Poetry
Poetic Devices and Terminology
Speaker
The voice through which the poem is
told, not necessarily the poet.
Form and Structure
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Lines-are what poems are written in and
can vary in length.
Stanzas-section of a poem which contains a
group of lines, stanzas are separated by a
space.
Form-the way a poem’s lines and words are
arranged on the page.
Form and Structure
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Free verse- poetry without a regular pattern of rhyme,
rhythm, or meter.
Lyric poem- melodic poem that expresses observations or
feelings of a single speaker
Narrative poem- poem that tells a story
Syntax- grammatical arrangement of words and phrase
Parallelism- the repetition of grammatical structure
Anaphora- the repetition of word or phrases at the
beginnings of successive clauses
Form and Structure
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Couplet- a pair lines that are similar in length
and subject matter (Rhyming couplets have end
rhyme)
Quatrain- four line stanzas of any kind, rhymed,
metered, or otherwise.
Sestet- six line stanzas or the final six lines of a
sonnet
Enjambment- the running over of a sentence or
thought from one line or verse to the next without
punctuation
Tone and Diction
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Tone- the attitude of the speaker or writer
toward the subject or audience
Diction- the writer’s choice of words
Sound Devices
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Rhyme-is the repetition of sounds at the end of
words.
Rhyme Scheme- a pattern of end rhymes in a
poem.
Rhythm-the pattern of sound created by stressed
and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.
Meter- a regular pattern of stressed and
unstressed syllables, which can be repeated from
line to line.
Sound Devices-Rhyme
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Internal rhyme- the
use of rhyming words
within a line.
Example: “I knew a
little girl who had a
little curl.”
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End rhyme-the use of
rhyming words at the
end of lines.
Example: “Twinkle,
twinkle little star.
How I wonder where
you are.”
Sound Devices-Slant Rhyme
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Slant rhyme (near-rhyme, half, rhyme, offrhyme, imperfect rhyme)- when the final
consonant sounds in two words are the
same, but their preceding vowel sounds are
different
Example: pick/pack, lad/lids, born/barn,
road/rid
Sound Devices
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Refrain- phrases, or
lines used more than
once in a poem.
Example: “My
beautiful Annabel
Lee.”
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Alliteration- repeating
of consonant sounds
at the beginning of
words.
Example: “Shimmy
Sham Sham the
Showboat man
Shifted his show with
Shenanigans.”
Sound Devices
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Onomatopoeia- using
words that sound like
what they mean.
Example: “The tuba
went umpa-pa.”
Sound Devices
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Assonance- repetition of the same or
similar vow sounds followed by different
consonant sounds in accented syllables
Example: “that hoard, and sleep, and feed,
and know not me.”
Sound Devices
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Consonance- repetition of the same or
similar consonant sounds in close
proximity
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Ex: A blessing in disguise (notice the
repeated “s” sound)
Poetic Devices
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Imagery- words or
phrases that appeal to
the five senses.
Example: “A wind
blew out of a cloud,
chilling my beautiful
Annabel Lee.”
Figurative Language
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Simile- comparison
of two unlike things
with common
qualities using
comparative words
such as like, as, than,
resembles
Example: “Without
you, I am like a wave
without a shore.”
Figurative Language
Metaphor- comparison of
two unlike things with
common qualities, not
using comparative words
Direct- states one thing is
another
Implied- suggests that
one thing is the other
Example: “The cloud is a
white marshmallow.”
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Figurative Language
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Extended metaphor- an author uses the same
metaphor over several lines or an entire poem
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Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare.
But all the time
I'se been a-climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's,
And turnin' corners,
--from “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes
Figurative Language
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Personificationdescribing an animal
or object as if it were
human or had human
qualities.
Example: “The dish
ran away with the
spoon.”
Figurative Language
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Symbol- a person,
place, object, or
action that stands for
something beyond
itself.
Example: “I’d rather
be a tall ugly weed
that stands alone than
a flower that is
handled and picked.”
Figurative Language
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Hyperbole- using
exaggeration to make
a point.
Example: “The stale
cookie is as hard as a
rock.”