POETIC DEVICES
Literary devices in poetry refer to specific techniques that
poets use to convey their message, add meaning, and evoke emotions. Some of the
most common literary devices used in poetry include:
Rhyme: The
repetition of similar or identical sounds at the end of two or more words in a
line of poetry.
Alliteration:
Repetition of the same initial sound in successive words
Assonance:
Repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words
Repetition: The
repetition of a word or phrase for emphasis or to create a sense of unity in a
poem.
Imagery: The use
of descriptive language to create vivid mental images in the reader’s mind.
Personification:
Giving human qualities to non-human objects
Simile: A
comparison of two unlike things using the words “like” or “as.”
Metaphor: A
comparison between two, unlike things to suggest a similarity without using the
words “like” or “as.”
Onomatopoeia:
Words that imitate sounds
Hyperbole:
Extreme exaggeration
Irony: The use of
words to express something different from and often opposite to their literal
meaning
Symbolism: The
use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.
These are just a few examples of the many literary devices
that can be found in poetry.
The Road Not Taken - Literary Devices
1. Rhyme Scheme: abaab
2. Symbolism: two roads that represent two or more choices
in our life
3. Anaphora: ‘and’ repeated at the beginning of lines 2, 3
and 4
4. Alliteration: Wanted Wear ‘w’ sound is repeating
‘first for’ – ‘f’ sound is
repeating
‘though, that’- ‘th’ sound is
repeating
5. Repetition: ‘Ages’ is repeated. ‘Two roads diverged in a
wood’- this sentence is repeated in stanzas 1 and 4.
Wind – Poetic Devices
Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase
is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. In
the poem, Wind is a metaphor as it symbolizes challenges that humans face in
their lives.
Personification: It is the attribution of human
characteristics to animals and non-living things. In the poem, the poet calls
Wind by the pronoun “He” which is usually used for humans. He also calls wind
as Wind God.
Repetition: it is the repetition of certain words or phrases
for poetic effect. In the poem, “crumbling” has been repeated several times.
Alliteration: It is the occurrence of the same letter or
sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. e.g. “crumbling
houses, crumbling doors, crumbling rafters, crumbling wood, crumbling bodies,
crumbling lives, crumbling hearts”, “the wind god winnows”, and “He won’t do what
you tell him.”
Enjambment: It is the continuation of a sentence without a
pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza. e.g. “Frail crumbling
houses, crumbling doors, crumbling rafters, crumbling wood, crumbling bodies,
crumbling lives, crumbling hearts”.
Symbolism: It is the use of symbols to represent ideas or
qualities. e.g. wind symbolises challenges and problems, weak fires symbolise
people with weak will power and strong fires symbolise people with strong will
power and firm determination.
Rain on the Rood – Poetic Devices
Alliteration: It is the occurrence of the same letter or
sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. e.g. “lie
listening”, “starry spheres”, “humid hover”, “press pillow”, “darling dreamers”
“rain roof” etc.
Personification: It is the attribution of human
characteristics to non-human things. In the poem, melancholy darkness weeps in
rainy tears. Melancholy and tears are specific to humans but are attributed to
the darkness. Again, in stanza 2, thousand recollections weave air-threads. The
weaving is also a characteristic feature of humans but attributed to dreams.
Onomatopoeia: It is the formation of a word from a sound
associated with what is named. e.g. patter, tinkle.
Metaphor: It is a figure of speech that is used to make a
comparison between two things that aren’t alike but do have something in
common. e.g. shadows refer to clouds.
Transferred Epithet: When an adjective usually used to
describe one thing is transferred to another. e.g. “melancholy darkness”,
“dreamy fancies”, “darling dreamers”.
The Lake Isle of Innisfree – Poetic Devices
Metaphor: A metaphor shows direct comparison between two
things which the use of as or like. e.g. “veils of the morning “, “deep heart’s
core”. Here night is referred to as veils of morning. Similarly poet’s desires
are referred to as deep heart’s core.
Alliteration: It is the occurrence of the same letter or sound
at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. e.g. “a hive for the
honey-bee”, “live alone in the bee-loud glade”, “a glimmer, and noon a purple
glow”, “lake water lapping with low sounds”.
Anaphora: It is the repetition of a word or expression at
the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses. e.g. “I
will”, “go”.
Personification: It is the attribution of a personal nature
or human characteristics to something non-human. e.g. “cricket sings”. Singing
is the characteristic of humans and has been attributed to cricket (an insect).
Images: Images are representation of something which draw on
the five senses. e.g. Visual Images (midnight’s all a glimmer, noon a purple
glow), Auditory Images (the bee-loud glade, the cricket sings, I hear lake
water lapping with low sounds by the shore) etc.
…………..
The Legend of the Northland – Poetic Devices
1. Rhyme Scheme: abcb
2. Alliteration: is the repetition of a consonant sound in
two or more close words.
Stanza 1 – that, they, them through – ‘th’ sound is
repeating
Stanza 2 – they, the – ‘th’ sound is repeating
look, like – ‘l’ sound is repeating
funny, furry – ‘f’ sound is repeating
Stanza 3 – they, them- ‘th’ sound is repeating
yet, you – ‘‘y sound is repeating’
learn, lesson – ‘l’ sound is repeating
tell, tale, to – ‘t’ sound is repeating
Stanza 5 – woman, was – ‘w’ sound is repeating
Them, the, hearth – ‘th’ sound is repeating
Stanza 6 – faint, fasting – ‘f’ sound is repeating
Stanza 8 – still, smaller – ‘s’ sound is repeating
Stanza 9 – took, tiny -‘t’ sound is repeating
Stanza 10 – seem, small – ‘s’ sound is repeating
Stanza 13 – build, birds – ‘b’ sound is repeating
by, boring, boring – ‘b’ sound is repeating
3. Repetition: any word or sentence is repeated to lay
emphasis on it.
Stanza 1 – ‘away’ word is repeated
Stanza 9 – ‘rolled’ word is repeated
Stanza 13, 16 – ‘boring’ word is repeated
4. Enjambment:
running lines of poetry from one to the next without using any kind of
punctuation to indicate a stop
Stanza 1 – line 3 and 4
Stanza 2 – Line 1 and 2; line 3 and 4
Stanza 3 – Line 3 and 4
Stanza 4 – Line 1 and 2; 3 and 4
Stanza 10 – Line 1, 2 and 3
Stanza 11 – Line 1 and 2
5. Simile: Comparison using ‘as’ or ‘like’
Stanza 2 – ‘the children look like bear’s cubs’. Children
compared to bear’s cubs
Stanza 9 – ‘baked it thin as a wafer’. Cake is compared to a
wafer.
Stanza 15 – ‘clothes were burned black as a coal’. The
colour of the burned clothes is compared to that of coal.
No Men are Foreign - Poetic devices
Metaphor: It is a poetic device which is used to make a
comparison between two things that aren’t alike but do have something in
common. e.g. in the poem the poet compares the war with winter (stanza 2) and
hell (stanza 5) because of its dread effects on humanity. Another example of metaphor
in the poem is when the poet calls people living in foreign lands as brothers.
Alliteration: It is the occurrence of the same letter or
sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. e.g. “a single
body breathes”, “in which we all shall lie”, “war’s long winter”, “In every
land is common life”, “whenever we are told”.
Polysyndeton: It is a literary technique in which
conjunctions (e.g. and, but, or) are used repeatedly in quick succession. e.g.
“aware of sun and air and water”.
Enjambment: It is the continuation of a sentence without a
pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza. e.g. the last line of
Stanza 4 continues to stanza 5.
The Duck and The Kangaroo – Poetic Devices
Alliteration: It is the use of the same sound at the beginning
of words that are close together. e.g. “Good gracious! how you hop!”, “I would
sit quite still, and say nothing”, “This requires some little reflection”, “But
to balance”, “dear duck”.
Repetition: It is the repetition of words or phrases in the
poem for poetic effect e.g. “Said the Duck to the Kangaroo“.
Enjambment: It is the continuation of a sentence or clause
across a line break. e.g.
“My life is a bore in this nasty pond,
And I long to go out in the world beyond!
I wish I could hop like you!’
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.”
This sentence continues to four lines.
On Killing A Tree – Poetic Devices
Metaphor: It is a literary device which is used to make a
comparison between two things that aren’t alike but do have something in
common. e.g. “Leprous hide” used to describe the bark of tree, “Bleeding bark”
used to describe the cut stem of the plant.
Alliteration: It is the use of the same sound at the
beginning of words that are close together. e.g. “takes much time to kill a
tree”, “bleeding bark”, “white and wet”.
Personification: It is the attribution of human
characteristics to animals, plants and other non-human things. e.g. the tree
has been personified here because we do not use the word “kill” for cutting a
tree, “bleeding bark” – the word bleeding is used for humans.
Repetition: It involves the repetition of a word or
phrase(s) for poetic effect. e.g. “pulled out”.
Enjambment: It is the continuation of a sentence or clause
across a line break. e.g. “It takes much time to kill a tree, Not a simple jab
of the knife Will do it”.
The Snake Trying - Literary devices
Rhyme scheme - There is no rhyming scheme in ‘The Snake
Trying.’ The poem is written in free verse.
Alliteration - The poem has a repetition of a consonant
sound in 2 or more consecutive words in one sentence. For example, in ‘he is
harmless even to children’ – ‘h’.
Transferred epithet - In the poem, the adjective is used
with a noun which refers to the noun other than the one with which it is used.
For example, in the phrase ‘Pursuing stick,’ pursuing here means the person who
is holding the stick and not the stick itself.
Imagery - The author has used words or phrases in the poem
that appeals to the reader’s senses to create a “mental image” for the reader.
For example, this paragraph in the poem creates visual imagery.
A Slumber did My Spirits Seal – Poetic Devices
1. Rhyme scheme – abab cdcd
2. Alliteration – The repetition of a consonant sound at the
start of two or more consecutive words is called alliteration. The instances of
alliteration are as follows –
‘Spirit sealed’, ‘rolled round’
“She seemed a thing that could not feel
The touch of earthly years.”
“Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course
With rocks and stones and trees.”
