AP Lit Final Exam poems (Forerunners, Flower, Female Philosopher, Poetry Terms)
November Cotton Flower: In line 5, "failed in its function as" is understood to mean
"was useless as"
Iambic pentameter
10 syllables, 5 beats, 5 iambs
Caesura
A caesura is a pause that occurs within a line of poetry, usually marked by some form of punctuation such as a period, comma, ellipsis, or dash.
The Forerunners: What is the speaker describing in lines 1-2?
A sign of old age
The Forerunners: In the fourth stanza, the speaker addresses "lovely enchanting language" (line 19) from the perspective of...
A spurned lover
Volta
Another word for the shift, a turn or transition in the poem, specifically the last two lines of a sonnet.
Female Philosopher: In context, the word alone primarily serves to...
Define the limits of the relationship
November Cotton Flower: What technique is used in lines 4-8? ("the branch...ground")
Examples of death in nature to provide emphasis
The Forerunners: In the first stanza (lines 1-6) the speaker expresses dismay at the possibility that he will...
Lose his creative powers
November Cotton Flower: What is the primary purpose of lines 1-8?
Provide the poem's central image
Female Philosopher: The purpose of the speaker's question in lines 3-4 is to...
Reproach the lady's encouragement of love in others when she does not feel it herself
Female Philosopher: The repetition of "Vainly" in the third stanza (lines 9-12) serves primarily to emphasize the extent to which...
The lady's discouragement fails to affect her suitors
Female Philosopher: The phrase "dangerous fire" in line 2 most likely refers to...
The love described in the previous line
November Cotton Flower: If the context of the poem is interpreted broadly, the cotton flower most likely symbolizes...
The possibility of miraculous change
Anaphora
The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses (EX: "we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow - this ground")
The Forerunners: The speaker's references to Church in lines 17 and 22 primarily serves to...
Underscore the laudable purpose of his poetic work
Elision
When a writers leaves out unstressed syllables or other sounds in a word (EX: o'er)
The Forerunners: In line 6, the speaker suggests that his relationship with God...
Will withstand his mortal decline
November Cotton Flower: Which description best characterizes the poem? a. A recollection of a remarkable occurrence b. A lament for a vanished way of life c. An analysis of a momentous decision d. An invitation to celebrate a hard-fought victory
a
Female Philosopher: The second stanza (lines 5-8) primarily reveals the
speaker's internal conflict
