AP lit poetry literary terms

poetry

apostrophe

speaker talks directly to something nonhuman

assonance

repetition of vowel sounds
ex: hear the mEllow wEdding bElls and from the mOlten-gOlden nOtes

blank verse

verse written in unrhymed iambic pentameter

caesura

pause introduced into the reading of a line of poetry - by mark of punctuation

consonance

repetition of consonant sounds w/ differing vowel sounds in words near each other

couplet

stance of 2 lines, usually rhyming

dramatic monologue

single speaker communicating w/ silent audience

elegy

lyric poem lamenting death

end rhyme

rhymes at the end of lines

end-stopped lines

line that ends with natural speech pause, usually marked w/ punctuation

epic

major work dealing w/ important theme
- in poetry, a long work dealing w/ actions of gods and heroes

epigraph

a brief quotation at the beginning of a literary work

epithet

word or phrase preceding or following a name, describing the character

ex: zeus-loved achilles or far-smiting apollo

foot

basic unit used in scansion or measurement of verse

ex: iamb, trochee, dactyl, anapest

free verse

nonmetrical verse, arranged in lines, no fixed metrical pattern

iamb

unstressed, stressed

situational irony

where the outcome is the reverse of what the character expected

dramatic irony

the audience is aware of something the characters aren’t

verbal irony

contrast between what is said and what is meant

ex: sarcasm

meter

regularized rhythm - arrangement of language in which accents occur at equal intervals in time

metonymy

some significant aspect or detail is used to represent the entire thing

ex: saying hollywood for the film industry

parallel structure

repetition of sentences using same structure

pastoral

work that has to do w/ shepherds and rustic setting

internal rhyme

rhyme is not at the end, but somewhere else in the line

near / slant rhyme

the spelling / look of the word is same, rather than the sound
ex: cough and tough

scansion

process of measuring verse or of marking accented syllables

synechdoche

figure of speech in which a small part of something is used in place of the whole
ex: I want YOUR HAND in marriage → you say hand in place of the bigger person

alliteration

repetition of initial sounds of several words in a group

allusion

reference to one literary work or character/theme in another

denotation

dictionary definition of a word

connotation

word the use of that word implies + its emotional content

euphemism

mild word or phrase which replaces another bc it’s undesirable to use that word

ex: using WC for bathroom

figurative language

language that means something other than itself, including similes, metaphors, allusions

hyperbole

overstatement or exaggeration

imagery

language that appeals to sensory experience

juxtaposition

two or more ideas, places, characters, or their actions are placed side-by-side to develop comparison and contrast

metaphor

comparison not using like or as

mood

atmosphere or feeling created by the work

ode

poem in praise of something divine or expressing some noble idea

onomatopoeia

the sound of the word

oxymoron

combination of contradictory terms

paradox

situation or statement that seems to contradict itself, but on closer inspection it doesnt

personification

something nonhuman is given human characteristics

point of view

speaker who is speaking in first/third person
- perspective of onlooker or their own

rhyme scheme

fixed pattern of rhymes characterizing whole poem or stanza

simile

comparing using like or as

sonnet

poetry consisting of 14 lines, usually iambic pentamer w/ rhyme scheme

symbolism

object represents an idea

theme

gives the work unity; answers “what is the work about?”

tone

auther’s attitude toward the subject

understatement

opposite of hyperbole, minimizing the importance and impact of something