AP Lit Poetic Terms

Literary terms

Predicate nominative

The part of a sentence or clause containing a verb and stating something about the subject. (anne was A MONSTER)

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated. ( WALLSTREET walked off with….)

Sestina

A verse form consisting of six stanzas of six lines each followed by an envoy of three lines, in which six end-words are repeated in a fixed order.

Epitaph

A short poem or statement in memory of someone who has died.

Invective

An insult/Abusive or venomous language used to express blame or censure.

Jargon

Words or expressions used by a particular profession or group that are difficult for others to understand.

Epigrams

A concise, witty, and satirical statement or poem.

Iambic pentameter

A line of verse with five metrical feet, each consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable.

Antecedent

A word that is before a pronoun and what it refers to. (JANET says she is allergic)

Paradox

A self-contradictory statement (trust me when I say trust no one)

Mixed Metaphor

A combination of two or more metaphors. (it’s not rocket surgery/that train has sailed)

Zeugma

A figure of speech in which a word applies to two others in different senses. (He LOST his coat and his temper)

Caesura

A break between words within a metrical foot.

Parable

A simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. (fairy tales)

Spondee

A foot consisting of two long (or stressed) syllables.

Blank Verse

Verse without rhyme, especially that which uses iambic pentameter.

Conceit

An extended metaphor comparing two very unalike things. (metaphysical: to lovers to two legs of a compass) (Petrarchan: eyes likes stars, cheeks like roses)

Doggerel

Trivial, poorly written verse

Litotes

Using words associated with poor quality to make a positive statement (he’s not bad at singing, It wasn’t a terrible day, i’m not unfamiliar)

Italian/Petrarchan Sonnet

• Structure: 14 lines, also in iambic pentameter

• Rhyme Scheme: ABBAABBA (octave) + CDECDE or CDCDCD (sestet)

• Volta: Typically after the eighth line, between the octave and sestet

• Themes: Idealized love, spiritual struggle, introspection

Shakespearean Sonnet

• Structure: 14 lines, written in iambic pentameter

• Rhyme Scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

• Structure Breakdown: 3 quatrains (4-line stanzas) + 1 couplet (2 lines)

• Volta (shift in thought): Often appears at the final couplet

• Themes: Love, beauty, time, mortality

Spensiarian

• Structure: 14 lines in iambic pentameter

• Rhyme Scheme: ABAB BCBC CDCD EE

• Structure Breakdown: Like Shakespearean, but with interlocking quatrains

• Volta: Usually at the final couplet

lyric

short poem expressing thoughts/emotions with no full story

ode

celebrates or praises an idea/person/etc

ballad

narrative poem in quatrains, ABAB, typically dramatic theme

monologue

long speech by a single character TOWARDS OTHERS

soliloquy

character speaks ALONE on stage revealing inner thoughts, not meant to be heard by others

villanelle

• A 19-line poem with a specific structure: 5 tercets (3-line stanzas) + 1 quatrain (4-line stanza).

• Uses repetition: lines 1 and 3 repeat alternately throughout the poem and both appear in the final quatrain.

• Rhyme scheme: ABA ABA ABA ABA ABA ABAA

elegy

A mournful, reflective poem, usually written to lament someone who has died.

dramatic monologue

A type of lyric poem where a single speaker addresses a silent listener, revealing their character through what they say (and how they say it

pastoral

A poem that idealizes rural life and nature, often portraying shepherds or simple country settings.

Synecdoche

part is used for a whole (as steel for sword/as thief for pickpocket)

antithesis

sharp contrast (love and hate/good and evil)

Parallelism

the use of successive verbal constructions in poetry or prose that correspond in grammatical structure, sound, meter, meaning, etc.

Meter

A regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry

Regular Rhythm

An element is repeated at the same repetition/interval

Regular Meter

Pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables

Tactile Imagery

descriptive language that appeals to the sense of touch

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.

Epiphany

A moment of sudden revelation or insight

Direct Address

to speak directly; to remove any separation between speaker and audience

Stream of Consciousness

a style of writing that portrays the inner (often chaotic) workings of a character's mind.

Dactylic Hexameter

A poetry in which a line consists of six feel in the pattern stressed, unstressed, unstressed, etc (used in Homer's Odyssey)

Rhyme Royal

A seven-line stanza of iambic pentameter rhymed ababbcc, used by Chaucer and other medieval poets.

iambic tetrameter

line of a verse with 4 feet (8 syllables)

Monostitch

a single verse; also : a poem of one verse

Couplet

two lines of verse, usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme, that form a unit.

Tercet

3 line stanza

Quatrain

4 line stanza

Quintet/Cinquain

5 line stanza

Sextet

six line stanza

Septet

seven line stanza

Octave

8 line stanza

Lyric

A type of poetry that explores the poet's personal interpretation of and feelings about the world.

Refrain

A line or set of lines repeated several times over the course of a poem.

Sonnet

a poem of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, in English typically having ten syllables per line.

Enjambment

A run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next.

Apostrophe

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love.

Terza Rima

A three-line stanza rhymed aba, bcb, cdc.

Blank Verse

verse without rhyme, especially that which uses iambic pentameter.

Direct Object

the object that receives the direct action of the verb

Appositive

A word or phrase that renames a nearby noun or pronoun.

Subject

who or what the sentence is about

Indirect Object

Comes before the direct object. Tells to whom, for whom the action of the verb is done. (Claire threw JOSEPH the ball)

Syllogism

A form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion.

Circular Reasoning

a fallacy in which the writer repeats the claim as a way to provide evidence

Allegory

a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.(animal farm is a poltical allegory)

dramatic irony

The audience knows something the character does not.

Slant/Near Rhyme

Approximate rhyme (e.g., “worm” and “swarm”).

Euphony

pleasant harmonious noise

Volta

The turn/shift in a sonnet

Anaphora

the repition of a word/phrase at the beginning of successive clauses