AP Notes, Outlines, Study Guides, Vocabulary, Practice Exams and more!

AP Literature: Poetry Terms Flashcards

Terms : Hide Images
7142839363alliterationrepetition of similar consonant sounds0
7142839364allusiona reference in a work of literature to something outside the work, especially to a well-known historical or literary event person or work1
7142839365apostrophean address to either an absent person, some abstract quality, or nonexistent personage2
7142839366assonancethe repetition of similar vowel sounds3
7142839367ballada poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas.4
7142839368blank verseunrhymed iambic pentameter5
7142839369cacophonya harsh, unpleasant combination of sounds or tones6
7142839370conceitan ingenious and fanciful notion or conception, usually expressed through an elaborate analogy or extended metaphor and pointing to a striking parallel between two seemingly dissimilar things.7
7145229667Metaphysical Conceit*a figure of speech that employs unusual and paradoxical images in comparison *used in 17th century *an intricate and intellectual device *usually sets up an analogy between one entity's spiritual qualities and an object in the physical world and sometimes controls the whole structure of the poem. For example, in the following stanzas from "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning," John Donne compares two lovers' souls to a draftsman's compass: If they be two, they are two so As stiff twin compasses are two, Thy soul the fixed foot, makes no show To move, but doth, if the other do. And though it in the center sit, Yet when the other far doth roam, It leans, and hearkens after it, And grows erect, as that comes home.8
7145242572The Petrarchan conceit* especially popular with Renaissance writers of sonnets * hyperbolic comparison most often made by a suffering lover of his beautiful mistress to some physical object—e.g., a tomb, the ocean, the sun. Edmund Spenser's Epithalamion, for instance, characterizes the beloved's eyes as being "like sapphires shining bright," with her cheeks "like apples which the sun hath rudded" and her lips "like cherries charming men to bite."9
7142839371couplet2 consecutive rhyming lines10
7142840469heroic coupletTwo rhymed lines written in iambic pentameter and used widely in eighteenth-century verse. See more at https://www.thoughtco.com/heroic-couplet-definition-414016811
7145355067mock heroic*imitating the style of heroic literature in order to satirize an unheroic subject. *used by Alexander Pope, especially in a Rape of the Lock * response to the deluge of epic, pastoral, heroic poems that were being written in the 17th century12
7142839372dictionauthor/poet's word choice13
7142839373didactic poema poem which is intended to teach a lesson14
7142839374dramatic poema poem which employs a dramatic form or some element of dramatic techniques (think theater drama)15
7142839375elegya formal poem that mourns the loss of someone, a lament for the dead16
7142839376enjambmentthe continuation from one line to the next with no pause17
7142839377epic poema long narrative poem that records the adventures of a hero18
7142839378extended metaphoran implied analogy, or comparison, which is carried throughout a stanza or an entire poem19
7142839379eye rhyme/slant rhymerhyme that appears correct from spelling, but is half-rhyme or slant rhyme from pronunciation20
7142839380free versepoetry which is not written in traditional meter or rhyme21
7142839381hyperboleexaggeration22
7142839382iambic pentameterfive sets of unstressed syllables followed by stressed syllables. Hint: Shakespeare is famous for using this. Read more at http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-iambic-pentameter.html#ILmjQe2gELeRQ5cZ.9923
7142839383imageryanything that appeals to at least one of the five senses,24
7142839384internal rhymerhyme that occurs within a line, rather than at the end25
7142839385lyric poema short poem that presents a single speaker who expresses thoughts and feelings, usually identified by its musical/lyrical quality26
7142839386metaphora direct comparison27
7142839387narrative poema poem which tells a story or presents a narrative (epics and ballads are examples)28
7142839388octavean eight line stanza29
7142839389odea lyric poem written in the form of an address to someone or something, often elevated in style30
7142839390onomatopoeiathe use of words whose sound suggests their meaning31
7142839391oxymorona form of paradox that combines a pair of contrary terms into a single expression32
7142839392paradoxa situation or action or feeling that appears to be contradictory but on inspection turns out to be true or at least to make sense33
7142839393personificationgiving inanimate objects or abstract ideas human characteristics34
7142839394quatrainfour line stanza35
7142839395refraina group of words forming a phrase or sentence and consisting of one or more lines repeated at intervals in a poem, usually at the end of a stanza36
7142839396rhymecorrespondence of sound between words or the endings of words, especially when these are used at the ends of lines of poetry37
7142839397rhythmthe recurrence of stressed and unstressed syllable38
7142839398rhyme schemethe ordered pattern of rhymes at the ends of the lines of a poem or verse.39
7142839399sesteta six line stanza40
7142839400similea comparison of 2 seemingly unlike things using like, as or than41
7142839401sonneta fourteen line poem with a specific rhyme scheme42
7142839402speakerthe voice of the poem, not necessarily the poet43
7142839403stanzaa group of lines in a poem44
7142839404symbolsomething that represents something else45
7142839405syntaxthe ordering of words into patterns or sentences, sentence structure46
7142839406terceta stanza of three lines in which each lines ends with the same rhyme47
7142839407terza rimaa three line stanza rhymed aba, bcb, cdc, etc48
7142839408thememain thought expressed by a work49
7142839409tonethe author's attitude toward the subject50
7142839410understatementa kind of irony that deliberately represents something as being much less than it really is51
7142839411villanellea 19 line poem divided into five tercets and a final quatrain. Line 1 is repeated in lines 6, 12, and 18 and line 3 is repeated in lines 9, 15, 19.52
7142839412meterstressed and unstressed syllabic pattern in a verse or within the lines of a poem53

Need Help?

We hope your visit has been a productive one. If you're having any problems, or would like to give some feedback, we'd love to hear from you.

For general help, questions, and suggestions, try our dedicated support forums.

If you need to contact the Course-Notes.Org web experience team, please use our contact form.

Need Notes?

While we strive to provide the most comprehensive notes for as many high school textbooks as possible, there are certainly going to be some that we miss. Drop us a note and let us know which textbooks you need. Be sure to include which edition of the textbook you are using! If we see enough demand, we'll do whatever we can to get those notes up on the site for you!