A Poet’s Guide to Poetic Devices
Poetic Device
alliteration
Definition
the repetition of a sound at
the beginning of a word in a
sequence of nearby words
Example
Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood
there wondering, fearing, Doubting, dreaming
dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.
(“The Raven,” Poe)
onomatopoeia
a word whose sound seems to
resemble closely the sound it
denotes
OR
sounds that imitate another
sound
Moo, purr, quack, buzz, hiss, sizzle, etc.
OR
“…the silken sad uncertain rustling of each
purple curtain…” (Poe)
 Note how the “s” sound mimics the
sound of satin curtains rustling
Understatement
1) a trope that deliberately
understates, for comedic,
ironic, satiric effect.
2) making an affirmative
point by negating the
opposite
3) the opposite of an
hyperbole
“One nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day”
(1980s bumper sticker)
A rhetorical figure in which
two ideas are directly
opposed
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of
times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the
age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief,
it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the
season of Light, it was the season of
Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the
winter of despair.”
(technically known as
Meiosis or Litotes)
antithesis
Mercutio describing his fatal wound as “a
scratch, a scratch”
(R & J, Shakespeare)
(Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities)
My Own Example
A Poet’s Guide to Poetic Devices
Device
metaphor
Definition
an implied comparison
between things essentially
unlike
Example
That child is a mouse.
Last night, I plowed through a book…
Love is a long, long road (Tom Petty’)
synecdoche
Using a part to reference the
whole, or adversely, the
whole to reference the part
Examples of a part used to refer to the whole:
 "The hired hands [workers] are not doing
their jobs."
 "His parents bought him a new set of
wheels [car]."
Examples of the whole used to refer to a part:
 "Use your head [brain] to figure it out."
 "Hand me a Kleenex [tissue].”
symbol
a word or an image that
signifies something other
than what it represents, with
multiple meanings and
connotations
all I wanted was to be
one of those hybrid
ornamental plums
whose blossoms are sweet and glorious
but fall to the ground
without ever bearing fruit.
hyperbole
the use of exaggeration for
effect
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.
My Own Example
A Poet’s Guide to Poetic Devices
Device
personification
Definition
an inanimate object or
concept is given human
characteristics or feelings
Example
Nothing would sleep in that cellar, dank as a
ditch,
Bulbs broke out of boxes hunting for chinks
in the dark,
metonymy
an object, place, or person is
used to represent something
with which it is closely
associated
Referring to someone’s handwriting as “his
hand”
*similar to, but not to be
confused with synecdoche*
“The pen is mightier than the sword.”
(Richelieu, Edward Butler-Lytton)
allusion
a passing reference to a
literary or historical person,
place, or event, or to another
literary work
I got into a thing
with someone
because I called her
miss ann/kennedy/rockerfeller/hughes
instead of ms.
oxymoron
Juxtaposing two opposite
words to show an emphatic
and dramatic contradiction
Defining slavery as “living death” (Life as a
Slave Girl, Harriot Jacobs)
The monarch as “the crown”
Jumbo shrimp; Great Depression; Original
copy; Awfully good
My Own Example
A Poet’s Guide to Poetic Devices
Device
imagery
aphorism
Definition
Appealing to one of the five
senses
A concise, pointed,
epigrammatic statement that
reveals a truth or principle.
Example
Then a mile of warm sea-scented beach;
Three fields to cross till a farm appears;
A tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch
And blue spurt of a lighted match,
And a voice less loud, thro' its joys and fears,
Than the two hearts beating each to each.
(“Meeting at Night,” Robert Browning)
“A rose by any other name would smell as
sweet.” (Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare)
“Life is like a box of chocolates – you never
know what you’re going to get.” (Forrest
Gump, 1994)
assonance
the repetition of identical or
similar vowels
consonance
the repetition of final
consonant sound or sounds
following different vowel
sounds in proximate words
“Beauty is truth, truth is beauty.” (John
Keats)
Hear the mellow wedding bells,
Golden bells!
What a world of happiness their harmony
foretells!
(“The Bells,” Poe)
Let the boy try along this bayonet-blade
How cold steel is, and keen with hunger of
blood;
Blue with all malice, like a madman’s flash;
And thinly drawn with famishing for flesh.
(“Arms and the Boy” Wilfred Owen)
My Own Example