Poetry on the AP exam

lyric

• subjective

• reflective poetry with regular rhyme scheme and meter

• reveals poet’s thoughts and feelings to create a single, unique impression

narrative

• nondramatic

• objective verse with regular rhyme scheme

• meter that relates a story

Sonnet

• a rigid 14 line verse form

• variable structure and rhyme scheme according to type

shakespearean (english) sonnet

• three quatrains and concluding couplet in iambic pentameter

• rhyming abab cece efef gg or abba cddc effe gg

spensarian sonnet: specialized form with linking rhyme abab bcbc cdcd ee

Italian (Petrarchan) sonnet

• an octave and sestet between which a break in thought occurs

• traditional rhyme scheme: abba abba cde cde

  • in the sestet, any variation of c, d, e

ode

elaborate lyric verse that deals seriously with a dignified theme

blank verse

unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter

free verse

unrhymed lines witout regular rhythm

epic

long dignified narrative poem that gives the account of a hero important to his nation or race

dramatic monologue

a lyric poem in which the speaker tells an audience about a dramatic moment in his/her life and, in doing so, reveals his/her caracter

elegy

a poem of lament, meditating on the death of an individual

ballad

• simple, narrative verse tat tells a story to be sung or recited

• the folk one is anonymously handed down while the literary one has a single author

assonance

repetition of two or more vowel sounds within a line

consonance

repetition of two or more consonant sounds within a line

alliteration

the repetition of one or more initial sounds, usually consonants, in words within a line

onomatopoeia

the use of a word whose sound suggests its meaning

metapohor

a figure of speech that makes a direct comparison of unlike objects by identification or substitution

similie

a direct comparison of two unlike objects using like or as

conceit

an extended metaphor comparing two unlike objects with powerful effect (It owes its roots to elaborate analogies in Petrarch and to the metaphysical poets, particularly Donne)

personification

a figure of speech in which objects and animals have human qualities

apostrophe

an address to a person or personified object not present

metonymy

the substitution of a word that relates to the object or person to be named, in place of the name itself

synecdoche

a figure of speech in whcih a part represents the whole object or idea

hyperbole

gross exaggeration for effect: overstatement

litotes

a form of understatement in which the negative of an antonym is used to achieve emphasis and intensity

irony

the contrast between actual meaning and the suggestion of another meaning

verbal irony

meaning one thing and saying another

dramatic irony

two levels of meaning — what the speaker says and what he/she means, and what the speaker says and the author means

situational irony

• when the reality of a situation differs from the anticipated or intended effect

• when something unexpected occurs

symbolism

the use of one subject to suggest another, hidden object or idea

imagery

the use of words to represent things, actions, or ideas by sensory description

paradox

a statement that appears self-contradictory, but that underlines the basis of truth

oxymoron

contradictory terms brought together to express a paradox for strong effect

allusion

a reference to an outside fact, event, or other source