Poetic Devices
The slides that follow are poetic devices that you may find in
some of the poems you read.
Mrs. Donovan and Mrs. Burns
Alliteration:
 The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the
begging of adjacent or closely connected words.
 Example: fast and furious
Peter and Paula pet the pony in Pennsylvania.
Rhyme
 The sound of the word or syllable at the end of each line
corresponds with that at the end of another.
 Example: time, slime, mime
Rhythm
 A strong, regular repeated pattern of movement or
sound.
End Rhyme:
 Rhyme of terminal syllable of lines in poetry.
 Example:
Mr. Brown, the circus clown
puts his clothes on
upside down. He wears his hat upon his toes and socks
and shoes upon his nose.
Figurative Language:
 Departing from a literal use of words.
 Example: The toast jumped out of the toaster.
I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.
Onomatopoeia:
 The formation of a word from a sound associated with its
name.
 Words that sound like their meanings. In Hear the steady
tick of the old hall clock, the word tick sounds like the action
of the clock,
 Examples: buzz, crackle, gurgle, hiss, pop, sizzle, snap,
swoosh, whir, zip
Personification:
 The attribution of a personal nature or human
characteristic to something nonhuman.
 Example: The first rays of morning tiptoed through the
meadow.
Free Verse:
 Poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular rhythm.
Hyperbole:
 Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken
literally.
 Examples: He weighs a ton.
Imagery:
 Visually descriptive or figurative language especially in literacy
work.
 Examples:
 Sight: Smoke mysteriously puffed out from the clown’s
ears.
 Sound: Tom placed his ear tightly against the wall; he
could hear a faint but distinct thump thump thump.
 Taste: A salty tear ran across onto her lips.
 Smell: Cinnamon! That’s what wafted into his nostrils.
Metaphor/Similes:
 Metaphor
 A direct comparison between two unlike things, stating that one
is the other or does the action of the other.
 Example: He’s a zero. Example: Her fingers danced across the
keyboard.
 Simile
 A direct comparison of two unlike things using “like” or “as.”
Example: He’s as dumb as an ox.
Example: Her eyes are like comets.
Repetition
 The purposeful re-use or repeating of a phrase or word
for an effect.
 Example: I was so glad, so very, very glad.