1. Poetic Terms and Devices

2. Speaker  The speaker is the voice of the poem.  Although the speaker is often the poet, he/she may also be a fictional character/entity or object  Interpreting a poem often depends on recognizing who the speaker is, whom the speaker is addressing, and what the speaker’s tone or attitude is.

3. Diction  A writer’s or speaker’s word choice.  Part of a writer’s style- can be informal, plain, technical, etc.

4. Denotation  The objective meaning of a word, independent of other associations that the word may bring to mind.  The dictionary definition

5. Connotation  An association that a word calls to mind in addition to the dictionary definition.

6. Figurative Language  Writing or speech not to be taken literally.  Vivid and imaginative writing

7. Simile  A figure of speech comparing two things using like or as  Ex: Her teeth were as white as pearls.

8. Metaphor  A figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else  A comparison between 2 unlike things not using like or as  ex: All the world is a stage

9. Implied Metaphor  A more subtle comparison; the terms being compared are not so specifically explained  Ex: Regular Metaphor: Keith was a mule, standing his ground when it came to the debate. Implied: Keith brayed his refusal to concede when it came to the debate.

10. Personification  A figure of speech in which an object, animal, or ideas is given a human trait.  Ex: Sarah felt kissed by the rain Liberty rang through the streets The candy bar called softly to the dieter

11. Symbol  Anything that stands for or represents something else.

12. Rhythm  The pattern of beats or stresses, in spoken or written language.  Prose and free verse are written in the irregular rhythmical patterns of everyday speech

13. Onomatopoeia  The use of words that imitate sounds  Ex: buzz, hiss, murmur

14. Alliteration  The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words or accented syllables.

15. Assonance  The repetition of vowel sounds in conjunction with dissimilar consonant sounds.  Ex: “The mountain at a given distance”

16. Allusion  A reference to a well known person, place, event, literary work, work of art or music.  By using allusions writers can bring to mind complex ideas simply and easily.  Biblical allusions, mythological allusions, geographical allusion etc.

17. Free Verse  Poetry that lacks regular rhythmical pattern or meter.  A writer of free verse is at liberty to use any rhythms, that are appropriate to what they are saying.  Ex: I climb the black rock mountain stepping from day to day silently.

18. Tone  The writer’s attitude towards his or her own subject