Poetry Devices

Alliteration

the repetion of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words.

“Sally sells sea shells by the sea shore.”

Anapestic

metrical foot consis;ng of two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed

syllable. [ uu/ ]

understand, contradict, comprehend, etc.

Assonance

the repe;;on of iden;cal or similar vowel sounds.

“From the molten-golden notes.”

Blank verse

unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter.

Consonance

the repe;;on of the same consonant sound at the end of words or within

words.

“Some late visitor entreaHng entrance at my chamber door.”

Dactylic

metrical food consis;ng of a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed

syllables. [ /uu ]

typical, elephant, poetry, etc.

Enjambment

the running-over of a sentence or phrase from one poe;c line to the next,

without terminal punctua;on; the opposite of end-stopped.

End-stopped Line

line of poetry ending in a period, ques;on mark, exclama;on point, or

semicolon.

Free verse

poetry that does not follow par;cular meter or rhyme.

Lambic

a metrical foot consis;ng of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed

syllable. [u/]

balloon, morale, reside, etc.

Lambic Pentameter

a ten-syllable line in which the even-numbered syllables are stressed, and odd-

numbered are unstressed.

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”

Internal Rhyme

rhyming two words within a single line of poetry.

“Once upon a midnight dreary, as I pondered weak and weary…”

Meter

the rhythm of a poem; includes how many syllables or “beats” each line has

and which ones are stressed and unstressed. A unit of meter = a foot.

Onomatopoeia

the use of a word which imitates or suggests the sound that the thing makes.

Snap, rustle, boom, swish, etc

Poetic Device

A device used in poetry to manipulate the sound of words, sentences, or lines.

Rhymed Couplet

two rhymed lines forming a unit; tradi;onally those lines are in iambic

pentameter, but more modern poetry does not always follow that rule.

Rhyme Scheme

The paAern of a poem’s end rhymes; indicated by assigning the same leAer

to rhyming lines.

ababcdcd

Shakespearean Sonnet

poem of 14 lines with the structure of 3 quatrains followed by 1 couplet in

which the main idea or central message is stated.

Slant Rhyme

when a poet creates a rhyme, but the two words do not rhyme exactly, but

are similar.

“I sat upon a stone, / And found my life has gone.”

Stanza

group of lines of poetry forming a unit.

Trochaic

a metrical foot consis;ng of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed

syllable. [ /u ]

coffee, table, market, etc.

Stressed/Unstressed syllables

In every word of more than one syllable, one of the syllables is stressed, or

said with more force than the other syllable(s); this paAern dictates meter in

poetry.

Verse

single line of poetry.