Poetic Devices

 

This page explores some of the techniques that are central to poetry, including slam poetry.The below prezi will take your through the concept of “prosody”, or “the music of speech”. It provides an overview of rhyme, alliteration, assonance and onomatopoeia – the building blocks of poetic structure.

The rest of this page provides explanations and examples of these and other techniques, including figurative language and aural imagery, that will add depth and colour to your poetry. Use the resources at the bottom of the page to help you apply the ideas and techniques discussed here.

 

 

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

Figurative language refers to various forms of imagery that are based around comparisons. This includes various techniques which are commonly used in poetry, including similes, metaphor and personification.

To say “I am literally dying” means that you are in the process of dying. However, we often use the word “dying” in a figurative (non-literal) sense: for example, when someone says “I’m dying of boredom”, they usually mean that they are very, very bored (otherwise it would mean that the boredom is causing them to die).

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Simile

A simile is an indirect comparison between two things which uses the words ‘as’ or ‘like’.

Here is an example from the poem ‘To This day’ by Shane Koyczan:

“he lived like the uphills were mountains

and the downhills were cliffs…”

A simile is used to compare the challenging parts of this person’s life to mountains, emphasising a sense of difficulty and struggle, moreso than other people (hence his “uphills” become “mountains”), and the “downhills” (i.e. times when things are going badly) are dangerous and perilous (hence they become “cliffs).

 

Here is a another, particularly eloquent example of a simile from the poem ‘Upon Westminster Bridge’ by William Wordsworth:

“This City now does, like a garment, wear

The beauty of the morning: silent, bare…”

The phrase “like a garment” tell us that this is a simile, because the word “like” is used to make the comparison. These lines equate the beauty of the scene to a piece of clothing that the city ‘wears’.

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Metaphor

A metaphor is a direct comparison between two things. A metaphor does not use the words ‘as’ or ‘like’, but will instead describe something a ‘being’ the thing to which it is compared.

Here is an example from the poem ‘To This Day’ Shane Koyczan:

“to this day

he is a stick on TNT lit from both ends…”

The person is being directly compared a piece of TNT (i.e. dynomite): something destructive and dangerous. This can be told by the use of the phrase “he is a”. The fact that he is “lit from both ends” emphasises how uncontrollable his life has become: the metaphorical “fuse” has been lit, and we are waiting for it to explode.

 

Here is a another, more extended metaphor from ‘To This Day’:

“every school was a big top circus tent

and the pecking order went

from acrobats to lion tamers

from clowns to carnies

all of these were miles ahead of who we were

we were freaks

lobster claw boys and bearded ladies…”

In this metaphor the school “was” a circus, and all of the people in it become different members of the circus, reflecting the ‘pecking order’ of the school. By presenting the school in this way, the sense of being on ‘show’ and being made fun of is emphasised. What at first appears comical and humorous becomes increasingly sinister, as the comparison makes the suffering of these people clearer and clearer.

 

Here is another example from the poem ‘Upon Westminster Bridge’ by William Wordsworth:

“Dear God! The very house seems asleep;

And all that mighty heart is lying still.”

The ‘heart’ is a reference to the city which is being described in the poem. Of course, a city is not a literal ‘heart’ (i.e. an organ that pumps blood around an animal’s body). However, speaking metaphorically, a city like London can be seen as the ‘heart’ of a county, as it is the capital city and the centre of government.

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Personification

Personification is when an inanimate object (such as a table, house, city, tree, river or the wind) or an abstract idea (such as betrayal, cruelty, courage, friendship or justice) is given human qualities or actions. The author is trying to make the thing seem more like a person by giving it human traits.

Here is a third example from the poem ‘Upon Westminster Bridge’ by William Wordsworth:

“The river glided at his own sweet will.”

The river is made to sound like a person: it is referred to as “he” and has his own “will” (i.e. motivation or determination).

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AURAL IMAGERY

Aural (i.e. sound) imagery is where the language within a piece of writing is deliberately manipulated to create certain sounds. If one of these techniques is used in a piece of writing, then it will usually have been done for a very specific and deliberate reason, with a intended effect on the person reading or reading (or hearing) the text.

While it is useful to be able to pick out the different sound imagery that a writer uses, it is more important to comment upon the impact this technique has on the person reading or hearing this piece of writing.

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Alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of a consonant sound, usually at the beginning of a word, repeated over several words together.

The following examples of alliteration come from Philip Larkin’s poem ‘Naturally the Foundation Will Pay Your Expenses’:

“I pondered pages…”

“Crowds, colourless and careworn…”

“Still act their solmen-sinister…”

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Assonance

Assonance is very similar to alliteration, except that it involves the repetition of a vowel sound. This vowel sound can come from either the beginning of or within a word.

Here is an example from the poem ‘Frog Autumn’ by Sylvia Plath:

“Summer grows old, cold-booded mother…”

The repetition of long, dawn-out “o” sounds creates a sense of slowness, tiredness and lack of energy – the summer is coming to an end, and the winter is coming in like a the drowsiness of sleep.

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Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is where the sound of a word reflects its meaning. For example, words like “bang”, “thud”, “crash” or “click” sound like the noises they describe.

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STRUCTURE

The format of a poem can vary a lot. Some poems follow a very formal set structure, such as sonnets or haiku, or they may not follow any structure at all (these poems are known as ‘free verse’, because they are free to follow any pattern they like).

Many poems will follow some sort of structure in relation to rhythm or rhyme. These terms are explained below.

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Rhyme

A poem does not need to follow a rhyming sequence, although many will. Rhyme can add a musical element to a poem, or draw emphasis to certain words. Rhyme usually occurs between the words a the end of lines in a poem. However, it can also take place within the lines themselves (this is called ‘internal rhymes’).

 

Rhythm

Rhythm refers to the number of beats in each line of a poem. It can be determined through counting the number of syllables in each line.  Rhythm will often be closely tied to the mood or tone of a poem (e.g. fast and happy, or slow and reflective, etc). Like rhyme, rhythm can also lend poetry a musical quality. When you read a poem aloud, you may also notice that the rhythm is used to emphasise certain words. However, it is important to note that not every poem needs to maintain a set rhythm.

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OTHER COMMON POETIC DEVICES

 

Repetition

Repetition is where a word or phrase is repeated, either in quick succession over a sentence or stanza, or throughout the poem as a whole. Repetition can be an effective means of drawing emphasis to an idea or to establish a certain mood in a poem.

 

Hyperbole/Exaggeration

Hyperbole is where exaggeration is used as a rhetorical device, making something seem over-the-top in order to add emphasis. Like repetition, this technique can be particularly useful at drawing attention to an idea or concept or conveying a certain mood.

Examples of hyperbole and exaggeration are fairly common in both common speech and poetry:

  • “waiting an eternity”
  • “bored to death”
  • “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse”
  • “I have a ton of homework”

 

 

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Worksheets

 

Useful Documents

 

External Resources