ap lit poetry terms

a narrative poem that usually includes a repeated refrain

unrhymed iambic pentameter, a line of five feet

the use of words in poetry that combine sharp, harsh, hissing, or unmeldous sounds

elaborate figure of speech combinig possible metaphor, simile, hyperbole, or oxymoron

a pair of rhyming lines with identical meter

a mourning poem of lament for an individual or tragic event

a type of poetry that differs from conventional verse forms in being “free” from a fixed pattern of meter and rhyme.

a line of verse having five metrical feet (Shakespeare’s most frequent writing pattern)

the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.

exact repetition of sounds in at least the final accented syllables of two or more words.

The pattern of rhyme. The traditional way to mark these patterns of rhyme is to assign a letter of the alphabet to each rhyming sound at the end of each line.

a fourteen-line poem, usually in iambic pentameter, with a varied rhyme scheme.

2 syllables, unstressed-stressed, de DUMM

2 syllables, stressed-unstressed, DUMM de

3 syllables, unstressed-unstressed-stressed, de de DUMM

3 syllables, stressed-unstressed-unstressed, DUMM de de

monometer

dimeter

trimeter

tetrameter

pentameter

hexameter

heptameter

octameter

a pause at the end of a line

a pause that occurs within a line

a line that “runs over” to the next line without a pause

1 syllable, ex: dame, same - love, dove

2 syllables, ex: napping, tapping - weather, heather

in which two words look alike but don’t sound alike, such as “love” and “jove” or “daughter and “laughter”

in which two words are nearly rhymed but have a slight variation in vowel sound, such as “lake” and “fate”

in which the rhyming words occur at the ends of lines in poetry

in which the rhyming words occur inside a line, such as “let’s beat the heat”

the repetition of identical vowel sounds in syllables that have different consonant sounds such as “lake” and “fake”

the repetition of identical consonant sounds in syllables that have different vowel sounds sunch as “bill” and “ball” or “born” and “burn”

2 lines with identical rhymes

3 lines - any rhyme scheme, any meter

6 lines (often 3 sets of couplets), any rhyme scheme, any meter

8 lines - any rhyme scheme, any memter

9 lines rhyming a b a b a ba cc, lines 1-8 iambic pentameter, line 9 iambic pentameter

14 lines iambic pentameter, 3 quatrains + 1 couplet

19 lines - 5 tercets + 1 quatrain, 2 repeating refrains - 9 of 19 lines are refrain

a nondramatic poem which tells a story or presents a narrative, whether simple of complex, long or short

ex: ballad, epic

a brief subjective poem marked by imagination, melody, and emotion, but strict definition is impossible

ex: dirge, elegy, sonnet, ode

A comparison of two things, alike in certain aspects – a simile is an expressed one; a metaphor is an implied one.

Addressing some abstract object as if it were animate, such as “O world! Tell me thy pain!” Thus, it is a kind of personification.

Referring metaphorically to persons, places or things from history or previous literature, with which the reader is expected to have enough familiarity to make extended associations, such as “The new kid is as mean as Grendel and twice as ugly” or “He must think he’s some kind of Superman.”

A form of extended metaphor in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative are equated with meanings that lie outside the narrative itself, such as Everyman. Special kinds of them include the fable and the parable.

The use of one object to represent or suggest another object or an idea. Thus, a rose might be used to symbolize the loved one or love in general, depending on the context.

Substitution of one word for another closely related word, such as “The pot’s boiling” or “The White House announced.”

Substitution of part for the whole, such as “All hands on deck.”

Saying less than is true, an under-exaggeration, such as “The reports of my death have been exaggerated.”

Using contrasts for an accumulative effect, such as “Man proposes; God disposes.”

An antithesis which brings together two sharply contradictory terms, such as “wise fool,” “little big man,” “eloquent silence,” and “loving hate.”

A form of understatement in which a thing is affirmed by stating the negative of its opposite, such as “He was not unmindful” which actually means he was mindful.

A statement which while seemingly contradictory or absurd may actually be well-founded or true; a “logic twist,” such as “Everything I say is a lie.”

a poet is allowed to break rules in order to improve his poem in some way.

saying the opposite to what is true. ex: “war is kind”