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Poetic Devices and Examples

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Similes: figures of speech that compares two unlike things, using the words Like or as. “His feet were as big as boats. ” Alliteration: the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words. “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. ” Metaphor: a figure of speech that compares two unlike things directly, without the use of like or as. “Her hair Is silk. ” Personification: assigning human qualities to non-human things. “The tropical storm slept for two days. ” Onomatopoeia: words that imitate sounds.

Boom. Gurgle. Plink. ” Hyperbole: an expression of exaggeration. “l nearly died laughing. ” Symbolism: using an object to represent an Idea. A symbol means what It Is and also something more. Lions often symbolize royalty. Puns: words with a humorous double meaning, a “play on words. ” “A dog not only has a fur coat but also pants. ” Idioms: expressions that have a meaning apart from the meanings of the individual words. “It’s raining cats and dogs. ” Foot: the time period into which the beat of the poetic line is divided.

A foot is made p of several syllables, some long and some short. Meter: refers to how the feet are put together to form lines of poetry. The combinations of long and short syllables give poetry a musical feel. Rhythm: the pattern of long and short syllables in a poetic line. In modern poetry, some words receive greater vocal emphasis than others. Lyrics: what poets write, the actual words used to form the framework of rhythm and meter. Mood: the overall feeling the poem creates. Mood, or tone, for example, can be playful, sad, lonely, angry or Joyful.