Poetic Devices

Device Definition

Alliteration The repetition of the same sound or letter at

the beginning of each or most of the words in
a sentence

Onomatopoeia The formation or use of words that sound like

their meanings

Repetition The purposeful re­use of words and phrases

for an effect.

Simile A figure of speech involving the comparison of

one thing with another thing of a different kind
using “like” or “as.”

Metaphor A direct comparison between two different

things, stating that one is the other or does
the action of the other.

Personification Attributing human characteristics to an

inanimate object, animal, or abstract idea.

Hyperbole An outrageous exaggeration used for effect.

Allusion A brief reference to some person, historical

event, work of art, or Biblical or mythological
situation or character

Euphemism An understatement, used to lessen the effect

of a statement; substituting something
innocuous for something that might be
offensive or hurtful.

Irony A contradictory statement or situation to

reveal a reality different from what appears to
be true.
Device My Own Examples Other Examples
 Poetic Devices­ Poem 1
Sketch
By Carl Sandburg

The shadows of the ships

Rock on the crest
In the low blue lustre
Of the tardy and the soft enrolling tide.

A long brown bar at the dip of the sky

Puts an arm of sand in the span of salt.

The lucid and endless wrinkles

Draw in, lapse and withdraw.
Wavelets crumble and white spent bubbles
Wash on the floor of the beach.

Rocking on the crest

In the low blue lustre
Are the shadows of the ships.

Review Questions
Directions: Respond to these questions to the best of your ability.� Answer the questions
completely.� If you need more space, use the back or a separate sheet.

1.� Identify an example of personification: explain what is being personified how.

2.� Identify an example of hyperbole: explain how it is exaggerated.

3.� Identify an example of metaphor: explain which two things are being compared.

4.� Find two separate examples of alliteration.� List the alliterative words.

5.� Where is repetition used in this poem?� Why do you think that it is used this way?

6.� What action is described in the third stanza of the poem?

7.� How is imagery used in this poem?� What is described?

8.� What is the mood of this poem?� How does it make you feel?
Poetic Devices Poem
Sleep
By Annie Matheson
SOFT silence of the summer night!
Alive with wistful murmurings,
Enfold me in thy quiet might:
Shake o’er my head thy slumbrous wings,
So cool and light:
Let me forget all earthly things
In sleep to­night!
Tired roses, passionately sweet,
Are leaning on their cool green leaves,
The mignonette1 about my feet
A maze of tangled fragrance weaves,
Where dewdrops meet:
Kind sleep the weary world bereaves
Of noise and heat.
White lilies, pure as falling snow,
And redolent2 of tenderness,
Are gently swaying to and fro,
Lulled by the breath of evening less
Than by the low
Music of sleepy winds, that bless
The buds that grow.
The air is like a mothers hand
Laid softly on a throbbing brow,
And o’er the darksome, dewy land
The peace of heaven is stealing now,
While, hand in hand,
Young angels tell the flowers how
Their lives are planned.
From yon deep sky the quiet stars
Look down with steadfast eloquence,
And God the prison­door unbars
That held the mute worlds inmost
sense
From all the wars
Of days loud hurry and turbulence;
And nothing now the silence mars
Of love intense.
1. A plant with spikes of small fragrant
flowers
2. Strongly reminiscent or suggestive of
something
Questions
Directions: Respond to these questions to the best of your ability.� Answer the questions
completely.� If you need more space, use the back or a separate sheet.

1.� Identify three examples of personification: explain each example.

2.� Identify two examples of simile: explain which two things are being compared in each
simile.

3.� Identify two examples of metaphor: explain which two things are being compared.

4.� What is the mood of this poem?� How does this poem make you feel?� Refer to text in
your response.

5.� What is the subject of this poem? What is it about? Explain your response.

6.� What is the tone of this poem?� How does the speaker treat the subject of the poem?�
Refer to text.
Sketch Answers

1.� Identify an example of personification: explain what is being personified how.

The tide is described as being "tardy"
The sand is described as having an "arm"
Some students might believe that the wrinkles are an example of personification. They are not
necessarily wrong.

2.� Identify an example of hyperbole: explain how it is exaggerated.

The waves, implicitly compared to "wrinkles," are described as endless. This is an exaggeration.

3.� Identify an example of metaphor: explain which two things are being compared.
The ocean is implicitly compared to a "span of salt."
The waves are compared to wrinkles.
The waves are compared to something that crumbles.

4.� Find two separate examples of alliteration.� List the alliterative words.
Shadows, ships
Low, lustre
Brown, bar
Sand, span, salt
Wrinkles, withdraw, wavelets, white, wash

5.� Where is repetition used in this poem?� Why do you think that it is used this way?
These lines are repeated in a slightly varied order:
The shadows of the ships
Rock on the crest
In the low blue lustre
It may represent the recurring sounds of the tide, or a reflection in the water.

6.� What action is described in the third stanza of the poem?

This stanza describes the tide rolling in and out.

7.� How is imagery used in this poem?� What is described?

Visual imagery is used throughout the poem. The speaker describes boats, tides, and a sand
bar.

8.� What is the mood of this poem?� How does it make you feel?
Possible answers include calm, peaceful, tranquil
Sleep Answers

1.� Identify three examples of personification: explain each example.

There's a lot of personification in this poem, so I'm not going to explain each example.
silence of the summer night! / Alive with wistful murmurings
Enfold me in thy quiet might:
Tired roses
Kind sleep
the weary world bereaves
Lulled by the breath of evening
The peace of heaven is stealing now
the quiet stars / Look down with steadfast eloquence,
held the mute world’s inmost sense

2.� Identify two examples of simile: explain which two things are being compared in each
simile.
White lilies, pure as falling snow: The purity of lilies is compare to falling snow using the word
"as." and The air is like a mother’s hand / Laid softly on a throbbing brow: air is compared to a
mother's hand using "like."

3.� Identify two examples of metaphor: explain which two things are being compared.
Shake o’er my head thy slumb’rous wings: Nightfall is compared to something that flies.
Lulled by the breath of evening: The night air is compared to breath without using the word "like"
or "as." the low / Music of sleepy winds: winds is compared to music without using "like" or "as."
the prison­door unbars: implicitly compares waking consciousness to a closed prison­door.

4.� What is the mood of this poem?� How does this poem make you feel?� Refer to text in
your response.
The mood of this poem is calm, peaceful, relaxed, etc. Students may cite any number of lines to
demonstrate.

5.� What is the subject of this poem? What is it about? Explain your response.
This poem describes how summer night descends over the land.

6.� What is the tone of this poem?� How does the speaker treat the subject of the poem?�
Refer to text.
The speaker is reverent of the beauty of nature and speaks wonderously of the natural world.