Poetic Devices Flashcards
Lyric
A short poem, often songlike, with the emphasis not on narrative but on the speaker’s emotion or reverie. A lyric is set in the present, catching a speaker in a moment of expression.
Elegy
A lyric poem that is melancholy or mournfully contemplative ; sometimes laments a death.
Ode
A lyric poem that is long, elaborate, and on a lofty theme such as immortality or a hero’s victory.
Narrative Poem
A poem whose main purpose is to tell a story
Diction
Choice of words and/ or grammatical constructions
Tone
The attitude of the author, evident from the diction, use of symbolism, irony, and figures of speech
Simile
Items from different classes are compared by a connective such as “like,” “as,” or “than” or by a verb such as “appears” or “seems.”
Metaphor
items from different classes are implicitly compared, Without a connective
Metonymy
Something is named that replaces something closely related to it (Scepter and crown.”
Synecdoche
the whole is replace by the part, or the part by the whole. “Give me a hand.”
Personification
giving human qualities to abstractions or inanimate objects such as love.
Apostrophe
an address to a person or thing not literally listening
Irony
saying things that are not to be taken literally, forming a contrast.
Verbal Irony
Contrast between what is said and what is meant.
Sarcasm
heavy, mocking verbal irony. Almost never found in literature.
Understatement
Saying less than what is meant. ( A few things on your mind).
