Poetic/Literary Devices aka Figurative Language

Alliteration

repetition of the same sound (vowel or consonant) at the beginning of two or more consecutive or near words

Allusion

a reference to something the author expects the audience to know, either from Pop Culture Religion Literature or History

Assonance

repetition of vowel sounds

Consonance

repetition of the final consonant sounds (at the end and all letters that are not vowels)

Connotation

the suggestion or implication of a word in addition to the literal meaning; society's perception of the word

Denotation

the dictionary definition of a word

Hyperbole

an extreme overstatement or exaggeration to provide emphasis

Understatement

the downplaying of a situation; opposite of hyperbole

Imagery

the use of words or phrases that appeal to the senses

Metaphor

a comparison between two unlike things

Onomatopoeia

the use of words which sound like they mean

Personification

giving inanimate or non-living objects human characteristics

Pun

a humorous play on words either on different senses of the word or different spelling

Oxymoron

two opposing words placed together to create an effect (opposite meaning)

Simile

a comparison between two things using "like" or "as

Symbol

an object or thing that represents something else, particularly an idea

Irony

when one thing is expected, but something completely different occurs or the use of words that mean the opposite of what one really intends

Paradox

a statement that seems to contradict itself

Repetition

repeating the important words, phrases, lines, or stanzas for effect

Rhyme

the similarity of ending sounds between two words

Rhyme Scheme

the sequence in which rhyme occurs; represented with letters

Rhythm

when words in a poem are arranged in such a way that they create a particular pattern or beat

Line

a "sentence" in poetry

Stanza

a group of lines separated from other lines by breaks in the poem; the "paragraphs" of poetry

Meter

the set number of syllables in each line of poetry