Literary/ Poetic Devices

AllusionA reference to a well-known person, event, or place

- From history, literature, the bible, mythology, pop-culture

The White

House

Secret Service

Code: OlympusWHY?

Tone

A writer or speaker’s attitude toward a

subject

Imagery

A verbal expression of sensory experience; descriptive or figurative language that appeals to the reader’s five senses

Diction The writer’s choice of words that helps to

convey voice and tone (formal/informal)

Syntax

• The manner in which words, phrases, clauses, and sentences are arranged to create meaning

Anaphora

The repetition of same words (or group of words) at the beginning of 2 or more lines

I wanna go tanning, because the babes love it.I wanna go tanning, because I’m fresh-to-death.I wanna go tanning.

Voice– The unique writing style of an author/speaker (a combination of punctuation, diction, syntax)

Connotation

The feeling a word carries beyond its dictionary definition

ThemeA writer’s central idea or main

message about life

Example Universal Themes/Ideas• Experience vs. Youth• The coexistence of good and evil• Coming of Age/ Loss of Innocence• The fall from grace and/or fortune

Symbol

Anything that represents itself and also stands for something else, figuratively

Metaphor

A comparison between two unlike things in which one thing is spoken of as if it were another

“New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of…”

Jay Z & Alicia Keys, “Empire State of Mind”

Extended Metaphor

A metaphor extended over several lines

Hyperbole (Exaggeration)

An exaggeration used to suggest strong emotion or create comic effect

Personification

A figure of speech that gives human qualities to an animal, object, or

ideaLuck let a gentleman seeJust how nice a dame you can beI know the way you’ve treated other guys you’ve been withLuck be a lady with me Frank Sinatra, “Luck Be a Lady”

SimileA comparison of two or more unlike things

using the words like or as

“Just like dust we settle in this town.”

Kasey Musgrave, “Merry-Go-Round”

Words whose sounds suggest their meaning

Repetition of initial consonant sounds in words that are close together

Alliteration

We let the world know we were here with everything we did. We laid a lot of memories down. Like tattoos on this town.

Jason Aldean, “Tattoos on this Town”

Rhyme

The repetition of sounds at the end of lines of poetry

Rhyme SchemeA consistent pattern of rhyme

throughout a poem

Mr. Brown, the circus clown (A)puts his clothes on upside down. (A)He wears his hat upon his toes (B)and socks and shoes upon his nose. (B)

AssonanceThe repetition of similar vowel sounds with differentconsonantsounds

“Poetry is old, ancient, goes back far. It is among the oldest of living things. So old it is that no man knows how and why the first poems came.”

~Carl Sandburg“Old Moon”

Notice of the repetition of the long ‘o’ soundcreates an almost mysterious feel to the poem.

It slows down the pace and suggests to the readerthe somber nature of “old.”

ConsonanceThe repetition of final consonant sounds

And it took so long just to feel alright,Remember how to put back the light in my eyes,I wish I had missed the first time that we kissed,‘Cause you broke all your promises.

Rhythm

• The metric beat or pattern of sounds in a poem.

My trunk is far too powerful,no sooner do I sneeze

than windows crack and shatterfrom the impact of the breeze.

Jack Prelutsky, “It’s Hard to Be an Elephant”

Meter: A pattern of stressed and unstressed

syllables in poetry.

Iambic Pentameter

• A metric pattern used in poetry with 10 syllables per line

• Clap the syllables for the following line: Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?

Stanza

• A group of lines in a poem usually set off by a blank space

• Often used to group ideas

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy EveningWhose woods these are I think I know.His house is in the village, though;He will not see me stopping hereTo watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queerTo stop without a farmhouse nearBetween the woods and frozen lakeThe darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shakeTo ask if there is some mistake.The only other sound's the sweepOf easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,But I have promises to keep,And miles to go before I sleep,And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost

Quatrain

• A stanza of four lines

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy EveningWhose woods these are I think I know.His house is in the village, though;He will not see me stopping hereTo watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queerTo stop without a farmhouse nearBetween the woods and frozen lakeThe darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shakeTo ask if there is some mistake.The only other sound's the sweepOf easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,But I have promises to keep,And miles to go before I sleep,And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost

Couplet

• Two consecutive lines that rhyme and have the same meter

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy EveningWhose woods these are I think I know.His house is in the village, though;He will not see me stopping hereTo watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queerTo stop without a farmhouse nearBetween the woods and frozen lakeThe darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shakeTo ask if there is some mistake.The only other sound's the sweepOf easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,But I have promises to keep,And miles to go before I sleep,And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost

Refrain

A regularly repeated line or group of lines in a poem or song, usually at the end of a stanza

“Quoth the raven,

‘Nevermore.’”

Free Verse

• A type of poetry with no consistent pattern of rhythm, rhyme, meter, and/or sound devices

Kidnap PoemEver been kidnapped by a poet if i were a poet i'd kidnap you put you in my phrases and meterYou to jones beach or maybe coney island or maybe just to my house lyric you in lilacs dash you in the rain blend into the beach to complement my seePlay the lyre for you ode you with my love song anything to win you wrap you in the red Black green show you off to mama yeah if i were a poet i'd kid nap you

Nikki Giovanni

Narrative Poetry

• A form of poetry that tells a story

Lyric Poetry

• Poems that typically express personal feelings and are generally spoken in the present tense

(Shakespearean) Sonnet

• Generally deals with the passage of time, love, beauty, and mortality

• Has the following structure:3 Quatrains1 CoupletRhyme Scheme:

ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

Ode

• A type of lyrical poetry that is used to pay homage to someone or something

Words that

appear to contradict

one another

A literary device that

exploits readers’

expectations; irony occurs when what is

expected turns out to

be quite different from what actually

happens.

Dramatic Irony

A form of Irony in which the reader or audience knows more about the circumstances or future events in a story than the characters within it.

“And that was how he came to look after the doomed lad who was sacrificed to the village of Umuofia by their neighbors to avoid war and blood-shed. The ill-fated

lad was called Ikemefuna.”

Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart

Verbal IronyOccurs when a speaker or narrator says one thing

while meaning the opposite

E.A.P, “The Cask of Amontillado”

Montressor“Drink,” I said, presenting him the wine.Fortunato“I drink,” he said, “to the buried that repose around us.”Montressor“And I to your long life.”

Situational IronyOccurs when an event contradicts the expectations

of the characters or the reader.

“As the man who had cleared his throat drew up and raised his machete, Okonkwo looked away. He heard the blow. The pot fell and broke in the sand. He heard Ikemefuna cry, “My father, they

have killed me!” as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear, Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. “

Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart