Poetic Devices Flashcards
What is Anaphora?
The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.
What is Assonance?
Resemblance of sound between syllables of nearby words, particularly from the rhyming of two or more stressed vowels.
alliteration for vowels
Examples: killed, cold, culled.
What is Alliteration?
When consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words are repeated.
What is Allusion?
An intentional reference to a historical, mythic, or literary person, place, event, literary work, or movement.
What is Antithesis?
A device that presents two contrasting ideas in a sentence (but not in the same phrase).
What is Apostrophe?
refers to an address to a person or thing that is not present
What is Caesura?
A pause or break in a line of poetry, usually marked by punctuation such as a period, comma, ellipsis, or dash.
What is Consonance?
The repetition of consonant sounds anywhere within words, not just at the beginning.
What is a Couplet?
A pair of successive lines of verse, typically rhyming and of the same length.
What is Direct Address?
When the poet uses their own voice to speak directly to the reader in the first or second person.
What is a Dramatic Monologue?
A poem written in the form of a speech of an individual character.
What is End-stop?
When punctuation occurs at the end of a line/verse, allowing the reader to pause before moving on.
What is Enjambment?
When a line of poetry runs into the next line; the opposite of end-stop.
What is Euphemism?
A mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered too harsh or blunt.
What is Hyperbole?
Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.
What is Iambic Pentameter?
A line of verse with five metrical feet (a group of syllables that creates a specific rhythm pattern, with each foot consisting of two or more syllables), each consisting of one short (unstressed) syllable followed by one long (stressed) syllable.
da-DUM
da-DUM
da-DUM
da-DUM
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Shall I com-PARE thee TO a SUM-mer’s DAY?
What is Imagery?
Concrete descriptive language that engages the five senses and keeps the poem from becoming too vague.
(Sensory imagery: Olfactory, Tactile, Visual, Gustatory, Auditory)
What is Irony?
Occurs when events or words are the opposite of what is expected, creating surprise, humor, or deeper meaning.
What is Litotes?
use of double negatives to create a positive
What is Juxtaposition?
The technique of placing two contrasting or opposing ideas, images, or elements close together within a poem.
What is Metaphor?
Figurative language that makes a direct comparison between one thing or person to another.
Without ‘like’ or ‘as’
What is Meter?
Describes the rhythm (or pattern of beats) in a line of poetry.
What is Metonymy?
(pronounced meh-TAH-nuh-mee)
A figure of speech in which one word is substituted for another word that it is closely associated with.
What is Onomatopoeia?
The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named.
Examples: cuckoo, sizzle, bang.
What is Oxymoron?
two contradictory words placed together for contrast
What is Paradox?
A statement or situation that seems absurd or contradictory yet may reveal an underlying truth when examined closely.
What is Personification?
The attribution of human characteristics to something non-human.
What is a Pun?
A humorous use of a word or phrase that has several meanings or sounds like another word.
humorous wordplay
What is a Refrain?
A line, group of lines, or phrase that repeats throughout a poem.
What is Repetition?
Repeating something that has already been said or written.
What is Rhyme?
A repetition of similar sounds in two or more words.
What is Rhythm?
The beat and pace of a poem.
What are Sensory Details?
Use of description that focuses on one or more of the five senses to make writing more evocative.
What is Sibilance?
The repetition of ‘s’ sounds in a series of neighboring words.
What is Simile?
A figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another of a different kind.
What is a Sonnet?
A type of poem that has 14 lines and follows a specific rhyme scheme and meter, usually iambic pentameter.
Sonnets often explore themes like love, nature, time, or beauty.
What are Stanzas?
A grouped set of lines, typically separated by a blank space from other groups of lines.
What are Symbols?
Objects, actions, or ideas that represent something deeper than their literal meaning.
What is Synecdoche?
A figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent the whole, or the whole is used to represent a part.
What is Verse?
Refers to a single line or any poetic writing.
What is Repetition?
Repeating something that has already been said or written.
