Literary Devices and Techniques to Craft Poetic Forms

• alliteration (noun)


  the repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds in two or more adjacent words
• allusion (noun)


  a direct or indirect reference to something which is presumably commonly known
• onomatopoeia (noun)


  a sound device where the natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words
• Common Poetic Devices and Techniques

  1. Alliteration
  2. Allusion
  3. Apostrophe
  4. Assonance
  5. Hyperbole
  6. Irony
  7. Metaphor
  8. Metonymy
  9. Onomatopoeia
  10. Personification
• Literary Devices and Techniques


  were used by poets to creatively express their message using the most appropriate and effective words
• Alliteration


  is the repetition of sounds, especially initial consonant sounds in two or more adjacent words.
• Allusion


  refers directly or indirectly to something which is assumed to be known by everyone, such as an event, book, myth, place, or work of art.
• Apostrophe


  is directly addressing an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstract idea.
• Assonance


  is the repetition of vowel sounds to create internal rhyming within phrases or sentences.
• Hyperbole


  Hyperbole is a figure of speech that uses deliberate exaggeration of an event or action.
• Irony


  the contrast between what is stated explicitly and what is really meant.
• Types of irony

  1. Verbal Irony
  2. Situational Irony
• Verbal irony


  literally states the opposite of the speaker's true meaning.
• Types of Verbal Irony

  1. Sarcasm
  2. Overstatement/Hyperbole
  3. Understatement
• Sarcasm


  involves ironic, bitter, and sharp language that is meant to hurt or ridicule someone or something.
• Understatement


  is the opposite of overstatement; it is the ironic minimalizing of fact, presenting something as less significant than it is.
• Situational irony


  refers to events that turn out the opposite of what was expected
• Achilles' heel


  refers to a certain weakness that a person may have. In Greek mythology, Achilles, the warrior, was invulnerable, except for his heel.
• Goliath


  used to refer to a large person. Goliath is a biblical character. He is a giant who is slain by David.
• Prodigal Son


  a term used for a son who disappoints his father. It is in reference to the bible.
• Scrooge


  used to refer to a bitter or greedy person. The character is from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
• Metaphor


  is a direct comparison of seemingly unlike things.
• Metonymy

  • is a device wherein the name of one object is substituted for that of another closely associated with it.
  • One type is synecdoche wherein a part represents the whole.
• Onomatopoeia


  is a sound device where the natural sounds are imitated in the sounds of words (e.g., buzz, hiss).
• Personification


  is used when the author presents or describes concepts, animals, or inanimate objects by giving them human attributes or emotions.