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AP Literature: Poetry Terms Flashcards

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9632104616alliterationrepetition of similar consonant sounds0
9632104617allusiona reference in a work of literature to something outside the work, especially to a well-known historical or literary event person or work1
9632104618apostrophean address to either an absent person, some abstract quality, or nonexistent personage2
9632104619assonancethe repetition of similar vowel sounds3
9632104620ballada poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas.4
9632104621blank verseunrhymed iambic pentameter5
9632104622cacophonya harsh, unpleasant combination of sounds or tones6
9632104623conceitan 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
9632104624Metaphysical 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
9632104625The 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
9632104626couplet2 consecutive rhyming lines10
9632104627heroic 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
9632104628mock 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
9632104629dictionauthor/poet's word choice13
9632104630didactic poema poem which is intended to teach a lesson14
9632104631dramatic poema poem which employs a dramatic form or some element of dramatic techniques (think theater drama)15
9632104632elegya formal poem that mourns the loss of someone, a lament for the dead16
9632104633enjambmentthe continuation from one line to the next with no pause17
9632104634epic poema long narrative poem that records the adventures of a hero18
9632104635extended metaphoran implied analogy, or comparison, which is carried throughout a stanza or an entire poem19
9632104636eye rhyme/slant rhymerhyme that appears correct from spelling, but is half-rhyme or slant rhyme from pronunciation20
9632104637free versepoetry which is not written in traditional meter or rhyme21
9632104638hyperboleexaggeration22
9632104639iambic 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
9632104640imageryanything that appeals to at least one of the five senses,24
9632104641internal rhymerhyme that occurs within a line, rather than at the end25
9632104642lyric poema short poem that presents a single speaker who expresses thoughts and feelings, usually identified by its musical/lyrical quality26
9632104643metaphora direct comparison27
9632104644narrative poema poem which tells a story or presents a narrative (epics and ballads are examples)28
9632104645octavean eight line stanza29
9632104646odea lyric poem written in the form of an address to someone or something, often elevated in style30
9632104647onomatopoeiathe use of words whose sound suggests their meaning31
9632104648oxymorona form of paradox that combines a pair of contrary terms into a single expression32
9632104649paradoxa situation or action or feeling that appears to be contradictory but on inspection turns out to be true or at least to make sense33
9632104650personificationgiving inanimate objects or abstract ideas human characteristics34
9632104651quatrainfour line stanza35
9632104652refraina 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
9632104653rhymecorrespondence of sound between words or the endings of words, especially when these are used at the ends of lines of poetry37
9632104654rhythmthe recurrence of stressed and unstressed syllable38
9632104655rhyme schemethe ordered pattern of rhymes at the ends of the lines of a poem or verse.39
9632104656sesteta six line stanza40
9632104657similea comparison of 2 seemingly unlike things using like, as or than41
9632104658sonneta fourteen line poem with a specific rhyme scheme42
9632104659speakerthe voice of the poem, not necessarily the poet43
9632104660stanzaa group of lines in a poem44
9632104661symbolsomething that represents something else45
9632104662syntaxthe ordering of words into patterns or sentences, sentence structure46
9632104663terceta stanza of three lines in which each lines ends with the same rhyme47
9632104664terza rimaa three line stanza rhymed aba, bcb, cdc, etc48
9632104665thememain thought expressed by a work49
9632104666tonethe author's attitude toward the subject50
9632104667understatementa kind of irony that deliberately represents something as being much less than it really is51
9632104668villanellea 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
9632104669meterstressed and unstressed syllabic pattern in a verse or within the lines of a poem53
9632112451caesuraA pause, usually near the middle of a line of verse, usually indicated by the sense of the line, and often greater than the normal pause.54
9632137179ConsonanceThe repetition of similar consonant sounds in a group of words. The term usually refers to words in which the ending consonants are the same but the vowels that precede them are different.55
9632148183Devices of soundThe techniques of deploying the sound of words, especially in poetry. Among devices of sound are rhyme, alliteration, assonance, consonance, and onomatopoeia.56
9633353769End-stoppedA line with a pause at the end. Lines that end with a period, comma, c colon, a semicolon, an exclamation point, or a question mark.57
9633388035EuphonyA style in which combinations of words pleasant to the ear predominate. Its opposite is cacophony.58
9633408864Feminine rhymeA rhyme of of two syllables, one stressed and one unstressed, as ¨waken¨ and ¨forsaken¨59
9633436319Figurative LanguageWriting that uses figures of speech. Uses words to mean something other than their literal meaning.60
9633449325Masculine rhymeRhyme that falls on the stressed and concluding syllables of the rhyme-words. ¨keep¨ and ¨sleep¨61
9633474624MetonymyA figure of speech which is characterized by the substitution of a term naming an object closely associated with the word in mind for the word itself.62
9633492967Mixed metaphorsThe mingling of one metaphor with another immediately following with which the first is incongruous.63
9633512488ParallelismA similar grammatical structure within a line or lines of poetry. Parallelism is characteristic of Asian poetry.64
9633529914ParaphraseA restatement of an idea in such a way as to retain the meaning while changing the diction and form. A paraphrase is often an amplification of the original for the purpose of clarity.65
9633565080Poetic footA group of syllables in verse usually consisting of one accented syllable and one or two unaccented syllables associated with it.66
9633584838PunA play on words that are identical or similar in sound but have sharply diverse meanings. Puns can have serious as well as humorus uses.67
9633606886Rhyme royalA seven-line stanza of iambic pentameter rhymed ababbcc, used by Chaucer and other medieval poets.68
9633626339SarcasmA type of irony in which a person appears to be praising something but is actually insulting it. Its purpose is to injure or to hurt.69
9633648235ScansionA system for describing the meter of a poem by identifying the number and the type(s) of feet per line.70
9633688821Strategy (or rhetorical strategy)The management of language for a specific effect. The strategy or rhetorical strategy of a poem is the planned placing of elements to achieve an effect. The rhetorical strategy of most live poems is deployed to convince the loved one to return to the speaker´s love. By appealing to the loved ones sympathy, or by flattery, or by threat, the lover attempts to persuade the loved one to love in return.71
9633729692StructureThe arrangement of materials within a work; the relationship of the parts of a work to the whole; the logical divisions of a work. The most common units of structure in a poem are the line and stanza.72
9633749618StyleThe mode of expression in language; the characteristic manner of expression of a author. Many elements contribute to style.73
9633773159SynecdocheA form of metaphor which in mentioning a part signifies the whole. For example, we refer to ¨foot soldiers¨.74

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