Poetic Techniques Worksheet

Mix and Match

Match the technique with its correct definition.

Technique Definition

Rhyme Overstating or exaggerating something.

Imagery A comparison between two things using ‘as’ or ‘like’.

Carrying over a thought or idea without punctuation at the end

Hyperbole
of a line.

Metaphor Giving human qualities to a non-human object or abstract thing.

A sound device that involves repeating a sound at the

Simile beginning of subsequent words, or words that sit near each
other in a line.

Description that creates a clear picture of a person, scene or

Allusion
sense.

Using something concrete or simplistic to represent a feeling or

Symbolism
concept.

Alliteration A comparison that says one thing IS something else.

Personification A reference to a specific person, historical event or text.

A rhythmic and sound device involving repeating similar sounds,

Repetition
usually at the end of a line.

Enjambment Repeating a word or phrase for emphasis.

Poetic Techniques Worksheet

Poetic Devices Poem

Fill in the blanks below with the correct poetic devices from the word bank.

Hyperbole Metaphors Simile Imagery

Allusions Personification Enjambment Symbolism
Rhyme Alliteration Repetition

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Poor poems are often shoved aside when
the author has the hide to not throw in a
rhyme or two
(how dare they try something new?)
The truth is, rhyme is only one way
to express what you want to say…
For instance, when the train puffs and
limps into the station you’re making it
human by personification.
Or perhaps the bus was wheezing like an
old man, or was as slow as a snail using a
simile never fails.
Metaphors take comparison to the next
step, saying you are the sun, or he was my
world. By the intensity of these, feeling is
unfurled.
Allusions associate separate things.
We might allude to the bible by
referencing angels’ wings.
Poetry doesn’t often express itself straight
out.
Symbolism of love like hearts, or blue for
sadness are what it’s all about.
Like rhyme, alliteration is a sound
sensation.
Crunchy consonants close together make
the meaning memorable.
Rhythm also depends on punctuation. It
makes us stop. Or we may pause, at the
end of a clause or line.
But think of the songs and raps you know
That seem to just…go and the intensity
grows.

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It’s enjambment that keeps the flow.
To build emotion, we need to feel like
we’re there. We need to hear it, see it,
smell it, taste it, so choose words carefully
- don’t waste them but spend them like
coins which when combined use imagery
to bring visions and senses to mind.
Our final two devices each add their own
spice.
Perhaps exaggeration is not always nice
(my head exploded, my heart burst) but
hyperbole is worth the hype.
Like a parent giving a lecture, poems like
to be sure we have absorbed their
message.
Did you get that? Are you sure? Let me say
it one more time- just one.
Repetition may not sound fun, but it gets
the job done.

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