Poetic Devices

Simile

Relating two objects using like or as.

Metaphor

Comparison of two unlike things avoiding the use of like or as.

Hyperbole

Overstatement or exaggeration not intended to be taken literally.

Personification

Type of metaphor in which distinct human characteristics are attributed to inanimate objects or animals.

Symbolism

An object, person, or place that is used to represent something else (usually an idea).

Persona

Speaker or voice in a poem; the person doing the talking.

Character

Subject presented in a poem; either a person or an animal that is personified. More often than not this is not the same entity as the Persona.

Tone

The words that demonstrate a poet’s style or attitude toward the subject of the poem.

Mood

Specific emotions the poet tries to create; how the poem makes you feel or should make you feel.

Stanza

The way lines in a poem are separated into units; not every stanza necessarily follows the same format.

Free verse

Poem that doesn’t follow a specific pattern and has no rules, no rhyme scheme.

End ryhme

The last words or syllable of a line of poetry rhymes with another last word or syllable in a different line.

Allusion

A reference to something well-known within a poem (ex. a song, a god or goddess, a battle, a work of art).

Heroic couplet

A two-line segment of a poem in which the last words of each line rhyme.

Enjambment

Continuation of thought from one line of a poem to the next; making it necessary to read the following line in order to understand the first.

Consonance

Repetition of a consonant sound that is not at the start of the word - thats alliteration.

Alliteration

Repetition of the initial consonant sound.

Assonance

Repetition of a similar vowel sounds with different ending consonants.

Anaphora

Repeating the same words at the beginning of several lines of poetry. You will find this technique used in speeches as well.