What are the Poetic Devices? Slide Show Created By: Paula Trapani LRMS Librarian

The mental pictures created by a piece of writing Imagery The mental pictures created by a piece of writing Example: Folks sway in the Palace aisles grinning and stomping and out of breath, From Out of the Dust p. 13-14, “On Stage”

Simile Right hand playing notes sharp as tongues, A phrase that compares two things using “like” or “as” Example: Right hand playing notes sharp as tongues, From Out of the Dust p. 13-14, “On Stage”

A phrase that compares two things without using “like” or “as” Metaphor A phrase that compares two things without using “like” or “as” Example: That is heaven. How supremely heaven playing piano can be. From Out of the Dust p. 13-14, “On Stage”

Personification When human traits or characteristics are given to inanimate objects or abstract notions Example: When I point my fingers at the keys, the music springs straight out of me. From Out of the Dust p. 13-14, “On Stage”

Words at the end of lines of poetry Rhyme Words at the end of lines of poetry that sound the same. Example: A Student's Prayer by Anonymous Now I lay me down to rest. I pray I pass tomorrow's test. If I should die before I wake, that's one less test I'll have to take.

The repetition of the first consonant sound in a group of words Alliteration The repetition of the first consonant sound in a group of words Example: If Ma could put her arm across my shoulder sometime, or stroke back my hair or sing me to sleep, making the soft sounds, the reassuring noises, that no matter how brittle and sharp life seemed, no matter how brittle and sharp she seemed, she was still my ma who loved me… From Out of the Dust (p. 148, “Motherless”)

The repetition of vowel sounds in a group of words. Assonance The repetition of vowel sounds in a group of words. Example: “…the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore…” From “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe

Hyperbole A figure of speech involving exaggeration to help create a desired image. Example: Why does a boy who’s fast as a jet Take all day—and sometimes two— To get to school? By: John Ciardi (from “Speed Adjustments”)

Idiom A phrase or expression that means something different from what the words actually say. (Usually only understandable to a particular group of people.) Examples: Raining cats and dogs Teach an old dog new tricks Skating on thin ice A day late and a dollar short Air your dirty laundry in public

Onomatopoeia Use of a word that is an actual imitation of the sound it is referring to Example: Swoosh, swish paddling down a creek splish, splash, whump a fish jumps on me By: Lacey (a student at Langley Meadows school in Canada)