Poetic Devices Flashcards
Onomatopoeia
Words that sound like their meaning (boom, pow)
Alliteration
Repeating the same first consonant sound in a phrase or text
(Safe and sound)
Similes
Comparing two things using like, as, resembling to
She walked like a turtle
Metaphor
Compare two things directly using is
Denotation
Words that mean the same thing as their defined meaning in dictionaries
(This is a book)
Connotation
Words that mean different things from what is stated in the dictionary
(She looked ashen upon hearing the news)
Personification
Adding human qualities to an inhuman object
Symbolism
Using an object to hold an idea to hold an idea that is greater than itself
Oxymoron
Words that have contradicting meanings
Bittersweet, good grief
Inversion
Changing the conventional placement of words, used for emphasis or to rhyme
Hyperbole
Exaggerations used to make a point
Allusions
Make a reference to past historical or literary events
Metonym
She’s a closest related idea to substitute for the literal thing
(Lend me your ear)
Synecdoche
Type of metonymy where a part or a piece of something is used to refer to the whole thing
(All hands on deck!)
Assonance
Repeated vowel sounds within a group of words close together
Consonance
Repetition of consonant sounds in a group of words close together (including alliteration)
Situational irony
An outcome that turns out to be very different from what is expected
Verbal irony
A figure of speech in which what is said is different from what is actually meant; sarcasm
Dramatic irony
When the meaning of the situation is understood by the audience but not by characters in the story
