New Vocabulary: Poetic Devices

Vocabulary: Poetic Device 2-9-09 - 2-19-09

Note: The test will be next Thursday, February 19th.

alliteration 1. A technique repeating the same beginning sounds over and over.
2. Repetition of the same or very similar consonant sounds in words that are close together in a poem. (Ex: The dark and dreary days were depressing.)

hyperbole - An exaggeration used as a figure of speech.
(Ex: The Green Bay packers haven't won the Super Bowl in a million years.)

imagery - Words that create a picture in your mind. It helps you see, hear, feel, smell, or taste what someone is writing about.

metaphor - The comparison of two unlike things in which no words of comparison (such as like or as) are used. (Ex: Socks are hats for your feet.)

mood 1. The tone of a poem reflecting the author's attitudes, feelings, and perspective.
2. The feeling(happy, sad, angry)created by a piece of writing.

onomatopoeia - Words/sounds that imitate the word it's describing. (Ex: drip, drop, plip, plop, buzz, zoom)

oxymoron - 1. two contradictory words come together for a special effect
2. Words of the opposite meaning are used to describe the same thing. (Ex: bitter sweet victory, thunderous silence, jumbo shrimp)

personification - Using human qualities to describe something that is not human.
(Ex: The rain stopped and the lake said good bye.)

poetry - A type of writing in which language, images, sound, and rhythm are combined to create an emotional effect.

point-of-view - 1. An author's attitude, viewpoint, or a way of looking at or thinking about something.
2. The perspective or vantage point from which a story or poem is told. (first person, third person, omniscient)

repetition - The repeated use of the same word or word pattern.

rhyme - Repetition of similar or identical sounds.

simile - a way of describing something by comparing it to something else using the words "like" or "as". (Ex: Her eyes sparkled like diamonds.)

stanza 1. lines of poetry arranged in a fixed pattern.
2. a part that a poem is divided into (similar to a paragraph in a story)

theme - The central idea/message expressed in a story or poem.