Poetic Devices Flashcards
Alliteration
Repeated use of the same sounds or combination of sounds in the beginning of a series of words
Allusion
Indirect or passing reference to something or someone (historical, mythological, biblical, literary)
Apostrophe
To address a person or thing that is not present as if it were present and able to respond.
Assonance
The repeated use of vowels in a line, especially in stressed syllables
Connotation
The aura, the field of association surrounding the
word (feelings the word evokes)
Denotation
The exact dictionary definition of a word
Dysphemism
A crude or shocking word or expression used in place of socially accepted language. It is the opposite of
euphemism.
Euphemism
Use of mild expression in place of a harsh or
unpleasant one
Hyperbole
An exaggeration for the sake of emphasis
Litotes
Understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary (uses “no” or “not”) eg: She’s “not a bad singer”
Imagery
Mood or feeling shown by clever use of words (word pictures or senses)
Imitative Harmony
(Onomatopoeia) imitation of a sound made – using words in which the sense or meaning of words is suggested by the sound e.g. plop
Irony
To say something one way but actually, mean the opposite or when the opposite of what is expected happens
Juxtaposition
Putting two or more things side by side even Though they are not usually associated with one another. The writer makes no comment on it.
Metaphor
A type of comparison in which one thing is said to be another or implied to be another by using a verb or adjective.
Metonymy
A kind of metaphor. An object is given the name of something else with which it is associated
e.g.: My friend plays Beethoven beautifully.
Onomatopeia
“Plop”
Oxymoron
An expression that combines contradictory or opposite ideas
Paradox
Statement that may be true but seems to say two opposite (Contradictory) things
Persona
The person who narrates or speaks. The persona is not the living person who wrote the poem. In writing the poem, the poet always creates a persona, a speaker who is other than him/herself. They may or may not resemble each other.
Personification
When an object, animal, ideal or quality is given the attributes or characteristics of a human being
Pun
Play on words
Repetition
Words, phrases or lines repeated to add force
Sarcasm
A form of irony intended to sting or hurt someone
Satire
A work of literature exposing the follies and weaknesses
of a person or institution. Satire endeavors to bring
about reform through ridicule.
Simile
A comparison of two unlike objects by means of words
like, as, as if, or than
Synecdoche
When a part is used to signify the whole. eg: I took
forty head of cattle to the market
Consonance
The repetition of a pattern of consonants with changes
in the intervening vowels e.g.: hill hall; live love
Euphony
A harmonious succession of words having a pleasing sound.
Cacophony
A succession of words having a harsh or unpleasant sound
Caesura
A break in the flow of sound in a verse caused by the ending of
a word within a foot; a break in the flow of sound usually in the middle
of a line of verse.
Cadence
A rhythmic sequence or flow of sounds in language; a concluding
and usually falling strain.
Enjambment
The continuation of the sense (meaning) and grammatical
construction of a verse or lines in poetry to the next verse or line. It is in contrast to the end-stopped line.
