Poetry Notes

1. Poetry Notes There are many literary devices commonly used to enrich the meaning and sound of poetry.

2. These literary devices enrich meaning by giving the reader several levels of connection: • simile: a comparison of two unlike things which uses “like” or “as.” Example: The compliment lifted her like invisible wings. • metaphor: a comparison of two unlike things which does not use “like” or “as.” Example: Shadows stalked the night, a black cat on all fours.

3. personification: attributing human feelings, thoughts, or actions to non-human things. Example: Slowly, silently, now the moon walks the night. • symbol: a person, a place or a thing that has meaning in itself, but that stands for something else as well. Example: A flame burned between Romeo and Juliette as they sat around the fire.

4. These literary devices enrich sound by giving poetry a pleasing depth beyond the literal meaning of the words. • onomatopoeia: The use of words whose sounds imitate or suggest their meaning. Example: buzz, rustle, boom, tweet. • alliteration: The repetition of consonant sounds in words that are close together. Example: The sun was shining on the sea.

5. assonance: The repetition of vowel sounds in words that are close together. Example: Two mules went through the food. • rhyme: The repetition of accented vowel sounds and all sounds following them in words that are close together in a poem. Example: Do you see what I mean? There is a hole in the screen internal rhyme: rhyme within lines. end rhyme: rhyme at the ends of lines.

6. Stanza: Paragraph in a poem Rhythm: The beat of poem. The patter on stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem.