Poetic Device Toolbox

Rhyme

(also called “end-rhyme”) -- a rhyme that occurs in the last syllables of verses in a poem

Example:

Whose woods these are I think I know,His house is in the village, though;He will not see me stopping hereTo watch his woods fill up with snow.

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” By Robert Frost

OnomatopoeiaA word that imitates the sound it represents.

Example:

It's a jazz affair, drum crashes and cornet razzes.

The trombone pony neighs and the tuba jackass snorts. The banjo tickles and titters too awful.

From “Honky Tonk in Cleveland, Ohio” by Carl Sandberg

Alliteration

The repetition of sounds (usually consonants) at the beginning of words

Examples: “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers” “Summer is a soft and soulful season.”

Sibilancea special form of alliteration using the softer consonants that create hissing or buzzing sounds:

(j, s, sh, th, ch, z, f, x)

Example:

"...Streams will swelland flow out,

raging rivers,shower of thousand fireswill patter and come togetherin a smooth and intense melody..." --Catherine Galfetti, springtime melody.

Say it out loud and listen for the “hissing” sounds in the poem. That’s Sibilance.

AssonanceThe repeating sound of vowels in the middle of the

words.

Example:Upon an island hard to reach, The East Beast sits upon his beach. Upon the west beach sits the West Beast. Each beach beast thinks he’s the best beast

ConsonanceThe repetition of the middle or ending consonants in words

Example:

He clasps the crag with crooked hands

Close to the sun in lonely lands

Ringed with the azure world he stands.

“The Eagle” by Tennyson

Poetic Device Toolbox

Rhyme Scheme

A rhyme scheme is a regular pattern of rhyme, one that is consistent throughout the extent of the poem.

So the RHYME SCHEME of this poem is A-B-A-B

There once was a big brown cat aThat liked to eat a lot of mice. bHe got all round and fat a Because they tasted so nice. b

Closed Verse

follows a specific rhythmic pattern

A flea and a fly in a flueWere caught, so what could they do?Said the fly, "Let us flee.""Let us fly," said the flea.So they flew through a flaw in the flue.

Say the poem aloud and see if you can feel the specific rhythm of this poem. It’s a special type of poem called a “Limerick”

Open VerseDoes not follow any identified rhythmic pattern

or structure. Usually unrhymed.

A noiseless patient spider, I marked where on a little promontory it stood isolated, Marked how to explore the vacant vast surrounding, It launched forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.

From “A Noiseless Patient Spider” by Walt Whitman

Poetic Device Toolbox

SimileA simile is a figure of speech comparing two things using the

words “like” or “as.” Examples:

“The sun is round as a golden ball”

“The river is like a snake.”

Metaphor

A metaphor is a figure of speech comparing two things but without using the words “like or “as.”

Examples: “The sun is a golden ball”

“The river is a snake.”

HyperboleHyperbole is saying more than is true in order to

make a point (an exaggeration).

Examples: “The dog’s bark was so loud it could be heard

from coast to coast”

“He worked his fingers to the bone.”

Personification

Personification gives human qualities to things that are not human.

Example: “The trees danced in the breeze”

“The diary told its secrets.”