Poetry Terms (AP Literature & Composition)

Assonance

repetition of an identical or similar vowel sounds

Cacaphony (Cacophonous Sound)

harsh, unpleasant sounds or tones

Consonance

the repetition of similar consonant sounds

Couplet

two-line stanza usually with end-rhyme the same

Elegy

serious poem or song (honoring someone who died or reflect on loss)

Enjambment

continuation of sense and grammatical construction from one line of poetry to nthe next.

Extended Metaphor

implied analogy or comparison carried throuhout a stanza or entire poem

Euphony (euphonic sound)

pleasant sound Opposite of cacophony

Slant Rhyme

similar sound but not an exact rhyme (consonants or vowels used)

Double Rhyme

rhyme of two syllables one stressed and one unstressed

Free Verse

poetry that’s not written in traditional meter but is still rhythmical

Heroic Couplet

two end-stopped iambic pentameter lines rhymed aa, bb, cc with the thought usually completed in the two-line unit

Internal Rhyme

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

Meter

repetition of a regular rhythmic unit in a line of poetry (emphasizes musical quaility)

Metonymy

replacing word with another closely related work (hollywood = american film industry)

Mixed Metaphors

mingling of one metaphor with another immediately following the first

Oxymoron

form of paradox that puts two contradictory things next to each other (bittersweet) (shocking the readers into awareness)

Paradox

statement that contradicts itself but might actually be true

Quatrain

four line stanza with any combination of rhymes

Refrain

words or phrases repeated in regular or irregular intervals in a poem, usually at the end of a stanza

Sonnet

normally 14-line iambic pentameter poem

Synecdoche

metaphor where mentioning a part signifies the whole