LITERARY DEVICES
used in Poetry
METER

a pattern of stressed and unstressed
syllables
 ´ for stressed

˘ for unstressed
RHYME SCHEME

pattern of end rhymes in a poem

To indicate the rhyme scheme of a poem,
use a letter of the alphabet for each rhyme
Ex) aabb
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower,
But only so an hour.
END RHYME

rhymes at the end of lines

Ex) If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.
~ Emily Dickinson
INTERNAL RHYME

rhymes within a line

Ex) Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore –
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
“’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door –
Only this and nothing more.”
~ Edgar Allan Poe
APPROXIMATE RHYME

rhymes involving sounds that are similar
but not exactly the same

Ex) Leave/Live or Pain/Again
STANZA

a group of consecutive lines in a poem that
form a single unit

expresses a unit of thought

stanza = an Italian word for “stopping
place” or “place to rest”
REFRAIN


a repeated sound, word, phrase, line, or
group of lines
used to build rhythm or provide emphasis
 Ex) “coming to America” in the song
“America” by Neil Diamond
SPEAKER

the voice talking to us in a poem

best to think of voice as a character the poet has
created
– character could be a child, a woman, a man, an animal,
or an object; it is best to think of voice as a character
the poet has created, not the actual poet
EXTENDED METAPHOR

a metaphor that is extended, or developed,
over several lines of writing or even
throughout an entire work
 Ex) “O Captain! My Captain!”
by Walt Whitman
METAPHOR

a comparison between two unlike things in
which one thing is said to be another thing
 does NOT use like or as

Ex) She has a heart of stone.
He is a bear in the morning.
SIMILE

a comparison between two unlike things,
using a word such as like, as, than, or
resembles
 Ex) When you see me sitting quietly,
Like a sack left on the shelf,
Don’t think I need your chattering.
I’m listening to myself…
~ from “On Aging,” by Maya Angelou
ALLITERATION

the repetition of consonant sounds in words
that are close together
 usually occurs at the beginning of words

Helps establish mood, emphasize words,
and serve as a memory aid
 Ex) nodded, nearly napping
ASSONANCE

the repetition of vowel sounds in words that
are close together

Ex) They are death’s snowbound sailors;
they know only a continual
drifting between moonlit islands,
their tongues licking the stars.
~ from “Wolves” by John Haines
ONOMATOPOEIA

the use of words whose sound imitates or
suggests its meaning
 Ex) Hear the sledges with the bells –
Silver bells!
What a world of merriment their melody foretells!
How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle,
In the icy air of night!
While the stars that oversprinkle
All the Heavens, seem to twinkle
With a crystalline delight.
~ from “The Bells” by Edgar Allan Poe
IMAGERY

language that appeals to the senses
 Ex) “A slow widening of her thin black lips to show even,
small white teeth, then the slow effortless closing.”
~ from “Mrs. Flowers” by Maya Angelou
ALLUSION

a reference to a statement, a person, a place,
or an event from literature, the arts, history,
religion, mythology, politics, sports, or
science
What are some examples from “The Raven”
by Edgar Allan Poe?
PERSONIFICATION

a figure of speech in which an object or
animal is spoken of as if it had human
feelings, thoughts, or attitudes.
 Ex) Slowly, silently, now the moon
Walks the night in her silver shoon;
This way, and that, she peers and sees
Silver fruit upon silver trees.
~ from “Silver” by Walter de la Mare
SYMBOL

a person, a place, a thing, or an event that
has meaning in itself and stands for
something beyond itself as well.
 Ex) bald eagle = United States
Star of David = Judaism
cross = Christianity
white dove = peace
HYPERBOLE

an exaggeration or overstatement used for
effect
 Ex) “His smile was so wide he’d have to break it into
sections to fit it through the doorway.”
~ from Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
COUPLET

a two (2) line stanza
 Ex) But do not so; I love thee in such sort,
As, thou being mine, mine is thy good report.
~ from “Sonnet 36” by William Shakespeare
QUATRAIN

a four (4) line stanza
 Ex) Let me confess that we two must be twain,
Although our undivided loves are one;
So shall these blots that do with me remain,
Without thy help, by me be borne alone.
~ from “Sonnet 36” by William Shakespeare
SESTET

a six (6) line stanza
 Ex) I may not evermore acknowledge thee,
Lest my bewailed guilt should do thee shame;
Nor thou with public kindness honour me,
Unless thou take that honour from thy name:
But do not so; I love thee in such sort,
As, thou being mine, mine is thy good report.
~ from “Sonnet 36” by William Shakespeare
OCTAVE

an eight (8) line stanza
 Ex) Let me confess that we two must be twain,
Although our undivided loves are one;
So shall these blots that do with me remain,
Without thy help, by me be borne alone.
In our two loves there is but one respect,
Though in our lives a separable spite,
Which though it alter not love’s sole effect,
Yet doth it steal sweet hours from love’s delight.
~ from “Sonnet 36” by William Shakespeare
What literary devices are used in this poem?
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, - I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! – and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning