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AP Literature Poetry Terms (Complex) Flashcards

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4970878147Allegorya figure of speech in which abstract ideas and principles are described in terms of characters, figures and events. Ex: Aslan=Christ0
4970878148Alliterationa stylistic device in which a number of words, having the same first consonant sound, occur close together in a series. Ex: Super Silly Snake1
4970880958Allusiona brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance.2
4970880959Anachronismanything that is out of time and out of place3
4970883553Antecedenta literary device in which a word or pronoun in a line or sentence refers to an earlier word4
4970883554Antithesisa rhetorical device in which two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect.5
4970883555Aphorisma statement of truth or opinion expressed in a concise and witty manner.6
4970885998Apostrophea figure of speech sometimes represented by exclamation "O". Detaches writer from the reality and addresses an imaginary character in his speech.7
4970885999Assonancewhen two or more words close to one another repeat the same vowel sound but start with different consonant sounds. Ex: Men Sell the Wedding Bells8
4970886000Blank Versea literary device defined as un-rhyming verse written in iambic pentameter.9
4970888372Conceita figure of speech in which two vastly different objects are likened together with the help of similes or metaphors.10
4970888373Connotationa meaning that is implied by a word apart from the thing which it describes explicitly due to a society or culture.11
4970888374Consonancerepetitive sounds produced by consonants within a sentence or phrase. Ex: pitter, patter.12
4970891195Coupleta literary device which can be defined as having two successive rhyming lines in a verse and has the same meter to form a complete thought.13
4970891196Denotationliteral or dictionary meanings of a word in contrast to its connotative or associated meanings.14
4970891197Dramatic Ironystylistic device where there are situations where audience knows more about the situations, the causes of conflicts and their resolutions before leading characters or actors. It creates intense suspense and humor and emphasizes, embellishes and conveys emotions and moods more effectively.15
4970893701Elegya form of literature which can be defined as a poem or song in the form of elegiac couplets, written in honor of someone deceased. It typically laments or mourns the death of the individual.16
4970893702Ellipsisa literary device that is used in narratives to omit some parts of a sentence or event, which gives the reader a chance to fill the gaps while acting or reading it out. It is usually written between the sentences as "...".17
4970893703End Rhymewhen last syllables or words in two or more lines rhyme with each other. It is also known as tail rhyme that occurs at the end of the lines. The lines ending in similar sounds are pleasant to hear and give musical effect to the poem or song. This is called the end rhyme.18
4970896286Free Versea literary device that can be defined as poetry that is free from limitations of regular meter or rhythm and does not rhyme with fixed forms. Such poems are without rhythms and rhyme schemes; do not follow regular rhyme scheme rules and still provide artistic expression. In this way, the poet can give his own shape to a poem how he/she desires. However, it still allows poets to use alliteration, rhyme, cadences or rhythms to get the effects that they consider are suitable for the piece.19
4970896287Hyperbolea figure of speech, which involves an exaggeration of ideas for the sake of emphasis.20
4970898520Identical Rhyme21
4970898521Imageryto use figurative language to represent objects, actions and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses.22
4970900199Internal Rhymea poetic device which can be defined as metrical lines in which its middle words and its end words rhymes with each other. It is also called middle rhyme, since it comes in the middle of lines.23
4970900200Italian Sonnet24
4970901922Limericka comic verse, containing five anapestic (unstressed/unstressed/stressed) lines in which the first, second and fifth lines are longer, rhyme together and follow three metrical feet, while the third and fourth lines rhyme together, are shorter and follow two metrical feet. However, sometimes it may vary and amphibrachic (unstressed/stressed/unstressed) form can replace anapestic. In fact, it is a bawdy, humorous, or nonsensical verse written in the form of five anapests with aabba rhyme scheme. Since it has a special structure and format, it is called fixed or closed form of poetry.25
4970901923Parablea figure of speech, which presents a short story typically with a moral lesson at the end. You often have heard stories from your elders such as The Boy Who Cried Wolf and All is Vanity, etc. These are parables, because they teach you a certain moral lesson. Parable is, in fact, a Greek word, parable, which means comparison. It is like a succinct narrative, or a universal truth that uses symbolism, simile, and metaphor, to demonstrate the moral lesson intended to be taught. Like analogy, we find the use of parables in verse, and prose form specifically in religious texts such as the Upanishad or the Bible.26
4970901924Parodyan imitation of a particular writer, artist or a genre, exaggerating it deliberately to produce a comic effect. The humorous effect in parody is achieved by imitating and overstressing noticeable features of a famous piece of literature, as in caricatures, where certain peculiarities of a person are highlighted to achieve a humorous effect.27
4970904243Perfect Rhyme28
4970904244Personificationa figure of speech in which a thing, an idea or an animal is given human attributes. The non-human objects are portrayed in such a way that we feel they have the ability to act like human beings.29
4970904245Puna play on words in which a humorous effect is produced by using a word that suggests two or more meanings or by exploiting similar sounding words having different meanings.30
4970906344Repetitiona literary device that repeats the same words or phrases a few times to make an idea clearer. There are several types of repetitions commonly used in both prose and poetry.31
4970906345Refraina verse, a line, a set, or a group of some lines that appears at the end of stanza, or appears where a poem divides into different sections. It has originated from France, where it is popular as, refraindre, means to repeat. Refrain is a poetic device that repeats at regular intervals in different stanzas. However, sometimes, this repetition may involve only minor changes in its wording. It also contributes to the rhyme of a poem and emphasizes an idea through repetition.32
4970906346Sestetoriginates from an Italian word, sestetto, meaning sixth. The famous Italian poet, Petrarch was the first one to have introduced this poetic form in Italian sonnet. This is the second part of the sonnet, while the first part is called octave that comprises of eight lines. It has six lines, and also refers to a poem of six lines, or a six lined-stanza in a poem that we could distinguish from other units with line breaks. Hence, a sestet could also be a complete poem of six lines, or could be a stanza in a poem.33
4970909814Sestinaa type of a poem that contains six stanzas, each stanza having six lines, while concluding seventh stanza having three lines called as envoi, that is also known as tornada. As sestina derives its name from fixed structure and characteristics, therefore it is as popular as sextain. Unlike other poetic forms, sestina does not rhyme, however, has rhythmic quality on account of the repetition of six end words of the first stanza that recur in the remaining poem. Hence, a sestina follows the rule of an end word pattern.34
4970911587Situational Ironya literary device that you can easily identify in literary works. Simply, it occurs when incongruity appears between expectations of something to happen, and what actually happens instead. Thus, entirely different happens from what audience may be expecting or the final outcome is opposite to what the audience is expecting. It is also known as irony of situations that generally include sharp contrasts and contradictions. The purpose of ironic situations is to allow the readers to make a distinction between appearances and realities, and eventually associate them to the theme of a story.35
4970911588Slant Rhyme36
4970911589Stanzaa division of four or more lines having a fixed length, meter or rhyming scheme.37
4970913286Symbol (Symbolism)the use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense.38
4970913287Synecdochea literary device in which a part of something represents the whole or it may use a whole to represent a part.39
4970915020Terza Rima40
4970915021Understatementa figure of speech employed by writers or speakers to intentionally make a situation seem less important than it really is.41
4970917122Verbal Ironywhen a speaker speaks something contradictory to what he intends to. It is an intentional product of the speaker and is contradictory to his/her emotions and actions. To define it simply, it means when a character uses statement with underlying meanings contrasting with its literal meanings, it shows that the writer has used verbal irony. Writers rely on audience's intelligence for discerning hidden meanings they intend to convey. Writers also use ironic similes to convey exactly the opposite of what they intend to say, such as "soft like concrete."42
4970917123Villanelleis derived from an Italian word "villano" that means a peasant. In fact, it is a dance song coupled with pastoral themes. In literature, it is defined as a poetic device which requires a poem to have 19 lines and a fixed form. It has five tercets (first 15 lines), a quatrain (last four lines), and a couplet at the end of the quatrain.43
4970917124Similea figure of speech that makes a comparison, showing similarities between two different things. Unlike a metaphor, a simile draws resemblance with the help of the words "like" or "as". Therefore, it is a direct comparison.44
4970919143Lyric45
4970919144Metaphora figure of speech which makes an implicit, implied or hidden comparison between two things that are unrelated but share some common characteristics. In other words, a resemblance of two contradictory or different objects is made based on a single or some common characteristics.46
4970919145Metonymya figure of speech that replaces the name of a thing with the name of something else with which it is closely associated. We can come across examples of metonymy both from literature and in everyday life.47
4970922454Narrativea report of related events presented to the listeners or readers in words arranged in a logical sequence.48
4970922455Octave49
4970922456Odea form of poetry such as sonnet or elegy, etc. Ode is a literary technique that is lyrical in nature, but not very lengthy. You have often read odes in which poets praise people, natural scenes, and abstract ideas. Ode is derived from a Greek word aeidein, which means to chant or sing. It is highly solemn and serious in its tone and subject matter, and usually is used with elaborate patterns of stanzas. However, the tone is often formal. A salient feature of ode is its uniform metrical feet, but poets generally do not strictly follow this rule though use highly elevated theme.50
4970924132Onomatopoeiaa word, which imitates the natural sounds of a thing. It creates a sound effect that mimics the thing described, making the description more expressive and interesting.51
4970924133Overstatementan act of stating something more than it actually is in order to make the point more serious or important or beautiful. In literature, writers use it as a literary technique for the sake of humor, and for laying emphasis on a certain point. For instance, when in his poem "I wandered lonely as a cloud," Wordsworth reports daffodils as, "stretched in never-ending line." In fact, he is not saying this statement literally; rather he is merely using overstatement to add emphasis on the long line of daffodils.52
4970924282Oxymorona figure of speech in which two opposite ideas are joined to create an effect. The common oxymoron phrase is a combination of an adjective proceeded by a noun with contrasting meanings, e.g. "cruel kindness" or "living death".53

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