Poetic Devices (Definitions with Examples) and Rhyme

Allegory

A story in which the characters, settings, and events stand for abstract or moral concepts. Example: The morality play 'Everyman' deals with the death of a character that represents himself and every human being.

Alliteration

The repetition of initial consonant sounds. Example: 'When to the sessions of sweet silent thought / I summon up remembrance of things past' (Shakespeare, 'Sonnet 30').

Allusion

Reference to a statement, person, place, event, or thing that is known from literature, history, religion, mythology, politics, sports, science, or popular culture. Example: 'He had the patience of Job'.

Apostrophe

A figure of speech in which the speaker directly addresses an absent or dead person, an abstract quality, or something nonhuman as if it were present and capable of responding. Example: 'And chiefly Thou, O Spirit, that dost prefer / Before all temples th’ upright heart and pure / Instruct me…' (Milton, 'Paradise Lost').

Assonance

The repetition of similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds in words that are close together. Example: 'My words like silent raindrops fell...' (Paul Simon, 'Sounds of Silence').

Conceit

A fanciful and elaborate figure of speech that makes a surprising connection between two seemingly dissimilar things. Example: John Donne’s comparison of separated lovers to the legs of a compass.

Consonance

The repetition of consonant sounds, not limited to initial consonant sounds. Example: '…and high school girls with clear skins smiles...' (Janis Ian, 'At 17').

Dissonance (cacophony)

A harsh, discordant combination of sounds, usually created by the repetition of harsh consonant sounds. Example: '…sheer plod makes plough down sillion / Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear, / Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermilion' (Gerard Manley Hopkins, 'The Windhover').

Epigram

Short, condensed, polished, pointed phrases often ending in surprising or witty turns of thought. Example: 'Swans sing before they die – t’were no bad thing / Should certain people die before they sing' (Coleridge, 'On a Volunteer Singer').

Euphemism

A pleasant way of stating an unpleasant truth, usually to be avoided. Example: 'Comfort station,' 'to pass away,' 'Gosh darn!'