AP Lit Poetry Terms

alliteration

same initial consonant sound with neighboring/connected words

cacophony

harsh, loud, unpleasant mixture of sounds

euphony

pleasant, harmonious, musical sound

blank verse

regular rhythm and meter but doesn't rhyme

assonance

repetition of vowel sounds

consonance

Repetition of consonant sounds

simile

A comparison using "like" or "as"

Caesura

a strong pause within a line of verse

Tercet

a stanza of three lines in which each line ends with the same rhyme

Onomatopoeia

A word that imitates the sound it represents.

Couplet

Two consecutive lines of poetry that rhyme

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.

Enjambment

A run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next.

literary allusion

A reference to a person, place, or thing from previous literature

Synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa

Ode

A lyric poem usually marked by serious, respectful, and exalted feelings toward the subject.

Paradox

a statement that seems contradictory but is actually true

free verse

Poetry that does not have a regular meter or rhyme scheme

Personification

the giving of human qualities to an animal, object, or idea

English sonnet

ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

Italian sonnet

rhyme scheme of abba, abba, cde, cde (a/k/a Petrarchan sonnet)

Apostrophe

address to an absent or imaginary person

elegy

a sorrowful poem or speech

epic poem

a long poem that tells the deeds of a great hero

extended metaphor

A series of comparisons between two unlike objects.

narrative poetry

poetry that tells a story

Antithesis

Direct opposite

Metonymy

the substitution of the name of an attribute or adjunct for that of the thing meant

Hyperbole

exaggeration

Repitition

Repeating a word, phrase, or idea for emphasis or rhythmic effect

Satire

the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

eye rhyme/slant rhyme

rhyme that appears correct from spelling but does not rhyme because of pronunciation

Lyric Poetry

Personal, reflective poetry that reveals the speaker's thoughts and feelings about the subject

Octave

8 line stanza

Sestet

6 line stanza

Quatrain

4 line stanza