AP LIt Poetry Flashcards

Apostrophe

A literary device in which the speaker addresses either an absent person or a non-human object, idea, or being.

Purpose of Apostrophe

To personify or bring to life something not living so the poet can address it directly.

Example of Apostrophe

In the line 'Twinkle twinkle little star how I wonder what you are,' the star is being addressed directly.

Understatement

A literary device used to downplay a situation as less serious, significant, or smaller than it really is.

Example of Understatement

'It was only a little spark that burnt the house down,' minimizes the severity of the event.

Conceit

An embellished or extended metaphor, (comedic value) often found in poetry, creates an imaginative connection between items/ideas

Example of Conceit

The phrase 'Life is like a box of chocolates' illustrates an imaginative comparison.

Synecdoche

A figure of speech where a part of something is substituted for the whole.

Example of Synecdoche

The phrase 'I like your wheels!' refers to a car, using 'wheels' to represent the whole vehicle.

Litotes

A form of ironic understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary, double negative.

Example of Litotes

'It’s not the worst thing I’ve eaten’

Metonymy

A literary device where the name of an attribute or adjunct is substituted for that of the thing meant.

Example of Metonymy

In the phrase 'lend a hand,' 'hand' represents the act of helping.

Caesura

Pause occuring within a line of poetry, breaks rhythm of a line and forces readers to pause; identifies phrases or clauses to establish meaning

Caesura example

It is for you we speak, not for ourselves

End-stopped line

A line of poetry that ends with a natural speech pause, usually marked by punctuation

End stopped line purpose

slows down the speed and gives a clear idea in each line by giving a break at the end

Enjambment

The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza in a poem

Purpose of enjambment

speeds up the tempo; allows a poet to express a complicated idea beyond the restriction of a single line