Poetic Devices

• Denotation: a direct specific meaning as distinct from an implied or associated idea
• Connotation: the suggesting of a meaning by a word apart from the thing it explicitly names or describes
• Figures of speech:

simile: A figure of speech which involves a direct comparison between two unlike things, usually with the words like or as.

metaphor: A figure of speech which involves an implied comparison between two relatively unlike things using a form of be. The comparison is not announced by like or as. Example: The road was a ribbon of moonlight.

personification: Repeated consonant sounds occurring at the beginning of words or within words. Alliteration is used to create melody, establish mood, call attention to important words, and point out similarities and contrasts

apostrophe

hyperbole:An exaggerated statement used to heighten effect. It is not used to mislead the reader, but to emphasize a point

oxymoron

• Imagery: Language that appeals to the senses. Descriptions of people or objects stated in terms of our senses.
• Symbolism: A person, place or object which has a meaning in itself but suggests other meanings as well. Things, characters and actions can be symbols. Anything that suggests a meaning beyond the obvious.
• Irony: Irony is the contrast between what is expected or what appears to be and what actually is.
• Pun: the usually humorous use of a word in such a way as to suggest two or more of its meanings or the meaning of another word similar in sound

• Euphony
• Cacophony
• Alliteration
• Onomatopeia
• Rhyme
• Assonance
• Consonance
• Repetition