Literary Devices
Poetry Unit: 2014-2015
Prose
Definition: spoken or written language that is not
cast in poetical measure or rhythm
Example: Any poem that does not rhyme.
Memoir
Definition: An autobiographical account of
a personal experience recalled from
memory, usually written in an informal
style; differs from autobiography in scope.
Example: Six word memoirs
Biography
Definition: An account of a person’s life
written, composed, or produced by another
person.
Example:
Autobiography
Definition: An account of a person’s life
written, composed, or produced by that
same person.
Example:
Structure
Definition: The organizational pattern of a
text; structure may be apparent in either
content or form or both.
Example: abba / abab / or repeition
Poetry
Definition: A genre of literature in which
individual works are generally recognizable
in terms of form and/or structure and
figurative use of language
Example:
Diction
Definition: Precise word choice; selection
of words for specific denotative,
connotative, or figurative purposes
Example: High Diction with teacher /
Lower diction with friends
Imagery
Definition: Vivid or figurative language
used to represent those things that can be
perceived by the five senses: sights,
sounds, smells, tastes, and textures
Example: The sun is red, red joy.
Symbolism
Definition: The practice of representing
things or ideas by means of other objects
or ideas; attributing symbolic meanings or
significance to objects, events, or
relationships.
Example: American Flag / White Dove.
Figurative Language
Definition: Speech or writing that departs
from literal meaning in order to achieve a
special effect or meaning; speech or
writing employing figures of speech such as
similes or metaphors.
Example:
Point of View
Definition: The vantage point from which
an author tells a story.
Example: 1st person / 2nd person / 3rd
person limited / 3rd person Omniscient
Aesthetic Effects
The reactions a reader has to the form,
content, and or beauty of a work and that
engender enjoyment or an emotional
reaction in that reader.
Alliteration
Definition: The repetition of initial
identical consonant sounds or any vowel
sounds in successive or closely associated
syllables
Examples: She sells sea-shells down by the seashore
Onomatopoeia
Definition: Words whose sounds suggest
their meaning.
Example: Buzz / Clang / drip
Rhyme Scheme
Definition: The pattern in which rhyme
sounds occur in a stanza or an entire poem
Example: AABA / AABA / AABA
Slant Rhyme
Definition: Off rhyme where the ending
consonants rhyme but the initial sounds do
not
Example: sown/clown; after/brother
Personification
Definition: Giving non-human things
(animals,ideas,objects) human like qualities.
Example: The stars danced playfully in the moonlit
sky.
Metaphor
Definition: A figure of speech in which one thing
is compared to another
Example: A sea of troubles
Simile
Definition: A figure of speech in which two
unlike things are compared using like or as.
Example: My love is like a red rose
Hyperbole
Definition: An exaggeration
Example: I walked A MILLION miles to school
Fixed Form Poems
Definition: Poems that conform to predetermined
lines and stanzas
Example: Haiku / Sonnet / Ballad
Free Form Poems
Definition: Poems that do not follow any pattern
Example: Any other poem that doesn’t have a
specific rhyme pattern or structure
Narrative Poem
Definition: Poems that tell a story
Example: Tears on Santa’s Cheek
Lyric Poem
Definition: A poem, generally brief, that creates
a single, unified impression, usually dealing with
emotion.