Literary/ Poetic
Devices
Allusion
A reference to a well-known person, event, or place
- From history, literature, the bible, mythology, pop-culture
Tone
A writer or speaker’s
attitude toward a
subject
Imagery
A verbal expression of sensory experience;
descriptive or figurative language that
appeals to the reader’s five senses
Diction
The writer’s choice of words that helps to
convey voice and tone (formal/informal)
Syntax
• The manner in which
words, phrases, clauses,
and sentences are
arranged to create
meaning
I wanna go tanning, because the babes love it.
I wanna go tanning, because I’m fresh-to-death.
I wanna go tanning.
Anaphora
The repetition of same words (or group of
words) at the beginning of 2 or more
lines
Voice
– The unique writing style of an author/speaker
(a combination of punctuation, diction, syntax)
Connotation
The feeling a
word carries
beyond its
dictionary
definition
Theme
A writer’s central idea or main
message about life
Example Universal Themes/Ideas
•
•
•
•
Experience vs. Youth
The coexistence of good and evil
Coming of Age/ Loss of Innocence
The fall from grace and/or fortune
Symbol
Anything that represents itself and also
stands for something else, figuratively
Metaphor
“New York,
concrete jungle where
dreams are made
of…”
Jay Z & Alicia Keys, “Empire
State of Mind”
A comparison between two unlike things in which
one thing is spoken of as if it were another
Extended Metaphor
A metaphor extended over several
lines
Hyperbole
(Exaggeration)
An exaggeration used to suggest strong
emotion or create comic effect
Personification
A figure of
speech that gives
human qualities
to an animal,
object, or idea
Luck let a gentleman see
Just how nice a dame you can be
I know the way you’ve treated other guys you’ve been with
Luck be a lady with me
Frank Sinatra, “Luck Be a Lady”
Simile
A comparison of two or more unlike things using the
words like or as
“Just like dust we settle in this town.”
Kasey Musgrave, “Merry-Go-Round”
Words whose
sounds suggest
their meaning
We let the world
know we were here
with everything we
did. We laid a lot
of memories down.
Like tattoos on this
town.
Jason Aldean, “Tattoos on
this Town”
Alliteration
Repetition of initial consonant sounds in
words that are close together
Rhyme
The repetition of sounds at the end of
lines of poetry
Rhyme Scheme
A consistent pattern of rhyme throughout a
poem
Mr. Brown, the circus clown (A)
puts his clothes on upside down. (A)
He wears his hat upon his toes (B)
and socks and shoes upon his nose. (B)
The
repetition
of
similar
vowel
sounds
with
different
consonant
sounds
Assonance
“Poetry is old, ancient, goes back far.
It is among the oldest of living things.
So old it is that no man knows how
and why the first poems came.”
~Carl Sandburg
“Old Moon”
Notice of the repetition of the long ‘o’ sound
creates an almost mysterious feel to the poem.
It slows down the pace and suggests to the reader
the somber nature of “old.”
Consonance
The repetition of final consonant sounds
And it took so long just to feel alright,
Remember how to put back the light in my eyes,
I wish I had missed the first time that we kissed,
‘Cause you broke all your promises.
Rhythm
• The metric beat or pattern of sounds in a
poem.
Meter:
A pattern of stressed and unstressed
syllables in poetry.
My trunk is far too powerful,
no sooner do I sneeze
than windows crack and shatter
from the impact of the breeze.
Jack Prelutsky, “It’s Hard to Be an Elephant”
Iambic Pentameter
• A metric pattern used in poetry with 10
syllables per line
• Clap the syllables for the following line:
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Stanza
• A group of lines
in a poem usually
set off by a blank
space
• Often used to
group ideas
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Robert Frost
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
Quatrain
• A stanza of four
lines
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Robert Frost
Couplet
• Two
consecutive
lines that
rhyme and
have the
same meter
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Robert Frost
Refrain
“Quoth the
raven,
‘Nevermore.’”
A regularly repeated line or group of lines in a poem or
song, usually at the end of a stanza
Free Verse
• A type of
poetry with no
consistent
pattern of
rhythm,
rhyme, meter,
and/or sound
devices
Kidnap Poem
Ever been kidnapped
by a poet
if i were a poet
i'd kidnap you
put you in my phrases and meter
You to jones beach
or maybe coney island
or maybe just to my house
lyric you in lilacs
dash you in the rain
blend into the beach
to complement my see
Play the lyre for you
ode you with my love song
anything to win you
wrap you in the red Black green
show you off to mama
yeah if i were a poet i'd kid
nap you
Nikki Giovanni
Narrative Poetry
• A form of poetry that tells a story
Lyric Poetry
• Poems that
typically express
personal feelings
and are generally
spoken in the
present tense
(Shakespearean) Sonnet
• Generally deals with the
passage of time, love,
beauty, and mortality
• Has the following
structure:
3 Quatrains
1 Couplet
Rhyme Scheme:
ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
Ode
• A type of lyrical poetry that is used to pay
homage to someone or something
Words
that
appear to
contradict
one
another
A literary device
that exploits
readers’
expectations; irony
occurs when what
is expected turns
out to be quite
different from what
actually happens.
“And that was how he came to look after the doomed
lad who was sacrificed to the village of Umuofia by their
neighbors to avoid war and blood-shed. The ill-fated
lad was called Ikemefuna.”
Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
Dramatic Irony
A form of Irony in which the reader or audience
knows more about the circumstances or future
events in a story than the characters within it.
Verbal Irony
Occurs when a speaker or narrator says one thing
while meaning the opposite
E.A.P, “The Cask of Amontillado”
Montressor
“Drink,” I said, presenting him the
wine.
Fortunato
“I drink,” he said, “to the buried
that repose around us.”
Montressor
“And I to your long life.”
Situational Irony
Occurs when an event contradicts the expectations
of the characters or the reader.
Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
“As the man who had cleared his throat drew up and raised his
machete, Okonkwo looked away. He heard the blow. The pot fell
and broke in the sand. He heard Ikemefuna cry, “My father, they
have killed me!” as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear,
Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. “