Poetic Devices
PART 1
Auditory devices
– poetic devices that effect the
sound of the poem but not usually its meaning.
Rhyme
The repetition of vowel and
consonant sounds at the end of words.
e.g. brown, town, clown, crown,
renown
Alliteration
The repetition of consonant sounds
usually at the beginning of words.
Bill Brown bats baseballs, Baby!
Consonance
The repetition of consonant sounds
with different vowel sounds preceding it.
e.g. bake, duck, soak, pick, epic
Assonance
The repetition of vowel sounds with
different consonantal sounds following.
e.g. meek, beam, peace, pier, reap;
e.g. choke, goal, show.
Rhythm
A pattern of stressed and
unstressed syllables.
Boom, boom, pah = anapest
Part 2
Cognitive devices
- poetic devices that affect the
meaning and understanding of the poem.
Denotation
The literal or dictionary meaning
of the word.
Mother – the female progenitor of
the species
Connotation
The emotional meaning of the word
Mother – a nurturing, warm, loving
caretaker
Metaphor
A comparison of dissimilar items
which lend additional meaning to the items compared.
e.g. Life is
a dream. e.g. She is a tower of strength.
Simile
A comparison of dissimilar items
using a comparative word:
like, as, such as, than resembles
Life is like a box of chocolates,
you never know what you’re going to get.
Figurative
Language
Language which cannot be taken
literally.
Hyperbole, personification,
metaphors, simile
Personification
Human characteristics attributed to
non-humans.
e.g. My car loves me.
Onomatopoeia
Words which sound like their
meanings
sizzle, hiss, babbling brook,
barbarian
Hyperbole
An extreme exaggeration to make a
point.
I’m so hungry I can eat a horse.
Tone
The attitude of the poet.
Unassuming, child-like, overbearing
Paradox
A seeming contradiction. Oxymoron
is a paradox.
Jumbo shrimp, awfully good, poor
little rich boy
Mood
The climate or atmosphere of the
poem.
Cheerful, pensive, scary, humorous,
etc.
Imagery
Language which appeals to the five
senses.
Descriptive in nature.
Part
3
Types
of Poetry
There are many, many different
types. The following are a few of the most common.
Lyric
Poetry
Poems that express personal
feelings or emotions.
Used in songs.
Satire
To criticize with use of ridicule
or humor in order to bring about change.
Saturday Night Live; some sit-coms
Narrative
Poetry
Poetry that tells a story.
It contains the elements of short
story: plot, setting, characters, theme, conflict, climax, etc.
Lament
A poem expressing sorrow or grief
over
Death, a Situation or Circumstances
Blank
Verse
Unrhymed lines with a pattern of 5
stressed and 5 unstressed syllables (iambic pentameter)
ta Dum, ta Dum, ta Dum, ta Dum, ta
Dum
Sonnet
14 line poem; Iambic Pentameter
Shakespearean
Sonnet
a.k.a. Elizabethan or English
Sonnet
3 quatrains & a couplet
abab
cdcd
efef
gg
Petrachan
Sonnet
a.k.a. Italian Sonnet
1 octave and a sestet
abbaabba
cdecde or cdcdcd or
whatever
Spenserian
Sonnet
Abab
bcbc
cdcd
ee