Poetic Devices: Figures of Speech and Sound Devices

hard rhyme

single-syllable words that have the same ending sound(s) (EX: sound and round)

soft rhyme

words in which two or more syllables sound the same (EX: hollow and follow)

metaphor

a comparison of dissimilar things without using "like" or "as"

simile

a comparison of dissimilar things using "like or "as"

personification

giving living traits to a nonliving thing, or giving human traits to something that is not human

hyperbole

a really big exaggeration (EX: I'm so hungry that I could eat a horse!)

onomatopoeia

words that sound like the action they name (EX: "bang" or "pow")

alliteration

repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words close together in text (EX: bitter blood boils in the bellies of bellicose boys)

consonance

repetition of consonant sounds anywhere within words that appear close together in text

end rhyme

words that share the same sounds and come at the end of lines of a poem close together

allusion

a reference to a work of literature or the Bible; a reference to a literary, mythological, or historical person, place or event

pun

a play on the multiple meanings of a word (similar to verbal irony)

dramatic irony

when the audience knows something important that characters on stage do not

verbal irony

(intentional) when a character says something but means the opposite; (unintentional) when a character says something that can be interpreted very different than intended

situational irony

when something happens that is opposite of what was expected or very different from what was expected

internal rhyme

rhyming words that appear within lines of a poem close together--not just at the ends of lines

enjambment

run-on lines in poetry; when a thought in a poem runs from one line to the next without a pause or punctuation

masculine rhyme

same as hard rhyme

feminine rhyme

same as soft rhyme

metonymy

use of a word in place of another that it is associated with (EX: We need to make sure the office [meaning administrator or supervisor] approves our plan first.)

synecdoche

use of a part to stand for the whole or the material for the thing itself (EX: She is the best hand [meaning player] on our team; they fought with steel [meaning swords].)

repetition

repeating the same word or phrase more than once for emphasis or effect

slant rhyme or off-rhyme

words that almost sound the same--often used at the ends of lines to mimic end rhyme

sight rhyme

words that look like they should rhyme but that actually don't sound the same (EX: again and rain)

assonance

the repetition of vowel sounds in words that appear close together (EX: In the words, "Crossing a bare common...," the short "o" sound is repeated.)

asyndeton

the omission of a coordinating conjunction to join coordinate words, phrases, clauses (ex: "I came, I saw, I conquered.")

polysyndeton

the use of extra conjunctions to join coordinate words or phrases or clauses (--there is an example in this definition)