Alliteration - The repetition of initial consonant sounds.
Assonance - The repetition of vowel sounds.
Imagery - Words or phrases that appeal to any sense or any combination of senses.
Metaphor - A comparison between two objects with the intent of giving clearer
meaning to one of them. Often forms of the "to be" verb are used, such as "is" or
"was", to make the comparison.
Meter - The recurrence of a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.
Onomatopoeia - The use of words which imitate sound.
Personification - A figure of speech which endows inanimate objects with human
traits or abilities.
Point-of-view - The author's point-of-view concentrates on the vantage point of the
speaker, or "teller", of the story or poem.



1st person: the speaker is a character in the story or poem and tells it from
his/her perspective (uses "I")
3rd person limited: the speaker is not part of the story, but tells about the
other characters but limits information about what one character sees and feels.
3rd person omniscient: the speaker is not part of the story, but is able to
"know" and describe what all characters are thinking.
Repetition - the repeating of words, phrases, lines, or stanzas.
Rhyme - The similarity of ending sounds existing between two words.
Rhyme scheme - The sequence in which the rhyme occurs. The first end sound is
represented as the letter "a", the second is "b", etc.
Simile - A comparison between two objects using a specific word or comparison such
as "like", "as", or "than".
Stanza - a grouping of two or more lines of a poem in terms of length, metrical form,
or rhyme scheme.
Back to Poet's Bookshelf:
Biographies of Famous Poets
Poetic
Devices
Selected and
Defined
by Judi
Moreillon,
TeacherLibrarian
Sabino High
School
Tucson,
Arizona
Examples
from Sabino
High School
Poets
Personal Mask
by Kim Troyan
Fall 2003
The following poetic devices can be used in both poetry
and prose compositions.
The examples given are from personal mask poems
composed by Ms. Roderick's ceramics students at Sabino
High School (2002-2003).
Personal Mask
Read through the terms and examples. Then answer the
question at the end of this page.
Term
Meaning
Example
alliteration
repetition of the initial consonant
terrible truths and lullaby lies
sounds
assonance
repetition of vowel sound
mystery disguised within
consonance
repetition of consonant sounds, but
not vowel sounds
gloomy woman
imagery
language that evokes sensory
images
drip of ruby teardrops
(aural/sound)
to wake up where the green grass
grows (visual/sight)
lips like cool sweet tea (oral/taste)
streaming through a velvet sky
(tactile/touch)
the stench of the underworld
(olfactory/smell)
internal
rhyme
rhyming that occurs within the line
(rather than at the end)
piece of me emerges
metaphor
comparison of unlike things
(made without using like or as)
I am the "Lone Star"
Personal Mask by Matt Richards
onomatopoeia
a word that imitates the sound it
represents
personification giving human qualities or
characteristics
to animals or objects
Boo! Who?
tears of amber fall from my soul
rhyme
a pattern of words that contains
similar sounds
at the end of the line
rhyme scheme a repeated pattern of rhymed words
at the end of the line
life for me
is wild and free
lusty eyes (A)
passionate cries (A)
rich blood, (B)
bitter sweat (C)
she/he loves (D)
and dies (A)
Personal Mask by Sandra Hallquist
simile
a comparison using like or as
notes dance across the page like stars
twinkle in the night sky
stanza
a group of poetic lines (also called a
verse)
Like glistening sun
and moon like day and gloomy night
like pure earth and gentle clouds
transformation - life and death
symbol
an object or action that means more
than its literal meaning
always open like a rosebud about to
bloom
(a young girl)
Which of the above poetic devices can you identify in the following
published poems?
"Mask" by Carl Sandburg
"Aztec Mask" by Carl Sandburg
"We Wear the Mask" by Paul Lawrence Dunbar
"Hiding in the Mask" by Ellen Bauer
Additional Resource:
Rhetorical Figures in Sound: The American Rhetoric Web site provides examples of
forty different figures of speech. Each figure of speech is defined and followed by
multiple examples that include audio or video clips of the examples, many of which are
delivered by famous actors or political figures.
Personal Mask by Dottie Miles
Personal Mask by Randi Grossman
Contact Judi Moreillon: info@storytrail.com
Judi Moreillon's Home Page: http://storytrail.com
http://storytrail.com/poetry/poeticdevices.htm
http://www.dsgzyzh.com/other/alliteration%20and%20rhyme%20worksheet-pdf.html