Transcript Literary/ Poetic Devices - Campbell County High School

Literary/ Poetic
Devices
Simile
A comparison of two or more unlike things using the
words like or as
“Just like dust we settle in this town.”
Kasey Musgrave, “Merry-Go-Round”
Metaphor
“New York,
concrete jungle where
dreams are made
of…”
Jay Z & Alicia Keys, “Empire
State of Mind”
A comparison between two unlike things in which
one thing is spoken of as if it were another
Words
that
appear to
contradict
one
another
A literary device that
exploits readers’
expectations; irony
occurs when what is
expected turns out
to be quite different
from what actually
happens.
“And that was how he came to look after the doomed
lad who was sacrificed to the village of Umuofia by their
neighbors to avoid war and blood-shed. The ill-fated
lad was called Ikemefuna.”
Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
Dramatic Irony
A form of Irony in which the reader or audience
knows more about the circumstances or future
events in a story than the characters within it.
Verbal Irony
Occurs when a speaker or narrator says one thing
while meaning the opposite
E.A.P, “The Cask of Amontillado”
Montressor
“Drink,” I said, presenting him the
wine.
Fortunato
“I drink,” he said, “to the buried
that repose around us.”
Montressor
“And I to your long life.”
Situational Irony
Occurs when an event contradicts the expectations
of the characters or the reader.
Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart
“As the man who had cleared his throat drew up and raised his
machete, Okonkwo looked away. He heard the blow. The pot fell
and broke in the sand. He heard Ikemefuna cry, “My father, they
have killed me!” as he ran towards him. Dazed with fear,
Okonkwo drew his machete and cut him down. “
Meter:
A pattern of stressed and unstressed
syllables in poetry.
My trunk is far too powerful,
no sooner do I sneeze
than windows crack and shatter
from the impact of the breeze.
Jack Prelutsky, “It’s Hard to Be an Elephant”
Rhyme Scheme
A consistent pattern of rhyme throughout a
poem
Because I could not stop for Death, (a)
He kindly stopped for me; (b)
The carriage held but just ourselves (a)
And Immortality. (b)
We slowly drove, he knew no haste, (c)
And I had put away (c)
My labor, and my leisure too, (d)
For his civility. (b)
Emily Dickinson, “Because I Could Not Stop for Death (712)
Theme
A writer’s central idea or main
message about life
Example Universal Themes/Ideas
•
•
•
•
Experience vs. Youth
The coexistence of good and evil
Coming of Age/ Loss of Innocence
The fall from grace and/or fortune
Allusion
A reference to a well-known person, event, or place
Symbol
Anything that represents itself and also
stands for something else, figuratively
Tone
A writer or speaker’s
attitude toward a
subject
Hyperbole
(Exaggeration)
An exaggeration used to suggest strong
emotion or create comic effect
Personification
A figure of
speech that gives
human qualities
to an animal,
object, or idea
Luck let a gentleman see
Just how nice a dame you can be
I know the way you’ve treated other guys you’ve been with
Luck be a lady with me
Frank Sinatra, “Luck Be a Lady”
Refrain
“Quoth the
raven,
‘Nevermore.’”
A regularly repeated line or group of lines in a poem or song,
usually at the end of a stanza
We let the world
know we were here
with everything we
did. We laid a lot
of memories down.
Like tattoos on this
town.
Jason Aldean, “Tattoos on
this Town”
Alliteration
Repetition of initial consonant sounds in
words that are close together
Imagery
A verbal expression of sensory experience;
descriptive or figurative language used to
create word pictures
Diction
The writer’s choice of words that helps to
convey voice and tone (formal/informal)
Connotation
Associations and
overtones of
meaning that
affect the
meaning of a
word/words
Extended Metaphor
A metaphor extended over several
lines
Words whose
sounds suggest
their meaning
Rhyme
The repetition of sounds at the end of
lines of poetry
T
h
e
m
e
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry
I could not travel both And be one traveler, long
I stood And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth. ~Frost
Central idea or message about life
I wanna go tanning,
I wanna go tanning,
I wanna go tanning.
Anaphora
The repetition of same words (or group of
words) at the beginning of 2 or more
lines
The repetition
of similar
vowel sounds
with
different
consonant
sounds
Assonance
Consonance
The repetition of final consonant sounds
And it took so long just to feel alright,
Remember how to put back the light in my eyes,
I wish I had missed the first time that we kissed,
‘Cause you broke all your promises.