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Flashcards · AP® English Literature and Composition · Unit 5

Unit 5: Poetry II flashcards

42 cards on topics 5.1 to 5.7. Pick a topic or study the whole unit.

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5.1 Structure in poetry

What is the four-step method for analysing structure in poetry?
Pattern, shift, relationship, effect. Spot the repeated or predictable pattern, find where it turns, say how the parts relate, then say what the arrangement does to the poem's meaning.
What is the difference between closed and open form?
Closed forms follow predictable patterns of lines, stanzas, meter and rhyme. Open forms have no fixed pattern but still use structure: repetition, parallel phrasing, stanza breaks and changes in line length.
Do you need to label the rhyme scheme and meter?
No. You do not need to label rhyme schemes, metrical patterns or forms. Explain what the arrangement does to meaning; a label with no effect is not analysis.
What does a repeated pattern let the reader do?
Compare the units. When a phrase repeats ("In me thou seest...") each part is set beside the last, so a build or narrowing becomes visible and a break in the pattern stands out.
What does it suggest when a poem breaks or completes its pattern?
Breaking the pattern puts weight on the interrupting word or idea; completing it can suggest settlement, such as a rhymed couplet acting as a settled judgement. Say what weight the point gains.
Why is calling free verse structureless a mistake?
Free verse still has structure: repetition, line length, stanza breaks and the order of ideas. Describe the arrangement and its effect instead of saying there is none.

5.2 Literal and figurative meaning

What is the difference between literal and figurative meaning?
Literal meaning is what words state on the surface. Figurative meaning is what they suggest beyond it. If the literal reading is impossible or beside the point, the phrase is working figuratively.
What is connotation, and how does it differ from denotation?
Denotation is a word's dictionary meaning; connotation is the set of associations it carries beyond that meaning. Always support a connotation with evidence from the poem.
What is hyperbole, and what does it convey?
Exaggeration. It focuses attention on a trait, such as the length or intensity of love, and conveys a perspective that may be sincere, ironic or playful.
What is understatement, and what does it convey?
A deliberate minimising, such as calling a disaster "a little damp". It can show restraint, irony or denial, so say which the context supports.
What is the four-step method for literal and figurative meaning?
Literal (state the surface meaning), figurative (say what it suggests), word (pick the specific word or phrase) and effect (say what it does to attitude and meaning).
How do you show that a word choice matters?
Compare it with an alternative the poet could have used. If "treads" were "walks", what would be lost? The difference in connotation shows the work the word does.

5.3 Imagery

What is an image in a poem?
A representation of something through associations with the senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, and also movement and temperature. An image can be literal or a form of comparison.
What are the four moves for explaining an image?
Image, sense, association, effect. Quote it, name the sense, say what it associates the subject with, then say what that does to the poem's meaning.
What is imagery?
A collection of images that may emphasise ideas in parts of a text or throughout it. Describe the pattern: what the images share and how they change from first to last.
How do adjectives and verbs build imagery?
They supply the sensation: "crooked" adds touch and age, "crawls" adds movement. Treat them as evidence, not decoration.
How do you read an image pattern?
Look at what the images share and how they change. Images shrinking in scale suggest intimacy or fading; images shifting from sight to sound can mark a turn from observing to listening.
What is a common mistake with imagery?
Saying "imagery" when you mean description, naming the sense and stopping, or quoting many images and explaining none. Choose two or three and explain each.

5.4 Metaphor and personification

What does a metaphor transfer?
Particular traits, qualities or characteristics, not the whole object. In "hope is a bird", traits such as small and persistent transfer; feeding and flight may not.
What is the four-step method for metaphor and personification?
Sides, traits, left behind, effect. Name what is compared with what, which traits transfer, which do not and why that matters, then what the comparison suggests about the subject and speaker.
What is an extended metaphor?
A comparison that persists through parts of or a whole poem, developed by further details, similes and images. Read it in context and follow how each detail adds to the same comparison.
What is personification?
Giving a human trait or quality to a nonhuman object, entity or idea, which characterises it. Say what kind of character the thing becomes and why that matters.
Why does it matter what a comparison leaves out?
What does not transfer can show what the poem denies or stresses. Naming the traits left behind is often what lifts an answer above simple description.
How does a metaphor differ from a simile?
A metaphor treats one thing as another; a simile does the same with "like" or "as". Both focus on traits, and neither is better; analyse what is transferred.

5.5 Allusion

What is an allusion?
An indirect reference to something outside the text, such as a myth, sacred text, work of art, person, place or event. It brings the associations of its source into the poem without explaining them.
How does an allusion differ from a quotation?
A quotation repeats a source's words; an allusion refers to it indirectly. Do not call a direct quotation an allusion.
What are the four steps for explaining an allusion?
Reference, associations, link, effect. Name the source briefly, give the associations that matter, link them to a quoted detail, then say what the allusion does.
Does an allusion always praise?
No. It may elevate, deepen, contrast or ironise. When a grand reference sits beside a small or ruined reality, the contrast creates irony.
What is a common mistake when writing about an allusion?
Retelling the source in detail. Name it in a few words and use only the associations that bear on the poem.
How does an allusion to a king or ruler work in a poem about ruins?
It brings the associations of absolute power and pride, which the poem sets beside decay. The gap between the boast and the wreck makes the allusion ironic and shows power as temporary.

5.6 Thesis and commentary in a poetry analysis

What should a thesis about a poem do?
State a defensible interpretation of what the poem does and means. It may preview the line of reasoning but need not list devices; strong theses often rest on a tension, shift or ambiguity.
How should a line of reasoning follow a poem?
Follow the poem's movement (its turns, builds and contrasts), not simply the order of the lines. Each claim should add a step to the argument.
What is the device-to-effect chain in a poetry paragraph?
Evidence, device, effect, link. Quote the words, name the device, say what it does, then link it to the claim. Use one in every body paragraph.
Why should you write "the speaker" rather than "the poet"?
The speaker is the voice in the poem and may not be the poet. Use "the poet" only when you are making a point about the writer's choices.
What are the levels of a poetry thesis?
Summary (retells), device list ("uses personification, imagery and a simile"), developing (a claim with a thin "how") and defensible (an idea with a reason, resting on a tension).
How can a tension make a thesis stronger?
A tension, such as stillness that is both peaceful and uncanny, gives you something to argue and a reason to read closely. A thesis that resolves the tension too neatly is weaker.

5.7 Evidence and composition in a poetry analysis

What makes evidence from a poem relevant and sufficient?
Relevant: it bears on the claim. Sufficient: its quantity and quality provide apt support. Two or three well-chosen phrases with commentary beat a stanza copied out.
How should you quote lines of verse inside a sentence?
Quote the smallest accurate phrase, integrate it into your own sentence, copy words and punctuation exactly, and use a slash (/) to show a line break.
Why integrate quotations?
An integrated quotation reads as part of your argument. "Death 'kindly stopped for me'" fits the sentence; a separate sentence that only repeats the line does not.
What does a line break after a word allow you to discuss?
The word left at the end of the line can be given weight or ambiguity. Say what the break leaves hanging and what effect that has.
What are transitional elements?
Words, phrases, clauses, sentences or paragraphs that show relationships between ideas, such as "however", "consequently" or "by contrast". Use them to show logical links.
What is a common mistake with evidence in a poetry essay?
Pointing to a device with no quoted words, or listing observations with no linking sentences. Quote the words and say how the evidence supports the claim.

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