Poetry devices

THE MOIST PEARS ACRONYM

T - TONE M - METAPHOR P - PERSONIFICATION

H – HYPERBOLE O - ONOMATOPOEIA
E - ENJAMBMENT

E – EMOTIVE I – IMAGERY
WORDS A - ALLITERATION
S - SIMILE

R – RHYME / REPETITION
T - THEME

S - STRUCTURE
 Tone
It is usually an emotion that the author
is feeling as they write. You can hear it
in the language used.

For example:
bitter
sad
regretful
 Hyperbole
O Pronounced ‘high-per-bowl-ay’

O It is another word for extreme exaggeration and is

used to make a strong point.

For example:
- I felt a thousand eyes on me as I entered the room.
- I’ve told you a million times.
- I am so embarrassed I could die!
 Emotive words
O These are words that create an emotion or show a
strong feeling in the reader.

O ‘Emotive’ comes from the word ‘emotion’.

For example:
heroic
humiliation
brave
heartless
 Metaphor
O A figure of speech that compares unlike
objects. It says something is something that
it is not.

For example:
- The exam was a breeze.
- She was my rock in this situation.
- Your brother is a pig.
 Onomatopoeia
O The use of words whose sounds suggest
their meaning.

For example:
- Bang
- Chuckle
- Splash
 Imagery
O Imagery is visually descriptive language.

O It allows you to create a picture in your mind with

the poet’s words.

For example:
O He felt like the flowers were waving him a hello.
O A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
 Simile
O A comparison usually using the words ‘like’
or ‘as’.

For example:
- As busy as a bee
- I slept like a log
- Her face was as pale as the moon
 Theme
The central idea of the poem; what
it is about.

For example:
- death
- love
- loneliness
 Personification
O When animals or objects are said to have human
characteristics.

For example:
- The stars danced playfully in the moonlit sky.
- The run down house appeared depressed.
- When the DVD went on sale, it flew off the shelves.
- The storm attacked the town with great rage.
 Enjambment
O When sentences run into the next line with
no punctuation or pause between them.

For example:
It is a beauteous evening, calm and free,
The holy time is quiet as a Nun
Breathless with adoration; the broad sun
Is sinking down in its tranquillity.
 Alliteration
O The repetition of one or more initial
consonants in a group of words or lines of
poetry or prose.

For example:
- delicious dinner
- miserable merchant
- fantastic friend
 Rhyme
O Rhyme is when two or more words have the
same sound at the end of a sentence.

O A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes

within a poem.

O They are marked like this ABAB or ABACAB

etc.
 Repetition
O When a sentence or phrase is
repeated. A poet does this for
effect.
 Structure
O How is the poem organised?

O How many stanzas does it have? How many

lines have they got?

O When discussing structure, you will talk about

the effect its structure has on the theme.

O Is it regular or irregular?