Poetry Techniques for DE

personification

giving human characteristics to something nonhuman. Example: " the mercy of a rude stream that must for ever hide me"

metaphor

comparison, or writing/speaking about one thing as if it were another thing. Example: "sweet boy with cheeks yet blooming"

conceit

this term is for poems and plays only -- a comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of lines in a poem. (In prose, this is called an extended metaphor) Example: "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts."

imagery

descriptive language that can function as a way for the reader to better imagine the world of the piece of literature by drawing on the five senses, namely the details of taste, touch, sight, smell, and sound. Example: "the nugget of dense sap, branching vines, the dark burred faintly belching bogs."

symbolism

giving objects or actions a certain meaning that is different from their original meaning or function in that it establishes theme and/or characterization. Examples: Harry Potter's scar and wand, the mirror and apple in Cinderella, Odysseus's journey

irony

a contrast of absolute opposite expectations for a situation versus reality. This can be a difference between the surface meaning of something that is said and the underlying meaning. It can also be a difference between what might be expected to happen and what actually occurs. It differs from coincidence in that it is a mockery of the appropriate result and often establishes theme and/or characterization. Example: In The Little Mermaid, Ariel gives up her voice to be with Eric, but it is her voice that he fell in love with.

connotation

the emotional or cultural association with that word rather than its dictionary definition. Example: the meaning of "home" differs from that of "house"

details

specific words, incidents, images, or events an author uses to establish characterization and/or theme. Example: "he rented a house and tended the garden...and now rides commuter trains, serves on various committees..."

repetition

reoccurrence of a word, phrase, or sentence to add emphasis, unity, and/or power. Example: "Now, far from women's arms and memory of women..."

diction

word choice that establishes tone, creates imagery, and establishes ideas. Types include formal, informal, colloquial, childlike, etc.

tone

speaker's attitude towards characters and/or subjects. Diction, imagery, details, language, and syntax to establish this. Examples include morbid, playful, melancholy, critical, etc.

allusion

a specific reference to something from literature, history, popular culture, etc. most people would know. Examples are "he falls like Lucifer, never to hope again"

juxtoposition

two unlike ideas are placed side by side to highlight their differences. Example: "All's fair in love and war"

simile

using "like" or "as" in a comparison. Example: "The dark pours down, sticky as Coke, but the light from the kitchen gleams like a beacon."

paradox

a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. Example: "I must be cruel to be kind"

satire

a work written to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of an individual or a society by using humor, irony, exaggeration or ridicule.

anaphora

repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of consecutive lines or sentences. Example:

"I have been one acquainted with the night.

I have walked out in rain—and back in rain.

I have outwalked the furthest city light."

enjambment

this term is for poetry only and indicates the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line or stanza. Example:

"Thought I saw you in Vegas.

It was not pretty, but she was

not your wife" (enjambment occurs after the word "was")

caesura

this term is for poetry only and indicates a pause, usually indicated by punctuation, in the middle of a line. Example:

"But I killed for you. I see armed firs"

slant or near rhyme

words that nearly rhyme but not exactly. Example: "bridge/grudge"

meter

serves as a sound pattern for the verses, as it gives poetry a rhythmical sound. It is studied by looking at stressed and unstressed syllables. Type: Iambic Pentameter

iambic pentameter

a line of poetry with five metrical feet, each consisting of one short (or unstressed) syllable followed by one long (or stressed) syllable (this equals 10 syllables total)

Example: "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun"

free verse

poetry without limitations of regular meter or rhythm and does not rhyme with fixed forms.

elegy

a mournful poem that laments the dead

alliteration

repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words

Example: "The soul selects her own society."

assonance

The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds in neighboring words. Example: "Try to light the fire"

consonance

repetition of consonant sounds within words or at end of words. Example: "Spies hiss in the stillness, Hansel"

dichotomy

divides a thing into two equal and contradictory parts or between two opposing groups. Examples: good/evil, light/dark, young/old, life/death

Anastrophe

also known as inversion, the normal order of words is reversed in order to achieve a particular effect of emphasis or meter. Examples: the soldier strong; sad is the man

Apostrophe

speaking to an absent person or abstract idea as if it can hear and understand. Example: "So farewell to the little good you bear me.Farewell! a long farewell, to all my greatness!"