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Meenakshi Majumder 2021-22

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___ Unit 6 – Poetry at play_______________________________
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Poetic devices:
Syllables
A syllable is a part of a word that contains a single vowel sound and that is pronounced as a unit.

Rhyme
A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounding words.

 End rhyme - “when a poem has lines ending with words that sound the same.” End rhyme is also called
tail rhyme or terminal rhyme.

 Internal rhyme - occurs in the middle of lines of poetry. It refers to words that rhyme in the middle of the
same line or across multiple lines.

 Half rhyme - Half Rhyme is the term used to refer to words that nearly rhyme-but not quite. They are
sometimes called near-rhyme, lazy rhyme, or slant rhyme.

Alliteration- the repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables.
Example – Killer kangaroos kick Koalas.

Onomatopoeia - is the forming of a word by imitating the sound the word is referring to, as in bang, meaning a
loud, explosive sound. Examples – BOOM, POP, OUCH!

A simile is a figure of speech that compares two different things in an interesting way using the word "like" or
"as." Example – busy as bee sparkle like diamond

A metaphor is a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things. As a literary device,
metaphor creates implicit comparisons without the express use of “like” or “as.”
Example – The sun was a gleaming pearl. My sister’s memory is a camera that
remembers everything we see.

The term “extended metaphor” refers to a comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a
series of sentences in a paragraph.
Example – My handwriting is a spider’s crawl,
It moves with many legs over the page.

Personification – giving human qualities to an object.

Example – The wind howled in the night.

1. Poetic licence is
 A device which allows a writer not to obey some rules of grammar, punctuation or spelling to achieve a
rhetorical effect.
 The freedom an artist or writer has to change details, distort facts, or ignore the usual rules.
Origin of the word: Latin word ‘licentia’, which means "to be permitted."

2. The techniques a poet uses to give a poem:

a. Visual impact - Concrete poetry, or shape poetry, is where the words or lines of a poem actually make a
picture. Word placement, line placement, line breaks -- these all can affect the visual imagery or even the
meaning of the poem.
b. Auditory impact - is used to explain things, ideas and actions using sounds that appeal to our sense of hearing.
It is intended to invoke up sound images in the minds of the readers.

What is a cinquain poem?

A cinquain is a simple, five-lined poem developed by the American poet, Adelaite Crapsey over a hundred years
ago. She was inspired by the simplicity of Japanese haiku. According to traditional cinquain, each line has a
syllable count of 2-4-6-8-2
A more modern form of cinquain poetry focuses on the word count of 1-2-3-4-1 words per line.
 The first line identifies the topic and is usually the noun.
 The second line describes the topic using vivid adjectives.
 The third line shows action using –ing verbs.
 The fourth line is a phrase that describes a feeling or emotion.
 The last line links to the first line with a synonym or term that sums up.
Each line begins with a capital letter. Most lines have no end punctuation.
Origin - French cinquain "bundle of five objects," from cinq "five".

What is a limerick?
a) A limerick is a humorous poem
b) A limerick has five lines.
c) The first, second and fifth lines usually has about seven to ten syllables. The third and fourth lines
usually has five to seven syllables. Hence, lines 1,2,5 are usually longer than the third and fourth lines.
d) The rhyming scheme is AABBA.
Homophones – are words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. Derived from Latin
word homo meaning ‘same’ and phone meaning ‘sound’.
Examples – write and right advice and advise
aloud and allowed desert and dessert
past and passed
Homonyms – are words that look and sound alike but have multiple meanings.
Examples – light bark nails jam pool racket
bolt season novel current hatch