4.4 KiB
Poetry
Poetic Devices
Figures of Speech
A way of saying something other than the ordinary way.
Simile
An explicit (direct) comparison between two things using words such as like, as, appears, or seems.
Examples:
- A sip of Mrs. Cook’s coffee is like a punch in the stomach.
- He is as rich as Bill Gates.
Metaphor
Makes an indirect comparison between two unlike things without using words such as like or as.
Examples:
- Allan is a tower of strength for his family.
- Life is “a brief candle” – William Shakespeare
Personification
Human qualities are given to non-human things such as an animal, thought, or object.
Examples:
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The trees screamed in the raging wind.
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The wind whispered her name.
Paradox
A statement that initially appears to be self-contradictory but that, on closer inspection, turns out to make sense
Examples:
- You can save money by spending it.
- The beginning of an end.
- “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others”. -- Animal Farm by George Orwell
Hyperbole / Overstatement
Use of exaggeration.
Example:
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I’ve told you a million times – don’t slam the door!
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Her brain is the size of a pea.
Understatement
A deliberate playing down of a situation in order to make a point; intentionally make a situation seem less important than it really is.
Example:
- One nuclear bomb can ruin your day.
Irony
A meaningful gap between expectation and outcome, or when what is said is different from what is meant.
Examples:
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I posted a video on YouTube about how boring and useless YouTube is.
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“Oh great! Now you have broken my new camera.”
Symbolism
An object represents the subject / idea. It’s the “symbol” of the idea.
Some common associations:
- Sleep is often related to death. Night often suggests darkness, death, or grief. Dreams are linked to the future or fate.
- Seasons often represent ages: winter/old age or death; spring/youth; summer/prime of life; fall or autumn/middle age
- Colours are often linked to emotions: red/passion or anger; blue/happiness or calm; green/jealousy; colors are also used to represent states of being: black/death or evil; white/purity or innocence; red/danger; green/growth
Repetition
Ideas or words that are repeated more than once to emphasise and deepen meaning.
Example: “And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep” -- Robert Frost’s ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’
Allusion
A reference to another work of fiction, a film, or a piece of art with which the reader is presumably familiar.
Examples:
- She felt like she had a golden ticket. (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
- If I’m not home by midnight, my car might turn into a pumpkin. (Cinderella)
- My math teacher is he who must not be named. (Voldemort from the Harry Potter series)
Sound Devices
Onomatopoeia
The use of words which sound like what they mean
Examples:
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the buzzing of the bee
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the splashing of the rain
Rhyme
A pattern of words that contains similar sounds at the end of the line.
Example:
Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool? Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full! One for the master, one for the dame, And one for the little boy who lives down the lane.
Internal rhyme
Rhyming that occurs within the line(rather than at the end) .
Examples:
-
piece of me emerges.
-
I went to town to buy a gown.
Assonance
Repetition of internal vowel sounds of words close together in poetry.
Examples:
- mystery disguised within.
- "Hear the mellow wedding bells" by Edgar Allen Poe.
Consonance
Repetitive sounds produced by consonants (non-vowel sounds) within a sentence or phrase.
Examples:
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‘Do not *go gentle into that good night’ – the title of a poem by Dylan
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Thomas
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I dropped the locket in the thick mud.
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Some mammals are clammy.
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Alliteration
Repetition of the initial consonant sounds.
Example**s:
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terrible truths
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A big bully beats a baby boy.
In our daily life, we notice alliteration in the names of different companies. It makes the name of a company catchy and easy to memorize. Here are several common examples.
- Coca Cola
- Best Buy