POETIC DEVICES

POETIC DEVICES: WHAT ARE THEY?

WHY ARE THEY SO SPECIAL?
Poetic devices fit into the category of figurative language.
They can DEFINITELY be used in more than JUST poetry
You may find these in short stories, media articles, advertising,
even everyday speech.
 SIMILE

A comparison of two things; uses the words like

or as.
Examples:
My mind is like an open book.
He sprinted as fast as a cheetah to the finish line.
Buster barks like broken alarm clock.

.
 METAPHOR

Compares one thing to another by stating that

something IS something else.
Example:
White gleaming stars are diamonds in the midnight
sky.
The snow is a white, fluffy blanket covering the
field.
Sam is King Kong when hes mad.
 PERSONIFICATION

Giving a nonhuman thing human characteristics.

Examples:
The bare branches grabbed me as I ran through the
woods.
The popcorn jumped right out of the popping
machine.
 ONOMATOPOEIA

Words that sound like noises

Examples:
Boom! Crash! Quack!
Moo! Shhh! Crackle!
ALLITERATION

Repetition of the same consonant sound to begin a series of, or

multiple words in a line or lines
For example:
Cindy and Steve slept like serpents.
Crazy Kate cackled.
Filthy Phil was feeling foul.
 HYPERBOLE

Using exaggeration to make a point.

Examples:
Im so hungry I could eat a horse!
It rained buckets during the game this
morning.
Megan was so embarrassed her faced turned
beetroot red.
 ECHO / REPETITION

When words, phrases, or entire lines of a poem

are repeated.
Usually words are repeated to help make a
point or create a mood.
Examples:
Repeating one word (sometimes at the end of a line)
Repeating a line or lines (usually the last line of a
stanza)- kind of like a chorus in a song.
 ASSONANCE

The repetition of the same or similar vowel sounds within

nearby words.
Example:
Misplaced hate makes disgrace for races
The trodden town rang its cobbles for luck.
 CONSONANCE

the repetition of the same consonant sound within words close

together. Can give the illusion of rhyme, or express a particular
sound.
Example:
Such weight and thick pink bulk
The pitter patter of the rain went about the street.
 ALLUSION

The reference to a famous literary, mythical,

biblical or historical figure or event. It does note
describe in detail the person or thing to which it
refers.
Example:
Chocolate was his Achilles heel.
He went down as surely as the Titanic
APOSTROPHE

A figure of speech where the poet addresses an absent person,

abstract idea or thing.
Example:
O Death, where is thy sting?
Blue moon, you saw me standing alone.
Dear future husband
OXYMORON

A figure of speech where two opposite ideas are joined to create

effect. Most commonly an adjective and a noun.
Examples:
Wise fool; living death; deafening silence
Parting is such sweet sorrow
PARADOX

A statement that at first appears contradictory, but which, on

closer examination, proves to claim truth
Examples:
To save this city we have to destroy it.
I must be cruel to be kind
EUPHEMISM

A polite word or phrase used in place of one that may be too

direct, unpleasant, or embarrassing.
For example:
Pass away = die
Vertically challenged = short
Tooted = farted
Let go = fired
 RHYME

Words or phrases that end or sound like they end

the same. There can be an end rhyme (rhymes at
the end of a line) or internal rhyme (words rhyme
within a line)
Examples:
Mop up that slop!!
There goes the rabbit, Grab it!!
Twinkle, twinkle little star, How I wonder what you are.
Do not Hop on Pop!
RHYTHM

The beat of a poem, formed by the number of stressed and

unstressed syllables in words
For example:
A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse
Nursery rhymes- think Humpty Dumpty