poetic devices Flashcards
Alegory
Meaning: A story, poem or other written work that can be interpreted to have secondary meaning.
eg: the tortoise & hare from Aesop’s Fables, from this story, we learn that the strong and steady wins the race.
Alliteration
Meaning: Is the repetition of a sound or letter at the beginning of multiple words in a series.
eg: quick question.
Apostrophe
Meaning: Addresses a person/ personified object that is not present.
eg: oh rose how sweet you smell and how bright you look.
Metaphor
Meaning: Word/phrase that compares two objects or ideas without using as/like.
eg: he is the light of my life.
Simile
Meaning: Figure of speech that compares two things, often introduces by as or like.
eg: they fought like cats and dogs.
onomatopoeia
Meaning: The naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound association with it.
eg: the “tik tok” of a clock.
Hyperbole
Meaning: When the speaker uses exaggeration for emphasis.
eg: I died of embarrassment.
Personification
Meaning: The representation of a thing or abstraction as a person or by human form.
eg: lightning danced across the sky.
Irony
Meaning: Used to express the opposite of the literal meaning.
eg: a pilot has a fear of heights.
Paradox
Meaning: A statement that is seemingly opposite opposed to common sense and yet perhaps true.
eg: I know one thing. It’s that I don’t know nothing.
Metonymy
Meaning: Name of an object/concept that is replaced with a closely related word.
eg: “dish” to refer to an entire plate of food.
Pun
Meaning: Phrase with a humorous effect and is produced by using a word that sounds similar or has more than one meaning.
eg: how do you want to ketchup.
Synecdoche
Meaning: A literary device in which a part of something is substituted for the whole.
eg: “mouth” in hungry mouths to feed.
Repetition
Meaning: Involves using the same word/phrase over and over again.
eg: It’s okay to not be okay.
Assonance
Meaning: Relatively close juxtaposition of a similar sound especially of vowels.
eg: rise high in the bright sky.
