Elements of Poetry: Sound Devices

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Elements of Poetry Sound Devices
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Alliteration
The repetition of initial consonant sounds, in
two or more neighboring words or syllables.
The wild and wooly walrus waits and wonders when
we will walk by. Slowly, silently, now the
moon Walks the night in her silver shoon This
way, and that, she peers, and sees Silver fruit
upon silver trees -- from Silver by Walter de la
Mare How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a
woodchuck could chuck wood? (almost ALL tongue
twisters!)
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Assonance
This one is usually NOT on the CST Test, but why
not know it?!
A repetition of vowel sounds within words or
syllables.
Fleet feet sweep by sleeping geese. Free and
easy. Make the grade. The stony walls enclosed
the holy space.
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Repetition

• Words or phrases repeated in writings to give
  emphasis, rhythm, and/or a sense of urgency.
• Example from Edgar Allen Poes The Bells
• To the swinging and the ringing
• of the bells, bells, bells
• Of the bells, bells, bells, bells
• Bells, bells, bells
• To the rhyming and the chiming of
  the bells!

Think of all the songs you know where words and
lines are repeated often a lot!
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Rhythm and Meter

• Rhythm is the sound pattern created by stressed
  and unstressed syllables.
• The pattern can be regular or random.
• Meter is the regular patterns of stresses found
  in many poems and songs..
• Rhythm is often combined with rhyme,
  alliteration, and other poetic devices to add a
  musical quality to the writing.

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Rhythm and Meter continued

• Example
• I think that I shall never see a poem lovely
  as a tree.
• The purple words/syllables are stressed,
  and they have a regular pattern, so this poetic
  line has meter.

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Rhyme

• The repetition of end sounds in words
• End rhymes appear at the end of two or more lines
  of poetry.
• Internal rhymes appear within a single line of
  poetry.

Ring around the rosies, A pocket full of posies,
Abednego was meek and mild he softly spoke, he
sweetly smiled. He never called his playmates
names, and he was good in running games
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Rhyme Scheme

• The pattern of end rhymes (of lines) in a poem.
• Letters are used to identify a poems rhyme
  scheme (a.k.a rhyme pattern).
• The letter a is placed after the first line and
  all lines that rhyme with the first line.
• The letter b identifies the next line ending with
  a new sound, and all lines that rhyme with it.
• Letters continue to be assigned in sequence to
  lines containing new ending sounds.

a.k.a also known as
This may seem confusing, but it isnt. Really!
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Rhyme Scheme continued

• Examples
• Twinkle, twinkle little star a
• How I wonder what you are. a
• Up above the earth so high, b
• Like a diamond in the sky. b
• Baa, baa, black sheep a
• Have you any wool? b
• Yes sir, yes sir, c
• Three bags full. b

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Rhyme Scheme continued

• What is the rhyme scheme of this stanza?
• Whose woods these are I think I know.
• His house is in the village though
• He will not see me stopping here
• To watch his woods fill up with snow.

From Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by
Robert Frost
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Did you get it right? aaba

• Whose woods these are I think I know. a
• His house is in the village though a
• He will not see me stopping here b
• To watch his woods fill up with snow. a

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and...
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Onomatopoeia
Review...
Onomatopoeia is also considered a poetic sound
device.
Words that sound like their meaning --- the
sound they describe.
buzz hiss roar meow woof rumble howl snap
zip zap blip whack crack crash flutter
flap squeak whirr.. pow plop crunch splash
jingle rattle clickety-clack bam!