-line nonsense poem with an anapestic meter

meter

regularized rhythm; an arrangement of language in which the accents occur at apparently equal intervals

monometer

a metrical line containing one foot

octameter

a metrical line containing eight feet

ode

an exalted, complex rapturous lyric poem written about a dignified, lofty subject

pentameter

a metrical line containing five feet

ballad stanza

consists of four lines with a rhyme scheme of a-b-c-b. The first and third lines are tetrameter and the second and fourth are trimeter

trimeter

a metrical line containing three feet

trochee

a metrical foot consisting of one accented syllable followed by one unaccented syllable

terza rima

a three-line stanza form with an interlaced or interwoven rhyme scheme: a-b-a, b-c-b, c-d-c, etc.

heptameter

a metrical line containing seven feet

triple rime

occurs when the last three syllables of a word or line rime

oxymoron

a compact paradox, one in which two successive words apparently contradict each other

personification

a figure of speech in which human attributes are given to an animal, object, or concept

antithesis

a figure of speech in which what is meant is the opposite of what is said

allusion

a reference, explicit or implicit, to something in previous history or literature or art

metonymy

the substitution of a word naming an object for another word closely associated with it

symbol

a figure of speech in which something (object, person, situation, or action) means more than what it is

allegory

a narrative or description having a second meaning beneath the surface one

paradox

a statement or situation containing apparently contradictory or incompatible elements

imagery

the representation through language of sense experience

metaphor

a figure of speech in which an implicit comparison is made between two things essentially unlike

simile

a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two different things using 'like' or 'as'

onomatopoeia

the use of words that supposedly mimic their meaning their sound

apostrophe

a figure of speech in which someone absent or dead or something non-human is addressed as if it were alive and present and could reply

synecdoche

a figure of speech in which some significant aspect or detail of an experience is used to represent the whole experience

overstatement

a figure of speech in which an exaggeration is used in the service of the truth

understatement

a figure of speech that consists of saying less than one means, or saying what one means with less force than the occasion warrants

verbal irony

a device by which the author implies a different meaning from that intended by the speaker in a literary work

dramatic irony

a situation in which the audience knows more about the circumstances than the characters do

irony of situation

a situation in which there is an incongruity between actual circumstances and those that would seem appropriate or between what is anticipated and what actually comes to pass

denotation

the basic definition or dictionary meaning of a word

connotation

what a word suggests beyond its basic definition, a word's overtones of meaning

hyperbole

a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used in the service of truth

simile

a figure of speech in which an explicit comparison is made between two things essentially unlike, using like, as, than, similar to, resembles, or seems

feminine rime

occurs when the last two syllables of a word or line rime

foot

the basic unit used in the scansion of verse

free verse

non-metrical verse

tetrameter

a metrical line containing four feet

triple rime

a rime in which the last three syllables of a word or line rime