AP Lit - Literary & Poetic Devices

extended metaphor

A comparison which is carried throughout a stanza or entire poem (or throughout several sentences in prose)

Volta/turn/shift

A change in tone, subject, or argument

enjambment

the continuation of a sentence or phrase from one line of poetry to the next

apostrophe

a speaker directly addresses someone or something that is not present or cannot respond in reality

Parallelism

two or more elements of a sentence or a series of sentences have the same grammatical structure

Anaphora

The repetition of words at the beginning of successive clauses, phrases, or sentences

Caesura

A pause that occurs within a line of poetry, usually marked by some form of punctuation

Stanza

a series of lines grouped together in order to divide a poem

Cacophony

the use of harsh, jarring, or unharmonious sounds (often harsh consonants like k, t, p, g, ch) to create rough, discordant effect that mirrors unpleasant themes like conflict, chaos, or struggle

Euphony

The use of pleasant, musical language and harmonious sounds to create a pleasing auditory experience through soft consonants ( l, m, n, r, w), rhythm, and repetition like alliteration to evoke calm, beauty, or emotion

Rhyme

the repetition of sounds between two words usually the sounds after the final stressed syllable of each word

metonymy

replacing the name of a thing with the name of something else with which it is closely associated

synecdoche

where a specific part of something is used to represent the whole, or sometimes the whole represents a part

oxymoron

two contradictory or opposing words

conceit

elaborate or surprising/unconventional metaphor