AP Lit Poetry Terms

Literary Device

Definition

DICTION

the writer’s word choice

1.

connotation

the imaginative associations we make with words

2.

denotation

the dictionary definition of a word

3.

etymology

the origin of a word and the historical development of its meaning

SOUND

4.

alliteration

repetition of similar consonant sounds at the beginning of words in a line or lines of poetry or prose

5.

assonance

repetition of similar vowel sounds in a line or lines of poetry or prose

6.

consonance

repetition of similar consonant sounds at the ends of words in a line or lines of poetry or prose

7.

onomatopoeia

the use of words that supposedly mimic their meaning in their sound

ex. boom, click, pop

8.

euphony

a smooth, pleasant sounding choice and arrangement of sounds

9.

cacophony

a harsh, discordant, unpleasant-sounding choice and arrangement of sounds

IMAGERY

language that expresses sense experience (sight, sound, taste, touch, smell)

10.

olfactory

smell imagery

11.

tactile

touch imagery

12.

visual

sight imagery

13.

auditory

sound imagery

14. 

gustatory

taste imagery

15.

organic

internal imagery (fluttering in the stomach)

16.

synesthesia 

when one sense is blended with another:  the buzzing red dress

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

Language that cannot be taken literally or only literally

17.

simile

comparison of two dissimilar things using like, as, as if, seems, etc.

18.

metaphor

comparison of two dissimilar things without using like, as, as if, seems, etc.

19.

extended metaphor

a metaphor sustained or developed through a considerable number of lines or through a whole poem

20.

personification

a figure of speech in which human attributes are given to an animal, object, or concept.

21.

metonymy

a person or thing is represented by something closely associated with it.

“brass” = high military officers, “the crown” = royalty, “the suits” = CEOs, Hollywood = movie industry, White House = executive branch

22.

synecdoche

a part of a thing or person is used to represent the whole (attached):

“wheels” = car, “head” = cattle, “a hand” = applause

23.

symbol

an object, person, situation, or action that represents an abstract idea

24.

allegory 

a narrative or description having a second meaning beneath the surface

25.

allusion

a reference to a famous person, place, thing, idea  in literature or history

26.

paradox

two ideas that appear contradictory but create a kind of truth

27.

oxymoron

two words side-by-side that contract but tell a truth: jumbo shrimp

28.

apostrophe

a figure of speech in which someone absent or dead or something nonhuman is addressed as if it were alive and present and could reply.

29.

understatement

a figure of speech that consists of saying less than one means, or of saying  what one means with less force than the occasion warrants

30.

hyperbole/overstatement

a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used in service of the truth

31.

irony

a situation, or a use of language, involving some kind of incongruity or discrepancy (when the opposite of what is expected happens)

32.

verbal irony

when what is said it the opposite of what is meant

RHYME and METER

33.

iambic pentameter

a meter in which the majority of feet are iambs and the lines contain five iambic feet total

34.

blank verse

unrhymed iambic pentameter

35.

free verse

non-metrical verse

36.

iambic foot

a metered food in which there is a series of two syllables that follow this pattern of emphasis:  unstressed stressed     (ta TUM)      

37.

scansion

the system used to count feet and accented & unaccented syllables in a line of verse

38.

caesura 

a pause near the middle of a poetic line.  The house was silent. The house, the small house. 

39.

true rhyme/rhyme 

a word that has the same sound as another (usually created when the ending consonant letter and ending vowel sounds of a word are the same). 

40.

slant rhyme, near-rhyme, imperfect rhyme

a rhyme in which the ending consonant sounds are similar 

41.

internal rhyme

rhyme that occurs within the lines of the poem:  “In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud.”   “Sister, my sister, O fleet sweet swallow.” 

42.

eye rhyme

words that look alike but do not rhyme at all (bough/cough; brow/blow, prove/love)

43.

rhyme scheme

Any fixed pattern of rhymes in a poem

FORM

the external pattern or shape of a poem, describable without reference to its content

44.

sonnet

see FORMS sheet

45.

ode

a poem written in praise of someone or something

46.

homage

special honor or respect shown publicly

47.

ballad

a fairly short narrative poem written in songlike stanza form

48.

elegy/elegiac/lament

a poem written for the dead or someone who has died

49.

pastoral 

a romanticization of rural life; the images portray shepherds and farmers nostalgically 

50.

terza rima

tercets that are interlinked by a particular rhyme scheme:  aba, bcb, cdc

51.

couplet 

two line stanza (can rhyme)--implies relationship between two things

52.

tercet

three line stanza--implies instability or a relationship among three things

53.

quatrain

four line stanza--implies stability

54.

quintet

five line stanza

55.

sestet 

six line stanza

56.

septet

seven line stanza

57.

octave 

eight line stanza

MISCELLANEOUS

TERMS

58.

narrative poem

a poem that contains a “story” or elements of a story

59.

lyric poem

a poem in which the poet’s feelings and thoughts are the main focus of the poem

60.

point of view

point of view can be an element in poetry--usually referred to only as first, second, third person.   POV can sometimes shift in a poem for a particular purpose by the poet

61.

repetition

repetition of diction, imagery, figurative language, or syntactical elements--enhances emotions

62.

anaphora

repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of lines of poetry

63.

selection of detail

specific details used in description that help to develop character or enhance theme

64.

syntax

sentence structure

65.

stanza

a grouping of lines into which poems are separated

66.

line break

the place at which the poet ends a line

67.

end-stopped line

a line that ends with a natural syntactical pause, usually marked by punctuation such as a comma, period, semi-colon, colon, etc.  End-stopped lines slow the pace.

68.

enjambment /enjamed lines

The running-over of a sentence or phrase from one poetic line to the next, without using any punctuation

enjamed lines quicken the pace, create irony, surprise, or double meaning 

69.

tone

the writer’s attitude toward his/her subject

70.

speaker

the narrator of the poem (can’t assume the writer is the author)