1. JCS - Key Poetic Devices 9-12

alliteration

the repetition of the beginning sounds in groups of words, usually at the beginning of a word or stressed syllable; e.g., descending dew drops; luscious lemons

allusion

a reference to a familiar literary or historical person or event; allusions my be classified as: Classical - "The man was Atlas personified"; Biblical - "My friend acted like a Judas"; Historical - "He was a Napoleonic figure"; Literary - "He was a real Romeo"

anachronism

is the poetic device which places a person, thing, or event in a time frame where it does not belong; e.g., The clock has stricken three. (Julius Ceasar)

anaphora

the deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verses, clauses, or paragraphs

Consonance

Repetition of a consonant sound within two or more words in close proximity.

assonance

the close repetition of the same vowel sounds between different consonants; e.g. brave- vain; lone - show; feel - sleet

sibilance

Use of consonants that make a hissing sound (like s, ch, z or sh)

colloquial language

language characteristic of everyday informal speech; e.g., You're getting on my nerves!

antithesis

words, phrases, etc that deliberately contrast one another

asyndeton

lack of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses or words (I like trees bugs animals paper etc.)

cacophony

harsh sound to mirror a word's meaning (ex. grate on the scrannel pipes of wretched straw)

caesura

a pause within a line of verse

euphony

harmonious effect when words connect with the meaning in a way that is pleasing to the ear and mind

free verse

poetry that organizes lines without meter

hyperbole

exaggeration

metaphor

a statement that one thing is something else vs. like something else

metonymy

substituting the name of an attribute or feature for the name of the thing itself (as in 'they counted heads' vs they counted people)

motif

recurring symbol

onomatopoeia

using words that imitate the sound they denote

oxymoron

conjoining contradictory terms (as in 'deafening silence')

persona

ficticious character created by the author to be the speaker of the poem

personification

a non-human being/object is given human qualities

rhyme/rime

The duplication of final syllable sounds in two or more lines.

exact rhyme

identical rhyme between two words (feature/creature)

sight rhyme

an imperfect rhyme (e.g., 'love' and 'move')

slant rhyme

..., rhyme in which the vowel sounds are nearly, but not exactly the same (i.e. the words "stress" and "kiss"); sometimes called half-rhyme, near rhyme, or partial rhyme

simile

comparison using like or as

stanza

a group of lines in a poem

symbol

Something that stands for something else

synecdoche

using a part of something to represent the whole thing (e.g. "They were loyal to the crown" instead of "the king")

synesthesia

describing one kind of sensation in terms of another (e.g. The sweet sound of the birds)

epiphora

repetition of a word or phrase at the end of a line or stanza

verse

another word for poetry (e.g. verse vs. prose)

prose

writing that is not written in verse (e.g. essays are written in prose and poems are written in verse)

Enjambment

This occurs when one line ends without a pause or any punctuation and continues onto the next line.

tactile imagery

descriptive language that appeals to the sense of touch

olfactory imagery

descriptive language that appeals to the sense of smell

visual imagery

descriptive language that appeals to the sense of sight

auditory imagery

use of language to represent an experience pertaining to sound

gustatory imagery

descriptive language that appeals to the sense of taste