Poetic Devices

Student Material
Discursive Writing

Name: ________

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Poetic Devices

Poetic Devices
Poetry is the kind of thing poets write. — Robert Frost

Man, if you gotta ask, you’ll never know. — Louis Armstrong

A
in the materials he can use in creating his works: all he has are
POET IS LIMITED
words to express his ideas and feelings. These words need to be precisely right on several levels at once:
• they must sound right to the listener even as they delight his ear
• they must have a meaning which might have been unanticipated, but seems to be the perfectly
right one
• they must be arranged in a relationship and placed on the page in ways that are at once easy
to follow and assist the reader in understanding
• they must probe the depths of human thought, emotion, and empathy, while appearing
simple, self-contained, and unpretentious
Fortunately, the English language contains a wide range of words from which to
choose for almost every thought, and there are also numerous plans or methods of arrangement of these
words, called poetic devices, which can assist the writer in developing cogent expressions pleasing to his
readers.

1. The SOUND of words - the way that words sound when read aloud
THINK: How does the poem sound when you read it aloud?

Is it full of elongated vowel sounds (e.g. free/see/me, you/blue/through) or short consonant sounds (e.g.
dead/head/lead, got/shot/not)?

How do these sounds affect the mood of the poem?

Does it follow a regular meter? Does that meter plod slowly or gallop quickly?

Or, does it drift along with no regular rhythm?

Are certain words or phrases repeated in a way that makes them ring out?

Words or portions of words can be clustered or juxtaposed to achieve specific kinds of effects when we hear them.
The sounds that result can strike us as clever and pleasing, even soothing. Others we dislike and strive to avoid. These
various deliberate arrangements of words have been identified.

Alliteration: Repeated consonant sounds at the beginning of words placed near each other, usually on the same or
adjacent lines. A somewhat looser definition is that it is the use of the same consonant in any part of adjacent words.

Example: fast and furious

Example: Peter and Andrew patted the pony at Ascot

Assonance: Repeated vowel sounds in words placed near each other, usually on the same or adjacent lines. These
should be in sounds that are accented, or stressed, rather than in vowel sounds that are unaccented.
Example: He’s a bruisin’ loser
In the second example above, the short A sound in Andrew, patted, and Ascot would be assonant.

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Poetic Devices
Cacophony A discordant series of harsh, unpleasant sounds helps to convey disorder. This is often furthered by the
combined effect of the meaning and the difficulty of pronunciation.

Example: My stick fingers click with a snicker

And, chuckling, they knuckle the keys; Light-

footed, my steel feelers flicker And pluck from
these keys melodies.

—“Player Piano,” John Updike

Euphony: A series of musically pleasant sounds, conveying a sense of harmony and beauty to the language.

Example: Than Oars divide the Ocean,

Too silver for a seam—

Or Butterflies, off Banks of Noon Leap, plashless

as they swim.

— “A Bird Came Down the Walk,” Emily Dickenson (last stanza)

Onomatopoeia: Words that sound like their meanings. In Hear the steady tick of the old hall clock, the word tick
sounds like the action of the clock, If assonance or alliteration can be onomatopoeic, as the sound ‘ck’ is repeated in
tick and clock, so much the better.

Example: boom, buzz, crackle, gurgle, hiss, pop, sizzle, snap, swoosh, whir, zip

Repetition: The purposeful re-use of words and phrases for an effect. Sometimes, especially with longer phrases that
contain a different key word each time, this is called parallelism. It has been a central part of poetry in many cultures.
Example: I was glad; so very, very glad.

Rhyme: This is the one device most commonly associated with poetry by the general public. Words that have
different beginning sounds but whose endings sound alike, including the final vowel sound and everything
following it, are said to rhyme. Example: time, slime, mime

Rhythm: Although the general public is seldom directly conscious of it, nearly everyone responds on some level to
the organization of speech rhythms (verbal stresses) into a regular pattern of accented syllables separated by
unaccented syllables. Rhythm helps to distinguish poetry from prose.

2. The MEANING & IDEAS: the pictures or concepts evoked by the words

THINK: What images or ideas do you think of as you read the poem?
Does the poem refer to a specific event, person or concept?
What images or sensory experiences do you imagine as you read it?
Do you interpret the meaning of certain words or lines literally, or figuratively?

Most words convey several meanings or shades of meaning at the same time. It is the poet’s job to find words
which, when used in relation to other words in the poem, will carry the precise intention of thought. Often, some of
the more significant words may carry several layers or “depths” of meaning at once. The ways in which the meanings
of words are used can be identified.

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Poetic Devices
Allegory: A representation of an abstract or spiritual meaning. Sometimes it can be a single word or phrase, such as
the name of a character or place. Often, it is a symbolic narrative that has not only a literal meaning, but a larger one
understood only after reading the entire story or poem

Allusion: A brief reference to some person, historical event, work of art, or Biblical or mythological situation or
character.

Analogy: A comparison, usually something unfamiliar with something familiar. Example: The
plumbing took a maze of turns where even water got lost.

Apostrophe: Speaking directly to a real or imagined listener or inanimate object; addressing that person or thing by
name.

Example: O Captain! My Captain! our fearful trip is done…

Cliché: Any figure of speech that was once clever and original but through overuse has become outdated. If you’ve
heard more than two or three other people say it more than two or three times, chances are the phrase is too timeworn
to be useful in your writing. Example: busy as a bee

Connotation: The emotional, psychological or social overtones of a word; its implications and associations apart
from its literal meaning. Often, this is what distinguishes the precisely correct word from one that is merely
acceptable.

Contrast: Closely arranged things with strikingly different characteristics.

Example: He was dark, sinister, and cruel; she was radiant, pleasant, and kind.

Euphemism: An understatement, used to lessen the effect of a statement; substituting something innocuous for
something that might be offensive or hurtful. Example: She is at rest. (meaning, she’s dead)

Hyperbole: An outrageous exaggeration used for effect. Example: He

weighs a ton.

Irony: A contradictory statement or situation to reveal a reality different from what appears to be true. Example:
Wow, thanks for expensive gift...let’s see: did it come with a Fun Meal or the Burger King equivalent?

Metaphor: A direct comparison between two unlike things, stating that one is the other or does the action of the
other.

Example: He’s a zero.

Example: Her fingers danced across the keyboard.

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Poetic Devices
Metonymy: A figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing is referred to by something closely associated with
it.

Example: The White House stated today that... Example: The Crown reported today that...

Oxymoron: A combination of two words that appear to contradict each other. Example: a
pointless point of view; bittersweet

Paradox: A statement in which a seeming contradiction may reveal an unexpected truth. Example: The
hurrier I go the behinder I get.

Personification: Attributing human characteristics to an inanimate object, animal, or abstract idea. Example: The
days crept by slowly, sorrowfully.

Pun: Word play in which words with totally different meanings have similar or identical sounds. Example: Like a
firefly in the rain, I’m de-lighted.

Simile: A direct comparison of two unlike things using “like” or “as.” Example: He’s as
dumb as an ox.

Example: Her eyes are like comets.

Symbol: An ordinary object, event, animal, or person to which we have attached extraordinary meaning and
significance – a flag to represent a country, a lion to represent courage, a wall to symbolize separation. Example: A
small cross by the dangerous curve on the road reminded all of Johnny’s death.

Synecdoche: Indicating a person, object, etc. by letting only a certain part represent the whole.

Example: All hands on deck.

3. Arrangement: the way that the words are set out on the page
Words follow each other in a sequence determined by the poet. In order to discuss the arrangements that result,
certain terms have been applied to various aspects of that arrangement process.

THINK: How does the way that each line is set out change the way that you read it?
Is the poem divided into separate chunks of text (stanzas)?
What might be the difference between the ideas in each stanza?
Are there spaces between specific words or lines?
Does each line come to a rest at the end, or does it flow on to the next line?

Point of View: The author’s point of view concentrates on the vantage point of the speaker, or “teller” of the story or
poem. This may be considered the poem’s “voice” — the pervasive presence behind the overall work. This is also
sometimes referred to as the persona.
• 1st Person: the speaker is a character in the story or poem and tells it from his/her perspective (uses
“I”).

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Poetic Devices
• 3rd Person limited: the speaker is not part of the story, but tells about the other characters through the
limited perceptions of one other person.
• 3rd Person omniscient: the speaker is not part of the story, but is able to “know” and describe what all
characters are thinking.

Verse: One single line of a poem arranged in a metrical pattern. Also, a piece of poetry or a particular form of poetry
such as free verse, blank verse, etc., or the art or work of a poet.

Stanza: A division of a poem created by arranging the lines into a unit, often repeated in the same pattern of meter
and rhyme throughout the poem; a unit of poetic lines (a “paragraph” within the poem). The stanzas within a poem are
separated by blank lines.

Stanza Forms: The names given to describe the number of lines in a stanzaic unit, such as: couplet (2), tercet (3),
quatrain (4), quintet (5), sestet (6), septet (7), and octave (8).

Rhetorical Question: A question solely for effect, which does not require an answer. By the implication the answer
is obvious, it is a means of achieving an emphasis stronger than a direct statement. Example: Could I but guess the
reason for that look?

Example: O, Wind,

If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?

Rhyme Scheme: The pattern established by the arrangement of rhymes in a stanza or poem, generally described by
using letters of the alphabet to denote the recurrence of rhyming lines, such as the ababbcc of the Rhyme Royal stanza
form.

Enjambment: The continuation of the logical sense — and therefore the grammatical construction — beyond the end
of a line of poetry. This is sometimes done with the title, which in effect becomes the first line of the poem.

Form: The arrangement or method used to convey the content, such as free verse, ballad, haiku, etc. In other words,
the “way-it-is-said.” A variably interpreted term, however, it sometimes applies to details within the composition of a
text, but is probably used most often in reference to the structural characteristics of a work as it compares to (or differs
from) established modes of conventionalized arrangements.
• Open: poetic form free from regularity and consistency in elements such as rhyme, line length, and metrical
form
• Closed: poetic form subject to a fixed structure and pattern
• Blank Verse: unrhymed iambic pentameter (much of the plays of Shakespeare are written in this form)
• Free Verse: lines with no prescribed pattern or structure — the poet determines all the variables as seems
appropriate for each poem
• Couplet: a pair of lines, usually rhymed; this is the shortest stanza
• Quatrain: a four-line stanza, or a grouping of four lines of verse

Fixed Form: A poem which follows a set pattern of meter, rhyme scheme, stanza form, and refrain (if there is one),
is called a fixed form.
A partial listing includes:

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Poetic Devices
• Ballad: a narrative poem written as a series of quatrains in which lines of iambic tetrameter alternate with
iambic trimeter with an xaxa, xbxb rhyme scheme with frequent use of repetition and often including a
refrain. The “story” of a ballad can be a wide range of subjects but frequently deals with folklore or popular
legends.

• Epitaph: a brief poem or statement in memory of someone who is deceased, used as, or suitable for, a
tombstone inscription; now, often witty or humorous and written without intent of actual funerary use

• Lyric: derived from the Greek word for lyre, lyric poetry was originally designed to be sung.

• Ode: any of several stanzaic forms more complex than the lyric, with intricate rhyme schemes and irregular
number of lines, generally of considerable length, always written in a style marked by a rich, intense
expression of an elevated thought praising a person or object. “Ode to a Nightingale” is an example.

• Sonnet: a fourteen line poem in iambic pentameter with a prescribed rhyme scheme; its subject was
traditionally love. Three variations are found frequently in English, although others are occasionally seen.

4. The IMAGES of words

A poet uses words more consciously than any other writer. The poet embeds within his work those words which carry
strong visual and sensory impact, words to show the reader than to merely tell him.

Imagery: The use of vivid language to generate ideas and/or evoke mental images, not only of the visual sense, but
of sensation and emotion as well. While most commonly used in reference to figurative language, imagery can apply
to any component of a poem that evoke sensory experience and emotional response, and also applies to the concrete
things so brought to mind.

Examples:
• Sight: Smoke mysteriously puffed out from the clown’s ears.
• Sound: Tom placed his ear tightly against the wall; he could hear a faint but distinct thump thump thump.
• Touch: The burlap wall covering scraped against the little boy’s cheek.
• Taste: A salty tear ran across onto her lips.
• Smell: Cinnamon! That’s what wafted into his nostrils.

Synesthesia: An attempt to fuse different senses by describing one kind of sense impression in words normally used
to describe another.

Example: a loud aroma, a velvety smile

Tone, Mood: The means by which a poet reveals attitudes and feelings, in the style of language or expression of
thought used to develop the subject. Certain tones include not only irony and satire, but may be loving,
condescending, bitter, pitying, fanciful, solemn, and a host of other emotions and attitudes. Tone can also refer to the
overall mood of the poem itself, in the sense of a pervading atmosphere intended to influence the readers’ emotional
response and foster expectations of the conclusion.

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Poetic Devices

FINDING EXAMPLES OF POETIC DEVICES

Use the following poem to help you fill out your glossary with an example of each poetic device. You
should be able to find an example of every device listed!

You might like to annotate the poem (underline or highlight specific words or phrases) as you read through
it.

Spiritual Song Of The Aborigine

Hyllus Noel Maris

I am a child of the Dreamtime People

Part of this land, like the gnarled gumtree
I am the river, softly singing
Chanting our songs on my way to the sea
My spirit is the dust-devils
Mirages, that dance on the plain
I'm the snow, the wind and the falling rain
I'm part of the rocks and the red desert earth
Red as the blood that flows in my veins
I am eagle, crow and snake that glides
Through the rainforest that clings to the mountainside
I awakened here when the earth was new
There was emu, wombat, kangaroo
No other man of a different hue
I am this land
And this land is me
I am Australia.

The Sounds of Words (Aural Devices)

Poetic Device Definition Example in text Purpose/ Effect

Alliteration Repeated consonant “I am the river, softly The repetition of the soft
sounds at the beginning singing” “s” sound has a soothing
of at least two words effect, which establishes
placed near each other. a peaceful mood.

Repetition The re-use of words and

phrases.

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Poetic Devices

Rhyme The use of the same

final vowel sound at the
end of two or more
lines.

Assonance The repetition of vowel

sounds to create internal
rhyming within phrases
or sentences.

Consonance The repetition of the “Red as the blood” The repetition of the
same consonant in the blunt “d” sound at the
middle or at the end of end of “red” and
two or more words. “blood” emphasises the
phrase to the reader and
makes it sound forceful.

Rhythm The beat of the poem:

the pattern of stressed
syllables separated by
unstressed syllables.

Caesura A pause in a line of

poetry that takes up a
syllable space.

Images & Ideas

Poetic Device Definition Example in text Purpose/ Effect

Imagery The way that words are “…the snow, the wind The vivid description
used to create certain and the falling rain” allows readers to
images in the mind of visualise the natural
the reader. landscape, drawing them
in to the poem. It also
suggests the persona’s
love of the land.
Allusion A brief reference to
some person, concept,
event, work of art,
Biblical or mythological
situation or character.
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Poetic Devices

Symbolism A symbol is one thing

that represents another.
In poetry it is generally
an object, person,
situation or idea that
adds meaning by
symbolising something
else.
Metaphor A direct comparison “I am the river, softly By saying that she is the
between two unlike singing” river, the author is
things, stating that one is highlighting the
the other or does the powerful connection
action of the other. between herself (as an
Aboriginal person) and
the land.
Simile A direct comparison of .
two unlike things using
“like” or “as”.

Personification Where humanlike

(Figurative language) qualities are given to
objects or animals.

The Arrangement of Words

Poetic Device Definition Example in text Purpose/ Effect
Stanza/Verse A group of lines that are The poem is not divided By arranging the poem
grouped together and set into stanzas, but is set into one cohesive verse,
apart by a space. out as one chunk of text. the author conveys the
sense that she is
delivering a single
strong statement- i.e. the
poem is based on one
major idea or theme.
End-Stopped Line A line of poetry that
naturally comes to a
rest/pause at its end.
This is often (but not
always) signalled by
punctuation, like a semi-
colon or a full stop.
Enjambment The extension of a
sentence or phrase into
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Poetic Devices
the next line of the poem
(i.e. the opposite of an
end-stopped line).

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