AP lit- Poetry Terms

Verse

1. writing that is arranged in lines, often with a regular rhythm or pattern of rhyme

2. 2. a term that refers to various parts of poetry, such as a single line of poetry, a stanza, or the entire poem.

Stanza

A series of lines grouped together in order to divide a poem

stichic

poetry/verse that is not divided into stanzas, continuous lines

Strophic

a group of verses, that together form a whole poem, poetry divided into stanzas

Open Stanza

A stanza that ends with no punctuation or punctuation that suggests continuation of an idea such as a comma or dash (internal punctuation)

Internal punctuation: , / ; / -

Closed Stanza

A stanza that ends with terminal punctuation such as a period or question mark

Terminal punctuation: . / ?/ !

Speaker

the voice of the poem, similar to a narrator in fiction. Perspective that conveys the ideas, emotions, tone of the poem.

Enjambment

The running-over of a sentence or phrase from one poetic line to the next, without any punctuation (terminal or internal); the opposite of end-stopped.

End-stopped

A line of verse ending at a grammatical boundary or break—such as a dash or closing parenthesis—or with punctuation such as a colon, a semicolon, or a period.

Euphony

the quality of being pleasing to the ear, harmonious

Cacophony

Harsh or discordant sounds, often the result of repetition and combination of explosive consonants within a group of words

Dissonance

A disruption of harmonic sounds or rhythms. It refers to a harsh collection of sounds for a jarring effect

Inversion

The writer purposefully writes words, phrases, or sentences in a non-traditional order.  The effect is to shift the focus and bring attention to certain ideas.

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds without repeating consonants; sometimes called vowel rhyme.

Consonance

 the repetition of the same consonant sounds in a line of text. The focus is on the sound made by consonants and not necessarily the letters themselves.

Lyric poetry

a short poem in which the poet, the poet’s persona, or another speaker expresses personal feelings.

Blank verse

Unrhyming iambic pentameter, also called heroic verse. This 10-syllable line is the predominant rhythm of traditional English dramatic and epic poetry

Free verse

Nonmetrical, nonrhyming lines that closely follow the natural rhythms of speech. A regular pattern of sound or rhythm may emerge in free-verse lines, but the poet does not adhere to a metrical plan in their composition.

Rhyme scheme

the pattern of end rhymes in a stanza

each rhyme encoded by a letter of the alphabet, from a onward (ABBA BCCB, for example).

True rhyme

rhymes are formed by words with identical stressed vowel sounds.

Approximate rhyme

a type of rhyme with words that have similar, but not identical sounds.

Meter

The rhythmical pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in verse.

Scan

to determine the meter of a poem, noting stressed and unstressed syllables

Sonnet

A 14-line poem with a set structure and rhyme scheme

Volta

Italian word for “turn.” In a sonnet, the volta is the turn of thought or argument

Couplet

2 lines

Quatrain

4 lines

Sestet

6 lines

Octave

8 lines

Iambic pentameter

5 feet (10 syllables)

5 iambs ◡ ́  X 2

(unstressed/stressed)

Conceit

an extended metaphor with a complex logic that governs a poetic passage or entire poem

Metaphysical conceit

the comparison is between two very different things. It is often unconventional, logically complex, bold, and surprising