AP Literature: Poetry Terms

alliteration

repetition of similar consonant sounds

allusion

a reference in a work of literature to something outside the work, especially to a well-known historical or literary event person or work

apostrophe

an address to either an absent person, some abstract quality, or nonexistent personage

assonance

the repetition of similar vowel sounds

ballad

a poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas.

blank verse

unrhymed iambic pentameter

cacophony

a harsh, unpleasant combination of sounds or tones

couplet

2 consecutive rhyming lines

didactic poem

a poem which is intended to teach a lesson

dramatic poem

a poem which employs a dramatic form or some element of dramatic techniques (think theater drama)

enjambment

line of poetry that ends with no punctuation and consequently runs over into the next line

epic poem

a long narrative poem that records the adventures of a hero

extended metaphor

A long metaphor an implied analogy, or comparison, which is carried throughout a stanza or an entire poem

free verse

Unrhymed poetry without a set meter

hyperbole

exaggeration

iambic pentameter

five sets of unstressed syllables followed by stressed syllables. Hint: Shakespeare is famous for using this.

imagery

anything that appeals to at least one of the five senses,

internal rhyme

rhyme that occurs within a line, rather than at the end

metaphor

a direct comparison (Something is something else)

narrative poem

a poem which tells a story or presents a narrative (epics and ballads are examples)

octave

an eight line stanza

ode

A lyric poem usually marked by serious, respectful, and exalted feelings toward the subject.

onomatopoeia

the use of words whose sound suggests their meaning

oxymoron

a form of paradox that combines a pair of contrary terms into a single expression

paradox

a seemingly contradictory statement that may nonetheless be true

personification

giving inanimate objects or abstract ideas human characteristics

quatrain

four line stanza

refrain

a regularly repeated line or group of lines in a poem or song

rhyme

Repetition of sounds at the end of words

rhythm

the recurrence of stressed and unstressed syllables

rhyme scheme

the ordered pattern of rhymes at the ends of the lines of a poem or verse.

simile

a comparison of 2 seemingly unlike things using like, as or than

sonnet

a fourteen line poem with a specific rhyme scheme

speaker

the voice of the poem, not necessarily the poet

stanza

A verse or a group of lines in a poem

syntax

the ordering of words into patterns or sentences, sentence structure

understatement

a kind of irony that deliberately represents something as being much less than it really is

meter

stressed and unstressed syllabic pattern in a verse or within the lines of a poem

Aubade

A poem about dawn; a morning love song; or a poem about the parting of lovers at dawn

Caesura

a break or pause (usually for sense) in the middle of a verse line

Italian Sonnet

A sonnet divided into an octave (eight line) and sestet (six line) parts. Also called a Petrarchan sonnet.

English Sonnet (Shakespearean)

A 14 line poem consisting of three quatrains and a closing couplet

Shift

Dramatic change in a poem

Pastoral

a work of literature portraying an idealized version of country life

Enjambment

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

villanelle poem

19 line poem with 5 three line stanzas and an ending quatrain, rhyme scheme is most often: aba, aba, aba, aba, aba, abaa