Poetic Language Devices

Question 1

Anaphora

Answer 1

used to describe a poem that repeats the same phrase at the beginning of each line

Question 2

Conceit

Answer 2

A conceit is, essentially, an extended metaphor. In order for a metaphor to be a conceit, it must run through the entire poem and be the poem’s central device

Question 3

Apostrophe

Answer 3

Apostrophe describes any instance when the speaker talks to a person or object that is absent from the poem

Question 4

Metonymy

Answer 4

A metonymy is when the writer replaces “a part for a part,” choosing one noun to describe a different noun

Question 5

Synecdoche

Answer 5

Synecdoche is a form of metonymy, but instead of “a part for a part,” the writer substitutes “a part for a whole.” In other words, they represent an object with only a distinct part of the object. If I described your car as “a nice set of wheels,” then I’m using synecdoche to refer to your car

Question 6

Enjambment & End-Stopped Lines

Answer 6

End-stopped lines are lines which end on a period or on a natural break in the sentence. Enjambment, by contrast, refers to a line break that interrupts the flow of a sentence: either the line usually doesn’t end with punctuation, and the thought continues on the next line

Question 7

Zeugma

Answer 7

A zeugma occurs when one verb is used to mean two different things for two different objects