literary terms [AP LIT]: Devices of Sound

refrain

a group of words or lines that recurs regularly at the end of successive stanzas

repetition

the ________ of a word or phrase for emphasis; the same phrase, however, is not repeated regularly throughout the poem as in the refrai

rhythm

the recurring rise and fall of sounds in a line of poetry

meter

the pattern of rhythm in a line of poetry, counted by the number and type of feet in a line

foot

a portion of a line of poetry, usually consisting of one accented and either one or two unaccented syllables

end-stopped line

break in the meter; meaning; pause in reading

Enjambment

no pause or stop at the end of the line

rhyme

the similarity between the sounds of words or syllables

end rhyme

(type of rhyme) rhyme between the sounds of words at the ends of lines. Ex: “The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, But I have promises to keep,”

internal rhyme

(type of rhyme) rhyme of words in the same line or between a word in the line and one with the next. Ex: “We were the first that ever burst…”

identical rhyme

(type of rhyme) use of identical rhyming sound. Ex: love / dove

Slant Rhyme / Imperfect Rhyme

(type of rhyme) the use, where rhyme is expected, of words that do not strictly rhyme.

assonance

the agreement of vowel sounds without repetition of consonant sounds.  Ex: My words like silent raindrops fell.”

alliteration

the rhyme of initial consonant sounds. Ex: “The furrow followed free.”

consonance

the agreement of ending consonant sounds when the vowel sounds differ Ex: gross-crass & live-dove

Cacophony / Dissonance

harsh & inharmonious sounds (worse than slant rhymes); a harsh, unpleasant combination of sounds. Ex: “Twas brillig, and the slithy toves / did gyre and gimble in the wabe”

Onomatopoeia

the imitation of sounds by words either directly or suggestively