Figurative Language

and Poetic Devices

 Poetry is rich in imagery, rhythm, and

emotion
To convey this, writers use multiple
poetic devices
These are just a few:

Simile
Metaphor
Onomatopoeia
Personification
Rhyme
Assonance

Alliteration
Anaphora
Hyperbole
Allusion
Epistrophe

Imagery Devices
The purpose of these devices is to create an
image in the readers mind.

Simile
Metaphor
Personification

Simile

A comparison of two things using the

words like or as.
Leo is as hungry as a wolf
Vivi smells like a rose
Sebastian looks like a total fox today.
Robert is as smooth as chocolate syrup

Metaphor

A comparison of two unlike things without

using the words like or as.
Coach Thompson is a real bear if we dont
wear our uniforms.
My sister is such a witch.
You are my sunshine.
My teacher is a dragon.
Max is a pig when he eats.

Personification
A type of metaphor in which non-human
things or ideas possess human qualities or
actions.
The wind whispered her name.
The jacket shrieked enemy.
Love is blind
The candle flame danced in the dark
New York, the city that never sleeps.

Sound Devices
The purpose of these poetic devices is to
create a rhythm or set the tone in the poem.
Alliteration
Assonance
Onomatopoeia
Rhyme true rhyme, internal rhyme, near rhyme,
eye rhyme

Alliteration
The repetition of a consonant sound at the
beginning of neighboring words.
The dark dance of death whisked her away
Like a lucky char, he looks on
Go gather the green leaves from the grass
Carries cat clawed her couch

Assonance
The repetition of vowel sounds (within
stressed syllables) of neighboring words.
Talking and walking, hours on end.
Repetition of the ah sound

A turtle in the fertile soil.

Repetition of the er sound

Hear the lark and harken to the barking of the

dark fox gone to ground

Onomatopoeia
Words which imitate the sound to which
they are referring.
The eagle whizzed past the buzzing bees
Plop, plop, fizz, fizz. Oh! What a relief it is.
Words such as: splash, squirt, drip, drizzle,
growl, clap, bang, clatter, click and many,
many more.

Rhyme
Words which end with the same sounds,
usually at the ends of lines.
You think youre just so cool, /but
youre acting like a fool.
When he holds me tight,/ I know its
going to be alright.

Internal Rhyme,
Near Rhyme
An internal rhyme is a rhyme within a line.
Bright night, a full moon above.
We will stay today and then we must go away.
Its a play day today and were feeling good.

Near Rhyme is a slight or inaccurate repetition

of sounds.
On top of the hill, /the moon is full
Give this to the man, /hell know what I mean

Eye Rhyme
Words that look like they rhyme (similar
spelling), but do not actually rhyme. Also
called a sight rhyme
Listen to the water flow, from top I dont see how.
When the game is over, a true champion well
discover
What would I have to prove, to show you how I
love.

Other Poetic Devices

Hyperbole
An obvious and deliberate exaggeration to
emphasize something or for humorous
purposes
I love you more than life itself
He could eat a horse
The workload at school is killing me

Anaphora/Epistrophe
Anaphora
The deliberate repetition of words at the BEGINNING of a
clause
Five years have passed; five summers, with the length of five long
winters!
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of
wisdom, it was the age of foolishness

Epistrophe
The deliberate repetition of words at the END of a clause
The big sycamore by the creek was gone. The willow tangle was
gone. The little enclave of untrodden bluegrass was gone. The
clump of dogwood on the little rise across the creeknow that,
too, was gone

Allusion
Reference to another person, place, event,
literary work, etc.
In order to understand allusions, one must be
familiar with well-known works of literature, art,
music etc.
Allusions are NOT references to
someone/something only a small group of people
know
Common sources of allusion are the Bible,
Shakespeare, Greek/Roman Mythology