Poetic Devices - Definitions

Hyperbole : d- an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally
ex. I just walked a thousand miles.

Satire : d- a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule
ex. Family Guy uses satire to create humor, and so do many other shows like The Onion.

Alliteration : d- the commencement of two or more stressed syllables of a word group either with the same consonant sound or sound group
ex. apt alliteration's artful aid

Onomatopoeia : d- the formation of a word, as cuckoo or boom, by imitation of a sound made by or associated with its referent
ex. The cow went mooo.

Rhythm : d- movement or procedure with uniform or patterned recurrence of a beat, accent, or the like
ex. This song has a good rhythm.

Rhyme : d- verse or poetry having correspondence in the terminal sounds of the lines
ex. I like to rhyme, I do it all the time; tomorrow I'm turning 9.

Oxymoron : d- a figure of speech by which a locution produces an incongruous, seemingly self-contradictory effect
ex. Jumbo Shrimp Dark Sunshine Summer Night

Metaphor : d- a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance
ex. Juliet is the Sun She ran like the wind

Malapropism : d- an act or habit of misusing words ridiculously, esp. by the confusion of words that are similar in sound
ex. What a terrible cat's after me!

Analogy : d- a similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based
ex. the analogy between the heart and a pump

Euphemism : d- the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh, or blunt
ex. To pass away vs. to die

Repetition : d- Repetition of a sound, syllable, word, phrase, line, stanza, or metrical pattern
ex. Because I do not hope to turn again
Because I do not hope
Because I do not hope to turn....


Allusion : d- a passing or casual reference; an incidental mention of something, either directly or by implication

ex. I am no Prince Hamlet.

Personification : d- the attribution of a personal nature or character to inanimate objects or abstract notions
ex. The trees nodded in agreement.

Allegory : d-a figurative mode of representation conveying a meaning other than the literal

ex. Aesop – Fables Plato – The Republic (Plato's allegory of the cave)