ACES Figurative Language and Poem Types

Anaphora

Starting with the same word/phrase at the beginning of each sentence/line. Not the exact same sentence, just same start

Litotes

Understatement using negatives

Ex: he’s not… not smart

Sondee

A foot with two long/stressed syllables

Aphorism

Pithy observation with a general truth. Worded like fortune cookies

Ex: “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”

Acmeism

Focus on clarity, precision, and vivid life depiction

Antimetabole

Following a phrase by the reverse of the phrase for emphasis (AB → BA)

Ex: Ask not what the country can do for you, but what you can do for the country

Anadiplosis

Ending the line with a word/phrase and starting the next line with that word/phrase

Epizeuxis

The repetition of a word/phrase uninterrupted

Ex: Never, never, never, never, never

Sestina

6 stanzas, each with 6 lines, and a final triplet. Each stanza ends with the same line

Sonnet

14 lines one stanza

Idyll

Describes rural peaceful life

Ballad

Song like, ABCB rhyme, 4 line stanzas (quatrains)

Petrarchan Sonnet

14 line, 8 line stanza then 6 line stanza (sestet), iambic pentameter

Elegy

Mournful poem (usually about death)

Trochaic Hexameter

DUM de DUM de pattern

Rhyme Royal

7 Lines ABABBCC