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AP Literature Poetry Terms Flashcards

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3166944381LineA vertical grouping (or lack thereof) of words in a poem0
3166946984StanzaA group of lines in a poem1
3166946985RefrainRepetition of a line or group of lines throughout the poem (think of a song!)2
3166949702CoupletA group of two lines that usually rhyme and have the same rhythm "Your breath makes me want to puke/Your hygiene I must rebuke"3
3166955336Heroic CoupletTwo lines of rhymed iambic pentameter "I know when you do not bother to read/SparkNotes and Shmoop will just make your grade bleed"4
3166960888TercetA group of of rhymed or unrhymed three lines5
3166962956QuatrainA group of four lines (then sextet, octet/octave, etc)6
3166965003CinquainA five line poem in which the syllable count increases in each line from two to four to six to eight then back to two7
3166969101CantoA long subsection of an epic or longer poem8
3166972686Free VerseA poem without a set structure of rhythm or rhyme9
3166974370Blank VerseAn unrhymed poem in iambic pentameter10
3166975922BalladA poem that tells a story about a specific event (also called a Narrative. Typically passed down orally)11
3166979948DirgeA brief hymn of lamentation or grief12
3166981058ElegyA poem that laments the dead, but usually ends in consolation13
3166982545Epic PoemA long poem concerning the journey of a hero14
3166984845EpigramA pithy, witty poem15
3166984846EpistleA poem in the form of a letter. It usually addresses someone close to the writer16
3166987915Lyric PoemA short poem that was originally meant for music17
3166989460OdeA long poem about a stately or serious subject18
3166991435Pastoral or BucolicA poem that depicts a rural scene19
3166993449SonnetA poem of fourteen lines in iambic pentameter20
3166996355Shakespearean/Elizabethan SonnetRhyme of ABABCDCDEFEFGG and divided into three quatrains and a couplet21
3166999570Italian or Petrarchan SonnetRhyme of ABBAABBACDCDCD or ABBAABBACDECDE and divided by an octave and sestet22
3167004718VillanelleA poem of 19-lines in which the first and third line alternately repeat throughout. It is typically divided into five tercets and one quatrain23
3167008141Stress/AccentThe emphasis given to certain sounds -- usually long vowels or words with high pitch24
3167012283ScansionMarking the stresses in a line of poetry25
3167013401RhymeWords that have similar sounds26
3167015287End RhymeRhyme that occurs at the end of lines of poetry "Cause even our birthdays is cursed days/A born thug in the first place, the worst ways"27
3167020007Internal RhymeRhyme that occurs inside a line of poetry "While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,/As someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door"28
3167025751Real RhymeRhyme that is exact "Now ain't nobody tell us it was fair/No love from my daddy 'cause the coward wasn't there"29
3167030204Half or Slant RhymeRhyme that is not exact, but implied "They say I'm wrong and I'm heartless, but all along/I was lookin' for a father he was gone"30
3167034537Feminine RhymeA multi-syllable rhyme that ends in an unstressed syllable "Think'st thou to seduce me then with words that have no meaning?"31
3167038259Masculine RhymeA rhyme that ends in a stressed syllable "I died and came back/I hustle these lyrics as if it's a game of crack"32
3167041713Rhyme SchemeThe pattern of a rhyme. ABBA or ABAB or ABCAB, etc33
3167043625AlliterationThe repetition of sounds at the beginning of a word "suspended from school and scared to go home, I was a fool/With the big boys breaking all the rules"34
3167048409ConsonanceRepetition of consonant sounds usually withing the words "As quietness distilled/As Twilight long begun"35
3167052274AssonanceRepetition of vowel sounds within the words "Men sell wedding bells"36
3167054177CaesureA natural pause in the middle of a line "Now Brenda's gotta make her own way can't go to her family" (notice the pause between way and can't)37
3167059885EnjambmentThe continuation of an idea between lines that is read like prose "She tried to hide per pregnancy/From her family who really didn't care see"38
3167066727PunctuationHow the poet uses commas, periods, semicolons, etc to make pauses in sound "We used to be like distant cousins, fightin' playin' dozens" or "So I gotta stay paid no doubt. Day in and day out."39

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