Copy of Poetic Device Sheet

Poetic Devices

Alliteration- The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words in a sentence or line of poetry.

Example- Crazy cat kicking the couch.

 

Allusion- Reference to a person, event, or other literary work outside the poem. Knowledge of the outside reference aids the reader in further understanding of the text.

Example- In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, the Book of Job, “Dover Beach” and the Book of Ecclesiastes are referenced.

 

Assonance- The repetition of similar vowel sounds in a sentence or line of poetry.

Example- I rose in the cold and told others about my frozen toe.

 

Connotation- The personal and emotional associations called up by a word.

Denotation- The dictionary meaning of a word.

Elegy- A lyric poem that laments or remembers the dead. (“Richard Cory”)

Imagery- Words or phrases that appeal to any sense or any combination of senses.

Metaphor- A comparison between two things without using words 'like' or 'as' to designate the comparison. (Figurative Language)

Example- My love is a red, red rose.

 

Simile- A comparison between two things by using the words, like or as, to designate the comparison. (Figurative Language)

Example- My love is like a red, red rose.

 

Ode- A long serious poem usually about something of great importance. (Traditional-Cook’s poem to Discovery Bay or untraditional- pg.498 “Ode to My Socks”)

Onomatopoeia- Words that sound like their meaning.

Example- Buzz, crack, boom, splat.

 

Personification- Giving human characteristics to non-human things. (Figurative Language)

Example- The leaves danced down the street.