APEL Terms: Poetry
Terms
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- alliteration
- The repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words (as in “she sells sea shellsâ€). Although the term is not frequently in the multiple choice section, you can look for alliteration in any essay passage. The repetition can reinforce meaning, unify ideas, supply a musical sound, and/or echo the sense of the passage.
- apostrophe
- – A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love. It is an address to someone or something that cannot answer. The effect may add familiarity or emotional intensity. William Wordsworth addresses John Milton as he writes, “Milton, thou shouldst be living at this hour: / England hath need of thee.†Another example is Keats’ “Ode to a Grecian Urn,†in which Keats addresses the urn itself: “Thou still unravished bride of quietness.†Many apostrophes imply a personification of the object addressed.
- conceit
- A fanciful expression, usually in the form of an extended metaphor or surprising analogy between seemingly dissimilar objects. A conceit displays intellectual cleverness as a result of the unusual comparison being made.
- imagery
- The sensory details or figurative language used to describe, arouse emotion, or represent abstractions. On a physical level, imagery uses terms related to the five senses: visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory, and olfactory. On a broader and deeper level, however, one image can represent more than one thing. For example, a rose may present visual imagery while also representing the color in a woman’s cheeks and/or symbolizing some degree of perfection. An author may use complex imagery while simultaneously employing other figures of speech, especially metaphor and simile. In addition, this term can apply to the total of all the images in a work. On the AP language exam, pay attention to how an author creates imagery and to the effect of this imagery.
- repetition
- The duplication, either exact or approximate, of any element of language, such as a sound, word, phrase, clause, sentence, or grammatical pattern.
- personification
- A figure of speech in which the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or inanimate objects by endowing them with human attributes of emotions. Personification is used to make these abstractions, animals, or objects appear more vivid to the reader.
- onomatopoeia
- A figure of speech in which natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words. Simple examples include such words as buzz, hiss, hum, crack, whinny, and murmur. If you note examples of onomatopoeia in an essay passage, note the effect.
- metaphor
- A figure of speech using implied comparison of seemingly unlike things or the substitution of one for the other, suggesting some similarity. Metaphorical language makes writing more vivid, imaginative, thought provoking, and meaningful.
- metonymy – (mÄ•tÅn′ ÄmÄ“)
- A term from the Greek meaning “changed label†or “substitute name,†metonymy is a figure of speech in which the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it. For example, a news release that claims “the White House declared†rather than “the President declared†is using metonymy; Shakespeare uses it to signify the male and female sexes in As You Like It: “doublet and hose ought to show itself courageous to petticoat.†The substituted term generally carries a more potent emotional impact.