Elements of Poetry

1
Elements of Poetry

• Figurative Language

2
Examples of Figurative Language

• Alliteration
• Assonance
• Consonance
• Epanaphora
• Hyperbole
• Imagery

• Onomatopoeia
• Oxymoron
• Personification
• Simile
• Synecdoche

3
Alliteration

• Alliteration is the repetition of initial
  consonant sounds in words.
• Example She sells sea shells by the seashore.

4
Assonance

• Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds
  followed by similar consonant sounds.
• Example Once upon a midnight dreary, while I
  pondered, weak and weary
• - The Raven by
  Edgar Allen Poe

5
Consonance

• Consonance is the repetition of the same or
  similar consonant sounds.
• Example tick tock or sing song.

6
Epanaphora

• Epanaphora is repetition for emphasis.
• Example I have a dream
• - Martin Luther
  King Jr.

7
Hyperbole

• Hyperbole is an exaggeration or overstatement for
  effect.
• Example I had so much homework, I needed a
  pickup truck to carry all my books home.

8
Imagery

• Imagery is the descriptive language used in
  literature to create word pictures for the
  reader.
• Note These images are created by details of
  sight, sound, taste, touch, smell, or movement.

9
Onomatopoeia

• Onomatopoeia is the use of words that imitate
  sounds.
• Examples whirr, thud, sizzle, hiss, bang, boom.

10
Oxymoron

• Oxymoron is a figure of speech that combines
  opposite or contradictory terms.
• Examples Sweet Sorrow, Deafening Silence, and
  Jumbo Shrimp

11
Personification

• Personification is a type of figurative language
  in which a nonhuman subject is given human
  characteristics.
• Example The leaves danced in the wind.

12
Simile

• Simile is a figure of speech in which like or as
  is used to make a comparison between two unlike
  ideas.
• Example Its as easy as pie. He is as happy as
  a clam.

13
Synecdoche

• Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part
  represents the whole.
• Example Will you please lend a hand?