Poetry terms v v Devices Types DEVICES Simile

Poetry terms v v Devices Types

DEVICES: Simile Onomatopoeia Metaphor Alliteration Personification Assonance Hyperbole Consonance Imagery Rhyme/rhyme Oxymoron scheme Rhythm Paradox Allusion

SIMILE: A comparison between 2 unlike things using the words Like or As. Example The cat is like a hot water bottle. The toddler is slow as a turtle when she walks.

METAPHOR: A direct comparison between 2 unlike things Example: The cat is a purring hot water bottle. The toddler is a turtle when she walks.

PERSONIFICATION: Giving living/human qualities to non-living things Example: The mountain glared at the hobbit. The rain tried to drown the hikers.

HYPERBOLE: An extreme exaggeration. Example: “I told you a million times!” I didn’t really tell you that many times, but the exaggeration makes a point.

IMAGERY: When words are used to make a picture in your head. Example: The blue/green water rippled in light breeze of the tropical afternoon, and the tall bent palm trees rustled their leaves creating a dappled shade.

OXYMORON: Putting two opposite words together to enhance the meaning of what you’re trying to say. Example: Jumbo Shrimp Military intelligence Deafening silence

PARADOX: Putting two opposite ideas together to enhance the meaning of what you’re trying to say. Example: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” (Charles Dickens)

ALLUSION: When and Author refers indirectly to an object or circumstance from an external context. It is left to the audience to make the connection. Example: “He has a heavy cross to bear. ” unless you have knowledge of the bible, you wouldn’t know that the speaker is trying to say that he has a lot of responsibilities, and a difficult life ahead of him.

ONOMATOPOEIA: When a word sounds like its meaning Examples: BANG! SLAP! Whoosh… Tinkle.

ALLITERATION: The repetition of CONSONANT sounds at the BEGINNING of 2 or more words in a row. Example: The buzzing bee blasted by Becky’s blue basket.

ASSONANCE: The repetition of VOWEL sounds ANYWHERE IN 2 or more words in a row. Example: Devin, Rebecca and Kaleb entered Kelly Road with trepidation.

CONSONANCE: The repetition of CONSONANT sounds ANYWHERE IN 2 or more words in a row. Example: Daniel never announces his plans to anyone, not even Jennifer.

RHYME: The repetition of a sound at the end of 2 or more words. Example: Rain, Spain, plane, complain…

RHYME SCHEME: An ordered pattern of rhymes at the ends of the lines of a poem. Example: Rain (A) August (B) Spain (A) Longest (B)

RHYTHM: The number of beats per line in a poem. The heartbeat or drum line of a poem. Example: Think of the beat in music, that is rhythm.

TYPES: PURPOSE FORM Narrative Haiku Ballad Limerick Lyric Free Elegy verse Sonnet

NARRATIVE: A poem whose purpose is to tell a story about an event from the life of the poet, or from history, or someone else’s life.

BALLAD: A narrative poem that is meant to be sung. Usually has a repeated verse, a chorus. Example: Most country songs are ballads, so are singer/songwriter songs.

LYRIC: Do not tell a story. A poem whose purpose is to explore emotions and personal experience. (Most poetry written in Canada these days is lyric poetry. )

ELEGY: A poem that mourns the loss of someone or something greatly loved by the poet.

HAIKU: A Japanese form of poetry that has only 3 lines and 17 syllables. (5, 7, 5) These poems are short and precise and traditionally their topic has to do with the perfectness of nature.

LIMERICK: 5 line nonsense poems. Set rhythm: 3, 3, 2, 2, 3 Set rhyme scheme: AABBA Example: An epicure dinning at Crew, Found a very large mouse in his stew. Said the waiter “don’t shout, And wave it about, Or the rest will be wanting on too!”

FREE VERSE: The name given to poems that do not follow any set form. Lines can be any length Rhythms can vary There is no set rhyme scheme

SONNET: 14 line poems with a set rhythm, rhyme scheme, and meter (number of beats per line). Come in 2 kinds: English/Shakespearean Italian/Petrarchan