Poetic devices
Alliteration: repetition of an initial sound, usually of a consonant
(medeklinker) or cluster, in 2 or more words of a phrase/line
- The grey geese in a green field grazing
- While I pondered weak and weary
Assonance: repetition of a vowel sound in a phrase or sentence
- He gives his harness belt a shake
- The only other sound’s the sweep
Contrast: places 2 opposing ideas, images, or characters side by
side to highlight their differences
(not necessarily a contradiction, just a clear difference)
- Coral is far more red than her lips’ red
- Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Hyperbole: the writer exaggerates something to make a point or
create a strong image
(not meant to be taken literally → used for emphasis or to show
strong feelings)
- I’m so hungry I could eat a horse
Metaphor: compares 2 unlike things, stating that one is the other,
or does the action of the other (doesn’t use like or as!)
- drowning in debt
- the black sheep of the family
Metonymy: substitution of 1 word for another object or idea which
it suggests
- he loves the bottle (loves drinking)
- she’ll serve a new dish tonight
Onomatopoeia: defined as a word that sounds like the common
sound of the object it is describing
- water plops into pond
- babbling bubbles from tap
Paradox: a statement that seems to contradict itself but actually
reveals a deeper truth or insight. It often sounds strange or
,impossible at first — but if you think about it, it is a logical
contradiction
- I must be cruel only to be kind
Personification: an animal, an object or an idea is given human
form
or characteristics
- time let me play
- Hope perches in the soul
Rhyme: to speak in words / phrases with the same ending sound or
to create a written piece out of such phrases
- wood - stood - could
Rhythm: the regular recurrence of grouped stressed and
unstressed, long and short, or high-pitched and low-pitched syllables
in alternation
- meter: rhythm or beat of a poem → stressed and unstressed
syllables
- iambic: unstressed - stressed → a-BOVE, re-LAX
- trochaic: stressed - unstressed → TI-ger,
- feet: 2 syllables →mono (1), di (2), tri (3), tetra(4), penta (5),
hexa (6), hepta (7), octa (8), nona (9), dca (10)
Repetition: the simple repeating of a word, within a sentence or a
line, with no particular placement of the words, in order to provide
emphasis.
- Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Simile: a comparison of two unlike things using "like" or "as"
- O my Luve's like a red, red rose
- Love is like a fire
Satire: used to show foolishness or vice in humans, organizations,
or governments - it uses sarcasm, parody, or irony. It’s often used to
effect political or social change, or to prevent it.
- sarcasm: a sharp/cutting statement like a taunt (bespotting) or
jibe (grap), meant to really drive a point home
, - “I never forget a face, but in your case I'll gladly make an
exception.”
- parody: makes fun / mocks someone or sth by imitating them in a
funny or satirical way
- Irony: the use of words where the meaning is the opposite of their
usual
meaning or what is expected to happen
- water, water, everywhere
and not a drop to drink
Alliteration: repetition of an initial sound, usually of a consonant
(medeklinker) or cluster, in 2 or more words of a phrase/line
- The grey geese in a green field grazing
- While I pondered weak and weary
Assonance: repetition of a vowel sound in a phrase or sentence
- He gives his harness belt a shake
- The only other sound’s the sweep
Contrast: places 2 opposing ideas, images, or characters side by
side to highlight their differences
(not necessarily a contradiction, just a clear difference)
- Coral is far more red than her lips’ red
- Did he who made the Lamb make thee?
Hyperbole: the writer exaggerates something to make a point or
create a strong image
(not meant to be taken literally → used for emphasis or to show
strong feelings)
- I’m so hungry I could eat a horse
Metaphor: compares 2 unlike things, stating that one is the other,
or does the action of the other (doesn’t use like or as!)
- drowning in debt
- the black sheep of the family
Metonymy: substitution of 1 word for another object or idea which
it suggests
- he loves the bottle (loves drinking)
- she’ll serve a new dish tonight
Onomatopoeia: defined as a word that sounds like the common
sound of the object it is describing
- water plops into pond
- babbling bubbles from tap
Paradox: a statement that seems to contradict itself but actually
reveals a deeper truth or insight. It often sounds strange or
,impossible at first — but if you think about it, it is a logical
contradiction
- I must be cruel only to be kind
Personification: an animal, an object or an idea is given human
form
or characteristics
- time let me play
- Hope perches in the soul
Rhyme: to speak in words / phrases with the same ending sound or
to create a written piece out of such phrases
- wood - stood - could
Rhythm: the regular recurrence of grouped stressed and
unstressed, long and short, or high-pitched and low-pitched syllables
in alternation
- meter: rhythm or beat of a poem → stressed and unstressed
syllables
- iambic: unstressed - stressed → a-BOVE, re-LAX
- trochaic: stressed - unstressed → TI-ger,
- feet: 2 syllables →mono (1), di (2), tri (3), tetra(4), penta (5),
hexa (6), hepta (7), octa (8), nona (9), dca (10)
Repetition: the simple repeating of a word, within a sentence or a
line, with no particular placement of the words, in order to provide
emphasis.
- Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Simile: a comparison of two unlike things using "like" or "as"
- O my Luve's like a red, red rose
- Love is like a fire
Satire: used to show foolishness or vice in humans, organizations,
or governments - it uses sarcasm, parody, or irony. It’s often used to
effect political or social change, or to prevent it.
- sarcasm: a sharp/cutting statement like a taunt (bespotting) or
jibe (grap), meant to really drive a point home
, - “I never forget a face, but in your case I'll gladly make an
exception.”
- parody: makes fun / mocks someone or sth by imitating them in a
funny or satirical way
- Irony: the use of words where the meaning is the opposite of their
usual
meaning or what is expected to happen
- water, water, everywhere
and not a drop to drink
