AP Lit Poetic Terms list 26-50

2025, Prospect HS

Epiphany

a revealing moment in which the speaker experiences a deep realization about themselves

Epistrophe

figure of repetition where a word or group of words is repeated at the end of successive lines

Epithet

A descriptive name or title

Euphemism

using a mild or gentle phrase instead of a blunt, embarrassing, or painful one

Euphony

smooth, pleasant sounding words that are pleasing to hear (roughly opp. of cacophony)

Feminine ending

an unstressed extra symbol at the end of a line of iambic pentameter

Fixed Form

a traditional pattern that applies to the whole poem (limerick, villanelles, sestinas, and many others)

Free Verse

poetry which is not written in a traditional meter but is still rhythmical

Heroic Couplet

a pair of lines in rhymed iambic pentameter used mostly by Old English poets

Hexameter

a line containing six feet

Hyperbole

a boldly exaggerated statement that adds emphasis without intending to be literally true

Imagery

representation through language of sense experience

Irony

a situation or a use of language involving some kind of incongruity or discrepancy

Litote

deliberate use of understatement made by using a double negative (you won’t not be sorry”

Masculine Ending

a stressed extra syllable at the end of a line of iambic pentameter

Metaphor

a fig of speech in which a direct comparison is made between two things essentially unlike

Meter

the measured arrangement of words in poetry, as by accented rhythm, syllabic quality, or the number of syllables in a line

Metonymy*

an attribute substantiated for something in terms of meaning; “suits” for business execs

Narrative poem

a poem that tells a story; has a regular rhyme scheme

Octave

an eight-line stanza

Ode*

a rapturous lyric poem written about a dignified, lofty subject

Onomatopeia

use of words that supposedly mimic their meaning in sound

Oxymoron

a compact paradox in which two successive words contradict each other

Paradox

a statement that initially appears to be contradictory but then, on closer inspection turns out to make sense

Pastoral

poem characterized by a setting in spring or summer in the country / nature