Poetic Elements & Techniques/Devices

Figurative Language a departure from the normal meaning of words . metaphor . simile .
apostrophe/personification . hyperbole . litote .

Symbol a combination of the literal and the abstract . universal symbols: flowing water suggests time and
eternity; a voyage suggests life; color symbology . situational (my name for it): rain is a symbol for death in A
Farewell to Arms; the white whale of Moby Dick has different meanings for the different crew members
Imagery the concrete representation of a sensory experience . see (visual) . hear (aural) . touch (tactile) .
smell (olfactory) . taste (gustatory)

Rhythm the pulse or beat in a line of poetry, created by the recurrence of accented or stressed syllables .
meter: the measure or patterned count of a line of poetry; a “unit” of English poetic meter is a “foot” (iamb,
trochee, dactyl, etc.)

Rhyme repetition of similar sounds that are sustained through two or more lines of verse . sound o full
rhyme-same vowel sound followed by the same consonant sound o approximate rhyme-either the vowel
(assonance) or the consonant (consonance) sound the same, not both o alliterative rhyme-identical initial
consonant sounds

Five Key Elements of Poetry

Sound-Form- Imagery-Figurative language-Speaker

Sound

Rhyme-similarity of sounds at the end of words. Rhythm-a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in the
line of a poem. Alliteration-repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words. Example-Sally sells sea
shells Onomatopoeia- uses words that sound like their meaning. Example- Bang, shattered

Form

Form-the way a poem looks Lines-the way poems are written, may or may not be sentences Stanza-lines of
poetry are grouped this way (looks like a paragraph)

Imagery and figurative language-

Imagery-language that appeals to readers 5 senses (hearing, sight, taste, touch, and smell)

Figurative language-choosing words or phrases that help readers picture things in a new way.

Simile-comparison using like or as

Examples: She’s as cute as a button.

It’s like shooting fish in a barrel.

He’s as nutty as a fruitcake.

Ogres are like onions.*

 Metaphor- comparison that does not use like or as
- refers to words or expressions that mean something different from their literal definition.
Examples: Love is a battlefield.

Bob is a couch potato.

Baby, you’re a firework.

I am titanium.

Personification-giving an object or animal human qualities

- the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the
representation of an abstract quality in human form.

Example: The lion yelled my name.

Look at my car. She is a beauty, isn’t she?

The wind whispered through dry grass.

The flowers danced in the gentle breeze.

Time and tide wait for none.

The fire swallowed the entire forest.

Speaker-is the voice that relates to the story or idea of the poem.