ap lit poetry terms

kill me

hypophora

speaker poses a question and then immediately answers it themselves

rhetorical question

a question posed for effect or emphasis rather than to elicit an actual answer

aposiopesis

a sentence is deliberately broken off and left unfinished, forcing the reader to imagine the rest (e.g. “get out, or else—!”)

epithet

descriptive adjective or phrase used to characterize a person, place, or thing (e.g. the man of many twists and turns)

end-stopped line

a poetic line that ends with a grammatical pause, such as punctuation, creating a sense of closure at the end of the line

enjambment

the continuation of a sentence or phrase across a line break in poetry without the use of punctuation, creating a sense of flow and momentum

euphony

the use of harmonious and pleasant-sounding words in literature to create a pleasing effect (combo of alliteration, consonance, assonance)

cacophony

uses a harsh, jarring mixture of sounds to create an effect of harshness, chaos, or disorder

narrative poetry

poem with plot, characters, and a setting e.g. the iliad

lyrical poetry

expresses the personal feelings, thoughts, or emotions of a single speaker, often in a song-like, musical way, and is typically written in the first-person

pastoral (poetry form)

idealizes rural life and nature, often contrasting it with the corrupt city. very idyllic??

ballad

narrative poem, typically in four-line stanzas (quatrains), that tells a story, often with a musical quality, and was traditionally meant to be sung

elegy

a mournful, reflective poem that laments a loss, typically the death of a person but also a broader theme like mortality or the end of an era

ode

a formal, lyric poem that addresses and often praises a person, place, object, or idea

sestina

six stanzas of six lines each, followed by a three-line "envoi" or "tornada"

pantoum

poetic form that uses a repeating pattern of lines, with the second and fourth lines of each stanza becoming the first and third lines of the next

villanelle

a 19-line poem with a strict form: five tercets (three-line stanzas) followed by a quatrain (four-line stanza)

english/shakespearean sonnet

a 14-line poem in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

italian/petrarchan sonnet

a 14-line poem with a specific structure: an eight-line octave (rhyming ABBAABBA) that presents a problem or question, and a six-line sestet that provides a resolution or new perspective (often rhyming CDECDE or CDCDCD)

blank verse

unrhymed poetry written in a consistent metrical pattern, most often iambic pentameter

free verse

poetry that lacks a regular metrical pattern and rhyme scheme, closely following the natural rhythms of speech

meter

the rhythmic structure of a poem, defined by a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in each line

feet

a single unit of meter in poetry, consisting of a specific pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables

internal rhyme

a poetic device where a rhyme occurs within a single line of verse or between words in the middle of different lines

end rhyme

when the last syllables within a verse rhyme

sight rhyme

the repetition of two or more words that are spelled almost identically yet pronounced differently (e.g. alone and gone)

slant rhyme

the words sound similar but don’t match perfectly (e.g. worm and swarm)

rhyme scheme

deliberate structural pattern in poetry where the words at the end of individual lines within a poem stanza are intentionally rhymed with words at the end of other lines within the same stanza to create rhythm

scansion

deliberate structural pattern in poetry where the words at the end of individual lines within a poem stanza are intentionally rhymed with words at the end of other lines within the same stanza

soliloquy

a dramatic speech in which a character speaks their thoughts aloud, usually while alone on stage much more emotional than monologue

monologue

lengthy speech delivered by a single character, intended to reveal their inner thoughts, feelings, motivations, and character development

aside (in drama)

a brief, direct comment a character makes to the audience that other characters on stage are not meant to hear

inversion (in poetry)

the reversal of the normal word order of a sentence to create emphasis, a particular rhythm, or for a poetic effect

refrain

a repeated line, phrase, or verse in a poem or song that emphasizes a theme, provides rhythm, and unifies the work

stanza

a group of lines in a poem that functions similarly to a paragraph in prose, often organized by a recurring meter, rhyme scheme, or a specific theme

tercet

a three-line stanza or poem that can be a complete, standalone piece or part of a larger work

sestet

a six-line stanza, most famously used as the second part of an Italian (or Petrarchan) sonnet after the octave

octave

an eight-line stanza, most famously the first part of a Petrarchan (Italian) sonnet

quatrain

a stanza or poem consisting of four lines, often with a specific rhyme scheme like ABAB or ABCB

couplet

a pair of consecutive lines of poetry that usually rhyme and have the same meter