10IB Poetic Devices

"Here is a list of devices commonly used in poems. Being able to identify devices within a poem is important, but your real aim is to figure out their purpose. Ask yourself: how does this device contribute to the poem’s overall meaning or my impression of it?" Not me stealing Mrs. Toubassi's notes

Voice / Speaker.

TONE refers to the attitude of the speaker.

Sensory Imagery.

**words or phrases that appeal to any sense or any combination of senses** 

(visual, auditory, tactile, gustatory, olfactory) 

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Figurative Language.

metaphor, simile, personification, allusion, symbolism

Stanza.

A set of lines in a poem (can share length, metrical form, or rhyme scheme).

Repetition.

The repeating of words, phrases, lines, or stanzas (typically for emphasis)

Anaphora.

The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several consecutive verses, clauses, or stanzas.

Caesura.

A strong pause *within* a line of verse due to punctuation.

Enjambment.

The continuation of thought from one verse of poetry to the next without punctuation needed at the end of the previous verse(s).

Alliteration

repetition of *initial* consonant sounds (Peter Piper picked a peck...)

Assonance

repetition of vowel sounds (day, fade)

Consonance

repetition of consonant sounds (clammy mammals)

Sibilance

repetition of s or z sounds (rose on his toes)

Onomatopoeia

use of words which imitate sound  (hiss)

Euphony

a pleasing combination of sounds (often make use of rhyme, alliteration, long vowels, soft consonants.

Cacophony

a harsh unpleasant combination of sounds (often through harsh consonants or jerky rhythm… e.g.“With throats unslaked, with black lips baked, / Agape they heard me call.”)

Rhyme

the same sound of two or more words or syllables

Rhyme scheme

the sequence in which the rhyme occurs. The first end sound is represented as the letter "a", the second as "b", etc

Complete rhyme

words at the end of lines rhyme

Internal rhyme

rhymes that occur within a line

Sight / Eye rhyme

similarity in spelling but not in sound (love, move)