Poetic Devices
Poets use a variety of literary devices to convey images and emotions or simply to catch the attention. They can be grouped in three categories: sound, comparison and word play.
Sound
Alliteration
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Alliteration is the use of the same consonant at the beginning of each word. Ex: Tim took tones of tools to make toys for tots.
Assonance
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Assonance is the repetition of the same vowels in consecutive words.
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Ex: Try as I might, the kite did not fly.
Cacophony
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Cacophony is a device to get the attention of the reader through the repetition of harsh sound like s, c, k. The opposite of euphony.
Ex: Clarissa Klein drives an old, grumbling Cadillac which has a crumpled bumper and a screaming, honking horn.
Consonance
Consonance is the repetition of the consonant or consonant grouping two or more times in a sentence.
Ex: I wish you would mash potatoes in this dish.
Euphony
A series of pleasant sounds which gives a sense of harmony and beauty. The opposite of cacophony.
Ex: Seeking with memories grown dim o’er night, some resting flower of yesterday’s delight. (Robert Frost)
Onomatopoeia
Words that sounds like what they indicate.
Ex: splash, grunt, buzz, bang
Comparison
Extended Metaphor
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An extended Metaphor is a comparison that is prolonged throughout an entire stanza or poem.
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Ex: All the world is a stage, and all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts. (Shakespeare’s As You Like it)
Metaphor
A Metaphor is used to create a significant representation in the reader’s mind. It is a comparison between two contrary items Ex: Her voice is music to my ears.
Metonymy
A Metonymy is a type of metaphor in which the name of a thing is replaced by the name of something else which is closely associated. Ex: I love reading Shakespeare. The Kettle is boiling.
Personification
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Personification is used to give human characteristics to non-human items.
Ex: The flowers waltzed in the gentle breeze. The run-down house appeared depressed.
Simile
A comparison between two things that are essentially distinct. The comparison is clearly indicated by words like: like, as, than or resembles
Ex: Last night, I slept like a log. Your explanation is as clear as mud.
Synecdoche
A synecdoche may use part of something to represent the entire whole or the whole thing to represent a part of it.
Ex: Five sails appeared in the harbour. Canada won 2 gold medals at the Olympics.
Word Play
Allusion
An allusion is a direct or indirect reference to an identifiable figure, place or event from history, literature, mythology or the Bible.
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Ex: When she lost her job, she acted like a Scrooge, and refused to buy anything that wasn’t necessary.
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Apostrophe
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An Apostrophe is created to produce a dramatic effect. A character speaks to an object, an idea or someone who does not exist as if it were alive.
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Ex: Come sweet death, and rid me of this grief. Edward II, Marlowe
Cliché
An overused sentence, line or expression that has become boring.
Ex: Fit as a fiddle. Opposites attract. Don’t get your knickers in a twist.
Connotation
An idea that is implied or suggested. Associations made to a particular word.
Ex: Dove (peace), Hollywood (fame), chicken (coward), pigs (corrupt people)
Euphemism
Using a polite expression in place of words or expressions that could be perceived as unkind, negative or unpleasant.
Ex: to be between jobs (unemployed), to let someone go (to fire someone)
Hyperbole
A Hyperbole is an intentional exaggeration to make a point
Ex: I have told you a million times! I am so hungry, I could eat a horse.
Idiom
An Idiom is a phrase or an expression that cannot be translated literally.
Ex: It’s raining cats and dogs. To rub someone the wrong way.
Imagery
Imagery consists of the picture created in the reader’s mind that may appeal to the five senses.
Ex: He fell down like an old tree falling down in a storm.
M d
The Mood refers to the emotion, the atmosphere of a poem.
Oxymoron
An Oxymoron is a contradiction generated by opposing words.
Ex: Pretty ugly, Walking dead, Virtual reality, This is a genuine imitation.
Paradox
A Paradox is a statement in which there is an assumed contradiction that is actually true. The idea seems implausible, but there is truth in the contradiction.
Ex: The Sounds of Silence. I’m nobody. The beginning of the end.
Repetition
A deliberate repetition of words, sounds, sentence to make a point.
Ex: Let it snow, let it snow, let is snow. Oh, woeful, oh woeful, woeful, woeful day! (Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet)
Tone
The Tone is the attitude of a writer towards the subject of a poem
or the reader. It is detectable through the choice of words.
Ex: You will get good grades like the previous exams. (tone is pessimistic)
Understatement
The Understatement is the opposite of hyperbole. The author will intentionally make a situation seem less important than it is.
Ex: To a hospitalized victim of a car crash: “I bet that hurt.”
Voice
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The Voice is the personality of the writing, the recognizable characteristics of a writer in his work.