Poetry definitions Flashcards
Describes something as though it were someone else. Direst comparison that doesn’t use like or as.
Metaphor
a comparison that uses like or as
Simile
a device in which an apparent contradiction reveals an unexpected death
Paradox
The repetition of the same word or phrase throughout a work or section of work.
The bells, bells, bells, bells……..
Ring ring ring when the trolly
Clang Clang Clang went the bell
Anaphora
Repetition of a beginning constant sound
Alliteration
The repetition of soft vowel sounds.
“She floats, She gloats and on the moon she floats”
Assonance
A device in which a speaker addresses a real or imagined listener who is not present.
“Oh bright star would that I were as steadfast as thou art..”
Apostrophe
The attribution of human characteristics to either non human objects or to abstractions
“Oh bright star would that I were as steadfast as thou art..”
Personification
A word play which reveals that words with different meanings have similar or even identical sounds
“The young man named Hall who fell in the spring in the fall twod have been a sad thing if he died.”
Pun (paronomasia)
Exaggeration used for effect or to prove a point.
“It is hot enough to fry eggs on the sidewalk today”
Hyperbole (overstatement)
The deliberate underplaying or undervaluing of a ting for emphasis.
“Its a little brisk today. (When it is actually 20 below zero)
Understatement
Is the implied or understood meaning of a word.
Connotation
Is the exact literal
Denotation
reference to another work that the reader should be familiar with.
Allusion
transfer of name - a device in which one thing stands for another with which it is closely identified.
Hollywood = movies/movie stars
DC - politicians / federal government
metonymy
