Poetic DevicesLA 10

Allegory

A definition that serves an extended metaphor; telling a story that has both literal and figurative meanings

In “Hope is a thing with feathers” by Emily Dickinson—hope is

compared to a bird throughout the poem

Alliteration

The repetition of a sound at the beginning of a series of words

◦ “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers…”

◦ “Rain races, ripping like wind. Its restless rage rattles like rocks

ripping through the air.”

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds in words that are closer

together to create an effect

“Fleet feet sweep by sleeping geese”

Consonance

The repetition of a consonant sound at any

place in a series of words.

“And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple

curtain.” –Edgar Allen Poe

Blank Verse

Poetry with regular meter (same number of syllables in each line) but NO rhyme

Line 1: Soft! What light through yonder window breaks?

(10 syllables)

Line 2: It is the East, and Juliet is the sun!

(10 syllables)

Connotation

Created when you mean something else, some

meaning that is IMPLIED

Innocence means absence of corruption (literally) OR lack

of experience (implied)

Diction

The specific word choice (vocabulary) and syntax (order of words) in a text

“You beat time on my head”- My Papa’s Walz

Epithet

A common knowledge descriptive phrase or word that is used instead of the

actual name

The Great Lake State for Michigan

Free Verse

Poetry without meter, rhyme or any other musical

patterns

“A noiseless patient spider,I mark’d where on a little

promontory it stood isolated,Mark’d how to explore the vacant

vast surrounding,”-A Noiseless Patient Spider by

Walt Whitman

Irony

The difference between the way something appears and what is actually true; often functions as

sarcasm, exaggeration, or understatement

When I say to my 1st hour, “Wow you guys are so

energetic today!”

Meter

The rhythm established by a poem, not only the number of syllables but the way those

syllables are accented

“Yesterday upon the stair

I met a man who wasn’t there

He wasn’t there again today

I wish, I wish he’d go away”

Onomatopoeia

The use of words whose sound makes one think of

its meaning

WHAM!

Bonk!

Plink, plink.

Paradox

A seemingly contradictory statement that contains a

truth

“I can resist anything except temptation”

Paraphrase

Saying the same things in different or fewer words for the

purpose of clarification

NO EXAMPLE NEEDED

Rhythm

The arrangement of spoken words alternating between

stressed & unstressed syllables—regular, repetitive sounds

We real cool.

We/left school.

We/lurk late.

We/strike straight.

Setting

The time & place of the story

The first Harry Potter takes place in a fictional world in Europe at the Hogwarts School for Magic

Stanza

A group of lines forming a unit of poetry aka a POEM

PARAGRAPH

I had no time to hate, becauseThe grave would hinder me,And life was not so ample It

Could finish enmity.

Nor had I time to love; but sinceSome industry must be,

The little toil of love, I thought,Was large enough for me.[5]

Symbol

They associate two things but their meaning is both

literal & figurative

An oak tree to evoke the cycle of death & rebirth through the loss &

growth of leaves

Theme

The central idea (in sentence form) of a piece of writing that the author is trying to get the

reader to think about

For the Odysessey

Being intelligent is more important than being strong.

Tone

The attitude of the author as opposed to the narrator or the

speaker toward his subject matter and/or his audience