Word or phrase in a poem

Table of Contents

  1. Why are words or phrases repeated in poems?
  2. What is a repetition in a poem?
  3. What are repeating words?
  4. What is a repeated phrase?
  5. What are the 5 examples of repetition?
  6. How do you identify repetition?
  7. What is a good sentence for repetition?
  8. How do you use repetition in a poem?
  9. What is difference between anaphora and repetition?
  10. What literary device is the repetition of a word?
  11. What is a refrain example?
  12. What is anaphora with example?
  13. What is anaphora and metaphor?
  14. What is an anaphora?
  15. What is an example of Anastrophe?
  16. What is an example of Anthimeria?
  17. Why is Anastrophe used?
  18. What is another word for Anastrophe?
  19. What is an Anastrophe in literature?
  20. What is the difference between Anastrophe and inversion?
  21. Why do authors use Antimetabole?
  22. What does Epistrophe mean?
  23. How do you use Hyperbaton?
  24. What does Hyperbaton mean?
  25. What is an example of Hyperbaton?
  26. What does Hyperbaton mean in writing?
  27. What is an example of chiasmus?
  28. Why is Hyperbaton used?
  29. What is an example of Hypophora?

In poetry, repetition is repeating words, phrases, lines, or stanzas. Repetition is used to emphasize a feeling or idea, create rhythm, and/or develop a sense of urgency.

What is a repetition in a poem?

Repetition is a literary device that involves using the same word or phrase over and over again in a piece of writing or speech.

What are repeating words?

Palilalia is defined as the repetition of the speaker’s words or phrases, often for a varying number of repeats. Repeated units are generally whole sections of words and are larger than a syllable, with words being repeated the most often, followed by phrases, and then syllables or sounds.

What is a repeated phrase?

Repeated phrases are groups of two, three, or four identical words used too close together, regardless of whether they have the same meaning. For example: He stood and began pacing the length of the office. Repeating the same phrase began pacing will annoy and bore your reader.

What are the 5 examples of repetition?

Examples of Repetition: Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. “Oh, woeful, oh woeful, woeful, woeful day! “And miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.”

How do you identify repetition?

For repetition to be noticeable, the words or phrases should be repeated within close proximity of each other. Repeating the same words or phrases in a literary work of poetry or prose can bring clarity to an idea and/or make it memorable for the reader.

What is a good sentence for repetition?

Repetition sentence example. Life is too short to spend it with repetition of old dreams that never happened. The repetition of the process brought the same results. Constant repetition makes it easier to learn how to spell a word.

How do you use repetition in a poem?

Repeat the Beginnings of Lines. Probably the easiest way to include repetition in a poem is to repeat the first words of each line through most or all of the poem. Pick a few words that describe the main idea of your poem and use those words over and over again.

What is difference between anaphora and repetition?

As nouns the difference between repetition and anaphora is that repetition is the act or an instance of repeating or being repeated while anaphora is (rhetoric) the repetition of a phrase at the beginning of phrases, sentences, or verses, used for emphasis.

What literary device is the repetition of a word?

anaphora

What is a refrain example?

Even lines that are only repeated once in a poem may be called a refrain, as in the ending of this famous poem by Robert Frost. The woods are lovely, dark and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.

What is anaphora with example?

Anaphora is a figure of speech in which words repeat at the beginning of successive clauses, phrases, or sentences. For example, Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech contains anaphora: “So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Anaphora is the repetition of one or more words at the beginning of sentences or successive phrases or clauses. The world’s most famous speeches and writings contain this technique. Dr. The anaphora lies in the repetition at the beginning of each phrase: go back.

What is an anaphora?

Anaphora is the repetition of words or phrases in a group of sentences, clauses, or poetic lines.

What is an example of Anastrophe?

Anastrophe (from the Greek: ἀναστροφή, anastrophē, “a turning back or about”) is a figure of speech in which the normal word order of the subject, the verb, and the object is changed. For example, subject–verb–object (“I like potatoes”) might be changed to object–subject–verb (“potatoes I like”).

What is an example of Anthimeria?

“Anthimeria” is a rhetorical term for the creation of a new word or expression by using one part of speech or word class in place of another. For example, in the slogan for Turner Classic Movies, “Let’s Movie,” the noun “movie” is used as a verb. The word comes from the Greek, meaning “one part for another.”

Why is Anastrophe used?

Anastrophe is a scheme in which the writer inverts the words in a sentence, saying, or idea. Poets often use anastrophe in order to help maintain rhythm or a rhyme scheme. Though the use of anastrophe is less common in prose, it is often used in order to create a sense of depth or wisdom to the words being written.

What is another word for Anastrophe?

inversion

What is an Anastrophe in literature?

Inversion, also called anastrophe, in literary style and rhetoric, the syntactic reversal of the normal order of the words and phrases in a sentence, as, in English, the placing of an adjective after the noun it modifies (“the form divine”), a verb before its subject (“Came the dawn”), or a noun preceding its …

What is the difference between Anastrophe and inversion?

As nouns the difference between anastrophe and inversion is that anastrophe is (rhetoric) unusual word order, often involving an inversion of the usual pattern of the sentence while inversion is the action of inverting.

Antimetabole is a literary and rhetorical device in which a phrase or sentence is repeated, but in reverse order. Writers or speakers use antimetabole for effect-calling attention to the words, or demonstrating that reality is not always what it seems by using the reversal of words.

What does Epistrophe mean?

: repetition of a word or expression at the end of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect (such as Lincoln’s “of the people, by the people, for the people”) — compare anaphora.

How do you use Hyperbaton?

Using hyperbaton is a lot like turning on a blender and throwing the sentence in. In order to use hyperbaton, Begin with a normal sentence. Thoughtfully rearrange the words in that sentence.

What does Hyperbaton mean?

: a transposition or inversion of idiomatic word order (as “echoed the hills” for “the hills echoed”)

What is an example of Hyperbaton?

Hyperbaton is when an author plays with the conventional order of words in a sentence. Hyperbaton can also be used to add interest and complexity to the writing. Examples of Hyberbaton: Off of the horse, Katie did fall.

What does Hyperbaton mean in writing?

Hyperbaton /haɪˈpɜːrbətɒn/, in its original meaning, is a figure of speech in which a phrase is made discontinuous by the insertion of other words. In modern usage, the term is also used more generally for figures of speech that transpose sentences’ natural word order, and it is also called an anastrophe.

What is an example of chiasmus?

What is chiasmus? Chiasmus is a figure of speech in which the grammar of one phrase is inverted in the following phrase, such that two key concepts from the original phrase reappear in the second phrase in inverted order. The sentence “She has all my love; my heart belongs to her,” is an example of chiasmus.

Why is Hyperbaton used?

The Importance of Using Hyperbaton. Hyperbaton is unique because it is a device that allows writers to bypass typical grammatical expectations and rules in order to create sentences and phrases that are more complex, intriguing, and challenging for the reader.

What is an example of Hypophora?

Hypophora is where you raise a question and then answer it. Therefore, those two sentences are an example of hypophora. A question was raised and immediately answered. A question was raised, then it was immediately answered.

What is an Acrostic?

Acrostics are a fun poetic form that anyone can write. They have just a few simple rules, and this lesson will teach you how to create acrostic poems of your own.

To begin with, an acrostic is a poem in which the first letters of each line spell out a word or phrase. The word or phrase can be a name, a thing, or whatever you like. When children write acrostics, they will often use their own first name, or sometimes the first name of a friend.

Usually, the first letter of each line is capitalized. This makes it easier to see the word spelled out vertically down the page.

Acrostics are easy to write because they don’t need to rhyme, and you don’t need to worry about the rhythm of the lines. Each line can be as long or as short as you want it to be.

Creating an Acrostic in Five Easy Steps

To create an acrostic, follow these five easy steps:

  1. Decide what to write about.
  2. Write your word down vertically.
  3. Brainstorm words or phrases that describe your idea.
  4. Place your brainstormed words or phrases on the lines that begin with the same letters.
  5. Fill in the rest of the lines to create a poem.

Now let me show you how to follow these steps.

The first step is to decide what you would like to write an acrostic poem about. I recommend you start by writing an acrostic based on your name or on your favorite thing, whatever that happens to be. It doesn’t matter if your favorite thing is soccer, video games, chocolate, music, pizza, movies, or anything else.

An Ice Cream Acrostic

For example, I especially like ice cream, so I decided to write an acrostic about ice cream. Begin by writing the word “ICE CREAM” down the page like this:

I
C
E 

C
R
E
A
M

Next, you want to say something about ice cream in each line. A good way to do this is to “brainstorm” lots of ideas. I wrote down a list of all the ice cream flavors I could think of, including chocolate chip, strawberry, rocky road, and others. Then I put them in a list wherever they would fit, like this:

Ice Cream

I
Cookies & Cream.
English Toffee.

Chocolate Chip.
Rocky Road.
E
Almond Fudge.
M

You’ll notice that I didn’t fill in all of the lines. That’s because I couldn’t think of a flavor that started with “I” and I could only think of one flavor that started with “E.” Also, I thought I would do something different with the last line, to make it an ending for the poem, rather than just another flavor.

Finally, I filled in the missing lines, like this:

Ice Cream

I love every flavor.
Cookies & Cream.
English Toffee.

Chocolate Chip.
Rocky Road.
Even Strawberry and
Almond Fudge.
Mmmmmmmm.

Now, just as you can write acrostics about things you like, you can also write them about things you don’t like, such as chores, homework, and so on. Here is an example acrostic about homework.

A Homework Acrostic

In addition to writing about things you like, such as ice cream, you can write acrostics about things you don’t like. For example, if you don’t like homework, you might try writing a poem about it. Begin by writing the word “HOMEWORK” down the page:

H
O
M
E
W
O
R
K

Next, brainstorm as many words and phrases as you can think of.  Here are some I came up with:

Reading for hours. Writing. Not my favorite. Every Day. I’d rather be watching TV. Makes me crazy. Overwhelming. Hard to do.

Notice that some of these words and phrases begin with the letters in the word “homework.” I put these ones in where I saw they would go:

Homework

Hard to do
Overwhelming,
M
Every day
Writing
O
Reading for hours.
K

Finally, I found a way to fill in the rest of the words, and even give it an ending. Here is the finished acrostic:

Homework

Hard to do and sometimes
Overwhelming,
My teacher gives us homework
Every single day!
Writing for hours
Or
Reading for hours.
Kids need a break!

A Minecraft Acrostic

Here’s one more acrostic poem I created recently with the help of kids from all around the country during an online author visit:

Minecraft

Minecraft.
I love it.
No doubt about it.
Exploring, building, fighting
Creepers, zombies, and skeletons.
Roaming around for hours.
A
Fun
Time for everyone!

Things to Remember

Here are a few things to remember as you begin writing your own acrostics:

  1. Acrostics can be about anything!
  2. Names are a common topic. Try writing one using your best friend’s name and giving it to him or her as a gift.
  3. You can use single words, phrases, or even full sentences in your acrostic poem.

Finally, remember, acrostic poems are one of the easiest and most fun ways to create poems of your own. Give it a try and see what you can come up with.

Worksheet

Poetic Devices for Class 9 and 10| Literary Devices in Poems Examples and Explanation with Video

What are Poetic Devices?

Poetic devices are techniques/elements such as rhyme, meter, and figurative language, as well as techniques like repetition, alliteration, and images used by poets to create a specific effect or mood in their poetry. These devices can include literary gery. Some common poetic devices include:

  1. Rhyme: The repetition of similar or identical sounds at the end of two or more words in a line of poetry.
  2. Meter: The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry, which creates a rhythmic structure.
  3. Alliteration: The repetition of the same sound at the beginning of two or more words in a line of poetry.
  4. Repetition: The repetition of a word or phrase for emphasis or to create a sense of unity in a poem.
  5. Imagery: The use of descriptive language to create vivid mental images in the reader’s mind.
  6. Personification: The attribution of human qualities or characteristics to non-human things or abstract concepts.
  7. Simile: A comparison of two unlike things using the words “like” or “as.”
  8. Metaphor: A comparison of two unlike things without using the words “like” or “as.”

Poetic devices are often used to convey emotions, create atmosphere, and add depth and meaning to a poem.

Literary Devices in Poems – Literary/Poetic device is a technique a writer uses to produce a special effect on their writing.

Different poetic devices used in poetry is as follows –

Alliteration Metaphor
Allusion Onomatopoeia
Anaphora Oxymoron
Antithesis personification
Assonance Refrain
Asyndeton Rhyme
Consonance Repetition
Enjambment Simile
Hyperbole Synecdoche
Imagery Transferred Epithet
Inversion

The definitions and examples of literary devices which are used in poetry are as follows:

1) Alliteration: The repetition of a consonant sound at the start of 2 or more consecutive words is known as anaphora.
Examples of Alliteration are as follows –

1. Class 10 poem- Snake

“And flickered his two-forked tongue
From his lips, and mused a moment,
And stopped and drank a little more,
From the burning bowels of the earth.
Use of ‘b’ sound in burning bowels.

2. Class 9 poem- Lord Ullin’s daughter
“His horsemen hard behind us ride;
Should they our steps discover,
Then who will cheer my bonny bride
When they have slain her lover/”

  • Use of ‘h’ sound in His horsemen hard
  • Use of ‘b’ sound in bonny bride

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Video Explanation of Literary Devices in Poems

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2) Allusion: A reference or suggestion to a historical or well known person, place or thing.
Examples of Allusion are as follows –

  1. Class 10 poem- Not Marble Nor The Gilded Monuments (William Shakespeare)

“Nor Mars his sword nor war’s quick fire shall burn
The living record of your memory.”
Mars is the Greek god of war. (Reference of well known person, here god)

  1. Class 10 poem- Not Marble Nor The Gilded Monuments (William Shakespeare)

“So till the judgement that yourself arise, You live in this, and dwell in lover’s eyes.”
Judgement is referred to the judgement day which is an important day in the Christian religion. They believe that god will judge the deeds of all dead people on this day.

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3) Anaphora: The repeated use of word at the start of two or more consecutive lines.
Examples of Anaphora are as follows –
1. Class 10 poem- The Frog and the nightingale
Said the frog:” I tried to teach her, But she was a stupid creature-
Far too nervous, far too tense.
Far too prone to influence.
The word ‘Far’ is used in the beginning of two consecutive lines.
2. Class 9 poem- The Brook
“I wind about, and in and out,
With here a blossom sailing,
And here and there a lusty trout,
And here and there a grayling
Use of ‘And’ in the beginning of two consecutive lines

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4) Antithesis: Use of opposite words in close placement
Examples of Antithesis are as follows –
1. Class 10 poem- The Frog and the nightingale
“Every night from dusk to dawn”

Meaning of dusk is sunrise and dawn is sunset. So the two opposite words are in close placement.

2. Class 9 poem- Song of the Rain

“The voice of thunder declares my arrival;
The rainbow announces my departure.”

Meaning of arrival is to come and departure means to go. So the two opposite words are in close placement.

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5) Assonance: The repetition of a vowel sound within a sentence.
Examples of Assonance are as follows –

  1. Class 9 poem- Seven Ages

“All the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and entrances”

Use of sound ‘e’ (men, women, merely, players, exits and entrances)

  1. Class 9 poem- The duck and the Kangaroo

“Good gracious! How you hop!
Over the fields and the water too:

Use of sound ‘o’ (Good, you, hop, too)

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6) Asyndeton: A writing style in which conjunctions are omitted between words, phrases or clauses.
Examples of Asyndeton are as follows –

  1. Class 9 poem- The Brook

I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance

There are no conjunctions used between the four words.

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7) Consonance: The repetition of a consonant sound in a sentence. It can be at the beginning, middle or end of the word.

Examples of Consonance are as follows –

  • Class 10 poem – Not Marble Nor The Gilded Monuments

Than unswept stone, besmear’d with sluttish time
The use of consonant sound ‘s’ and ‘t’ in the beginning, middle and end of the words.

  • Poem- Rime of the ancient mariner

“Still treads the shadow of his foe”
The use of consonant sound ‘s’ and ‘t’ in the beginning, middle and end of the words.

  • Poem- Ozymandias

“I met a traveler from and antique land who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone”

Use of sound ‘t’, ‘l’, ‘d’ in the beginning, middle and end of the words.

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8) Enjambment: When a sentence continues into two or more lines in a poem
Examples of Enjambment are as follows –

  1. Poem- ‘A legend of the Northland’

“They tell them a curious story
I don’t believe ‘tis true;
And yet you may learn a lesson
If I tell the tale to you.”
The sentence continues in the last two lines (And yet…… tale to you)

  1. Class 10 poem- The Frog and the nightingale

“Once upon a time a frog
Croaked away in Bingle Bog
Every night from dusk to dawn
He croaked awn and awn and awn

The sentence continues from first to last line

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9) Hyperbole: It is a Greek word meaning “overcasting”. The use of exaggeration to lay emphasis.
Examples of Hyperbole are as follows –
Class 10 poem- Ozymandias
“My name is Ozymandias, King of kings”
Here they have used hyperbole because Ozymandias refers himself as king of the kings.

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10) Imagery: The creation of any sensory effect like visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, kinesthetic, organic.( to create scenes in the poem)
Examples of imagery are as follows –

  • Class 10 poem- The Frog and the nightingale

“But one night a nightingale
In the moonlight cold and pale
Perched upon the sumac tree
Casting forth her melody”
Here we can imagine a scene of night that is cold and nightingale is singing melodiously on a branch of sumac tree

  • Class 10 poem- The Frog and the nightingale

“Ducks had swum and herons waded
To her as she serenaded
And a solitary loon
Wept, beneath the summer moon

Here the poet has presented a kinesthetic imagery; this means he has described certain movements by ducks and herons that are trying to reach to the sumac tree to hear nightingale’s voice.

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11) Inversion: It is also known as “anastrophe” the normal order of words is reversed, in order to achieve a particular effect of emphasis. (Generally the form is changed from active to passive)
Examples of inversion are as follows –

  • Poem- Lord Ullin’s daughter

“His horsemen hard behind us ride”
The correct form of sentence was (his horsemen riding behind us hard)

  • Poem- Rime of the ancient mariner

“The sun came up upon the left, out of the sea came he!”
The correct form of sentence was (he came out of the sea)

  • Poem- Snake

“On a hot, hot day, and I in pyjamas for the heat, To drink there.”
The correct form of sentence is (I had gone to drink there in my pyjamas because of heat)

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12) Metaphor: It is indirect comparison by highlighting a particular quality of two things.
Examples of metaphor are as follows –

  • Poem- The Frog and the nightingale

“You are Mozart in disguise”
Here the nightingale compares frog’s singing ability with that of great musician Mozart

  • Poem- The song of the rain

“The field and cloud are lovers”
Here the poet is comparing field and cloud with lovers.

  • Poem- Seven Ages

“All the world’s a stage”
Here the poet has compared world with stage.

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13) Onomatopoeia: It is the usage of sound words to create a dramatic effect.

Examples of onomatopoeia are as follows –

  • Poem- The frog and the nightingale

“Once upon a time a frog
Croaked away in Bingle bog”
So, here the poet used the word ‘croaked’ which is a sound made by the frog

  • Poem- The Brook

“I chatter over stony ways,
In little sharps and trebles,
I bubble into eddying bays,
I babble on the pebbles.
The words ‘chatter’, ‘trebles’, ‘bubble’ and ‘babble’ are used to show flowing water of a spring

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14) Oxymoron: It is when apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction. (here the words are not opposite to each other like it is in antithesis but their meaning is opposite)
Examples of oxymoron are as follows –

  • Poem- Romeo and Juliet

“Why, then, o brawling love! O loving hate!

Here the word brawling and love are used together. Meaning of brawl is to fight and love is to have affection for other person.

“O heavy lightness! Serious vanity!

Here also both heavy and lightness are written together though they are opposite of each other. Heavy means which has more weight and light means which has less weight.

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15) Personification: It means to give human quality to an object or a non living thing.
Examples of personification are as follows –

  • Poem- Mirror

“I am silver and exact. I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately”

Here the poet has personified a mirror because the mirror is describing itself.

  • Poem- The song of the rain

“I am dotted silver threads dropped from heaven
By the gods. Nature then takes me, to adorn
Her fields and valleys.”

The poet has personified rain that describes itself as dotted silver threads from heaven

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16) Refrain: A verse, a line, a set, or a group of lines that repeats, at regular intervals, in different stanzas.
Examples of refrain are as follows –
Poem- The duck and the Kangaroo
“Said the duck to the Kangaroo”
In this poem the sentence “Said the duck to the Kangaroo” was repeated a regular intervals. It is different from repetition because here the repetition is being done at regular intervals.

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17) Rhyme: The usage of words in a way to create musical effect. It can be internal rhyme or end rhyme.

Examples of rhyme are as follows –

  • Poem- The rime of the ancient mariner

“The guests are met, the feast is set:
May’st hear the merry din
Here the rhyming words are met and set

“The ship was cheered, the harbour cleared,
Merrily did we drop
Below the Kirk, below the hill,
Below the lighthouse top

Here the rhyming words are cheered-cleared and drop-top

Related – Adjective, Definition, Example

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18) Repetition: It is the repeated use of a word of line to lay emphasis
Examples of repetition are as follows –

  • Poem- No men are foreign

“Remember” word is repeated 5 times.

  • Poem -On killing a tree

“Pulled out” word is used or repeated 3 times.

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19) Simile: It is the comparison between two things or persons by using like or as.
Examples of simile are as follows –

  • Poem- Rime of the ancient mariner

“The bride hath paced into the hall,
Red as a rose is she”

Here the bride is compared with rose by using ‘as’

  • Poem- Snake

“He lifted his head from his drinking, as cattle do”

Here the snake is compared with cattle by using ‘as’

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20) Synecdoche: It is a word or phrase in which a part of something is used to refer to the whole of it.

Examples of synecdoche are as follows –

  • Poem- Ozymandias

“The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed”
Here the word hand is used to refer to the sculptor who made the statue of Ozymandias and heart is used to refer to King Ozymandias who gave the right expression for the statue.

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Related – Active and Passive Voices

21) Transferred epithet: It is an adjective used with a noun refers to another noun.

  • Poem- The snake trying

“Pursuing stick”

Here it is not the stick that pursues, rather the person who carries it is pursuing

  • Poem- snake

“Strange- scented shade”

Here ‘scented’ is used with shade but it is the tree that has the fragrance or the scent and not the shade.

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Poetry is the expression of feelings and thoughts that cannot be achieved with prose. But what gives poetry the essence of poetry? What makes it different? There are many things to contribute to that and one of those is the literary devices in poetry. Literary devices are elements that add to the beauty of poetry. 

Literary devices do no add anything to the overall meaning of the poem, but they enhance it. These devices allow the poet to present it in a new way and a delightful surprise to the readers. So we made a comprehensive list of literary devices used in English poetry along with their definition and examples. Let’s begin. 

  • Assonance 
  • Consonance 
  • Sibilance 
  • Alliteration 
  • Metaphor 
  • Imagery
  • Enjambment 
  • Rhyme 
  • Mood 
  • Tone
  • Hyperbole 
  • Apostrophe 
  • Metonymy 
  • Onomatopoeia 
  • Simile 
  • Synecdoche 
  • Symbolism 
  • Theme 
  • Allusion 
  • Personification 
  • Anaphora 
  • Oxymoron 
  • Refrain – repetition in a single line
  • Kenning – Mouse catcher to call a cat 
  • Slant rhyme 
  • Cacophony
  • Contrast
  • Litotes

The meaning of these devices 

Assonance – Assonance is the repetition of the same vowel sounds continuously in a single line or in a couplet. Assonance adds to the sonority of the poem, making it very pleasing to hear. To also adds to the rhythm of the poem.  

Example: I believed to live in her presence but what I see, is something contrary or Heaven’s rain, and for what gain if every misery is to remain the same?

Consonance – Consonance is the repetition of the consonant sound in the same line or in the sentence. Similar to assonance, consonance adds to the sound and rhythm of the poem. Do note that these consonants must be similar in sound, so “k” and “c” will create consonance. Also, these consonants aren’t necessarily placed at the beginning of the words and can occur anywhere in the same line. This is what makes consonance different from alliteration. 

Example: The lake cut the sky in two, one for the heavens and one for us to take.

Alliteration: This is perhaps the poet’s most useful device to create a beautiful sounding poem. Again, as the pattern is going, alliteration is similar to consonance and assonance but with one small difference. In alliteration, consecutive words or words placed very close together start with the same sound. Here, the same sound must be at the beginning of the word.

Example: A nightmare that nurtured the night makes one eager for the sun. Selling seashells in a secluded shore. 

Sibilance: Sibilance is also very common to alliteration. Here, a hissing sound that is produced by using the letter “s” repeatedly, like Harry speaking parseltongue or the sound you make to get a cat’s attention (pspsps). Look the word “Sibilance” which has two “s” sound. The word is an example of itself. 

Example: A sweeter society waited for me, while loneliness crafted storms and I was collecting shells alone.

Metaphor: Perhaps the most used literary devices in all forms of poetry is a metaphor. The reason for this widespread use of metaphor in poetry is it evokes a sense of connection between two seemingly different things, allowing us a new perspective. 

A metaphor compares two things that are not literally related in any way. This new connection makes us view things in a different way. Metaphors are something that is engraved in our minds since we are kids. Twinkle twinkle little stars…like a diamond in the sky. This is the use of metaphor. In almost all the poems, metaphor is bound to be present. 

Metaphors can be obvious, like saying “her hands were as cold as ice” where cold is the common trait, connecting two literal different things. It can be vague; Emily Dickinson in her poem “Because I could not stop for Death” saying death’s carriage stopped for her gently and he came in a civil way. This denotes the arrival of a painless death which no is prepared for. 

Metaphors are not just present in poems but in common speech as well. You go through the book, you can fight the world, nothing can separate two lovers. Metaphors allow us to convey ourselves eloquently where words leave their literal meaning and add emotions to them. 

Imagery: Imagery is used to create images in the reader’s mind with the use of words. It is used both in poetry and storytelling. Imagery allows the readers to be present in the narrative world of the story or poem. Wordsworth said he saw a “host of golden daffodils, besides the lake, beneath the trees, fluttering and dancing in the breeze” creates an image in the readers’ mind, enabling us to see what he once saw. 

Example: The sunset, casting a crimson glow in the sky. A fitting farewell the sun gives us as he dies. 

Enjambment: Enjambment is when a line in a stanza ends with an unnatural pause. Instead of ending a line where it is supposed to be, it moves to the next line in the middle. Enjambment is done to present the mood of the poem. It can also add a rhythm to the poem, assisting in adding a unique rhyming. Example:

He saw her face with nothing 

But a sense of longing 

Desperate desires took a hold

Of him, telling tales of old…

Rhyme: Rhyme and poetry go hand in hand. It is one of the most defining features of poetry, separating it from prose and a common speech. Rhyming is diverse and can be in any form, meter, etc. Words can rhyme alternatively, consecutively, or even in the same line. Even entire stanzas can mirror other stanzas in rhyming pattern. Rhyming provides a great tool for experimentation with the form of poetry. Remove the rhyme and it becomes freeverse, keep the rhyme in a particular order and it becomes lyrical. 

There are schemes of rhyming which are denoted as ABAB, ABCB, etc where the same letters denote the same rhyme. Rhyming can also occur in single lines within a stanza. Example:

The lamentable life we live

Nothing but the pain it gives

So must we keep going 

Even if in upstream, must we keep rowing?

Mood: Mood is very similar to imagery, but instead of creating images of physical objects in the readers’ minds, the poet shows what he is feeling in regards to the things he sees. Seeing a field full of flowers can be used in imagery, but feeling a sense of longing, joy or gratefulness is what sets the mood. 

In Daffodils, Wordsworth is setting a mood of joy, love for nature, and being present at the moment to see all that, being a small, fleeting presence in this sea of life. In The Road Not Taken, Frost creates imagery using the roads, the trodden path, etc but the mood here reflects the journey he is going to take, the life he is going to choose. It is speculative, prone to failure or success, it is about choosing your path. 

Tone: If imagery was about the physical things being described and the mood was the feelings these things evoked, the tone is how the poet narrated the whole thing, the choice of words used in the poem. The words can be pessimistic, optimistic, sarcastic, etc. Tone, imagery, and mood are very closely knit and affect each other tremendously.

Example: In Daffodils, Wordsworth uses words like fluttering and dancing, golden, wandering, etc. These words reflect the tone of the poem and the poet’s mood. 

Apostrophe: Literary device commonly used during the middle ages and during the Romanticism phase of poetry. A single letter is replaced with an apostrophe without changing the sound of the voice too much. In Daffodils, Wordsworth replaced “r” in “over” making the line “That floats on high o’er vales and hills”

Hyperbole: Hyperbole is like a metaphor but instead of comparing two different things based on a common trait, hyperbole is exaggerating a particular quality of something to impossible levels. Wordsworth calling daffodils golden is a metaphor (the color being the common trait of the two). But saying “my heart skipped a beat and reached the moon” is a hyperbole. “Faith as strong and stern as the mountains” is another example of hyperbole. 

Metonymy: Metonymy is the use of words to represent something the words are associated with. Usually, these words represent a trait or part of the entire object or process but the similarity and reference it evokes brings meaning. Let’s say I say that the road was bleak, dark, and grey while it was surrounded by the green. You can understand that green here refers to trees. Metonymy used a part or quality of the whole to define it. 

Simile: We’ve all learned about simile in middle school. Again, it is another form comparison to show how the poet perceives the subject. It could be in a positive or negative way. Her eyes were as warm as the sun showing love and hope. Her eyes burned as fierce as the sun shows determination or rage. 

Onomatopoeia: Comic book fans must have seen it often. Onomatopoeia is the use of words that are also sound. Words like “buzz” or “hum” have the same sound as their spelling. 

Symbolism: Symbolism is done by using an object to symbolize something more complex. Symbolism is not limited to poetry. In fact, it is the least used in poetry and mostly used in stories, movies, etc. A white dove carrying an olive branch symbolizes peace. Another example is thunder representing truth in Emily Dickinson’s Tell the Truth poem.

Synecdoche: another name for metonymy. It is representing something by describing an attribute of it. The context does the rest of defining.

Allusion: Allusion is used when a reference is given in a poem and the readers are expected to know the reference. A common example of this is poetry by Yeats or Blake who uses multiple references from mythology. Homer’s works also have multiple references to Greek mythology.

Theme: Theme is the overarching subject of the poem. It could be a love poem, a patriotic one, a poem about nihilism, a poem about the misery of humans, etc. The theme of the poem can be anything you want to write about. 

Personification: Personification is when an object, an emotion, or a process is portrayed as a human. This is commonly done by giving human attributes and emotions to something inanimate, something abstract. In Dickinson’s “because I could not stop for death”, she personifies death as being a civilized person. 

Perhaps after metaphor, personification is the most used literary device in poetry. Frost has used personification in many of his poems, one being Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening. 

Anaphora: Anaphora is the repetition of a phrase or a word consecutively to stress on the importance and impact of the phrase or word. An example of anaphora can be seen in the poem Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening. In the last stanza, Frost writes; 

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,   

But I have promises to keep,   

And miles to go before I sleep,   

And miles to go before I sleep.

Notice how using anaphora, the gravity of the last two lines is amplified. This is the hook of the poem and perhaps one of the most important and powerful lines in modern poetry.

Refrain: Refrain is very similar to anaphora and sometimes both are used interchangeably. The refrain can be further defined as the repetition of a single word or phrase in the same line. An example would be the brilliant poem Do not go Gentle into that Good Night by Dylan Thomas. The last line of the first stanza says Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Here, using rage twice is an example of the refrain. 

Oxymoron: Oxymoron refers to the use of two opposite words together. An example would be “lonely together”. Notice how one cannot be lonely when they are with someone. Another example would be “joyful tragedy”. Oxymoron is used to describe complex, mixed emotions and they add a special dimension to the poem. 

Kenning: Kenning is the process of describing something by not its name but by its popular use or purpose. So a cat could be called a mouse catcher or a horse could be said as a carriage puller.

Slant rhyme: As the name suggests, slant rhyme is rhyming which is not perfect and it is an advanced technique of rhyming. The words do not rhyme perfectly, but good enough to make it sound like a rhyming poem. An example of this is Emily Dickinson’s Tell the Truth. Look at these lines;

Success in Circuit lies

Too bright for our infirm Delight

Lies and delight do not rhyme exactly, but with the flow and the sound, they form a slanting rhyme. 

Cacophony: The term cacophony means an unpleasant sound. This occurs in poems that do not rhyme at all, have no discernable meter. The use of cacophony can evoke a sense of chaos, unease, and tension in the readers’ minds. 

Contrast: Contrast is when two scenes, depictions, emotions, etc are put together in the same poem. This is also an advanced literary device and gives poems a lot of depth and meaning. Frost is famous for using contrast in many of his poems. The Road not Taken has a contrasting use of free will and determinism, Fire and Ice also puts the two emotions in contrast and then shows the similarity in them (read about it here if you’re interested). 

A very simple example of this would be saying that Her absences mended all my faults that her presence had instilled in me, the smile was already gone, it was the pain that was setting in.

Litotes: Litotes is the use of negative comments to show the affirmative side. It is kind of like denying the faults to show the positive side of it? Like saying “this car does not consume too much fuel” which means that it is a fuel-efficient car. 

This concludes the article. There may be one or two left from this list but that’s because they are rarely used or fall under very right niches of poetry. These are the mainstream literary devices and are most beloved to both classic and modern poets alike. You can read some more articles related to this article;

  • Poetry vs prose: What’s the difference?
  • 15 original poems about friendship turning into love
  • Poems for her: Special love poem for your special one

In many forms of media, typography is commonly used in designs and other visuals to draw the public’s attention. Yet have you realized that poets also employ typography in their work? Is it only to capture the audience’s interest like the way designs and visuals do?

Let’s read on for more detailed information regarding typography in poetry including:

  • What is typography in poetry?
  • Elements of typography and their effects in poetry
  • Examples of typography in poetry

What is typography in poetry?

Definition

Typography in poetry, also known as graphic elements in poems, refers to the sort of punctuation and capitalization, the length of verses, the placement of phrases, and even blank space.

These components contribute to a poem’s “shape” or “image”, making a visual concrete poem. In this type of poetry, the author intends to communicate through both graphic patterns of verses and the interpretation of words in a traditional order.

typography in poetry

Influences of typography in poems

Typography not only affects the visuals of poems but also emphasizes their messages. For the audience, not only are they readers of the poems but also viewers of the pictures.

  • Viewing the evocative picture created by how the words and lines are organized on the page, the audience would see a classic poem of higher aesthetic value. They can also perceive a bit of the verse’s conceptual idea even without reading a single word.
  • Besides, when composing, poets frequently employ typographical clues to modify or strengthen meanings of words or other literary components such as meter or rhythm. As a result, readers can better comprehend the ideas they aim to communicate.
An example of the influence that typography has on poetry
An example of the influence that typography has on poetry

Elements of typography and their effects in poetry

Line length

A line is a very basic unit forming a poem. The design of verses in books is related to the length of their lines: lengthy and slender, brief and broad, or a shape all its own. As a matter of fact, line length would impact the meaning of words within them, as well as the sound and rhythm when the piece of poetry is read.  

  • A brief line keeps the reader reading slowly and adds tension.
  • A long line shortens the time for reading and heightens the senses.
  • On the other hand, standard size lines (6–8 phrases) are more balanced and effective when emotion or sentiment isn’t the primary impression authors want to achieve.

A typical illustration of this is Haiku poems. There are 3 lines in those works, each of which comprises a specific number of syllables (5-7-5). Being short and concise, they contain tension and enhance readers’ imagination.

Punctuation

The rhythm and content of a verse can also be affected by how a poet employs typographic elements such as commas, periods, and capitalization.

The most frequent way for a writer to close a line is to punctuate solely at its end. Authors of visual concrete poems, however, might disrupt the flow of a line by moving the breaks.

Take Caesura as an example technique; it happens when a writer inserts punctuation in the middle of a sentence rather than at the closing point. This exerts the greatest influence on rhythm and content as it can put a different emphasis on the line. Let’s compare:

“The man slept again.”

versus “The man slept. Again.”

Previously, the man might simply go to bed. But by introducing the caesura, the focus is given on his laziness or tiredness.

Another typical technique of this is Enjambment, in which the poet keeps verses going on without pausing; rather than end-stopping any line. This is to narrow the gap between the sounds of verse and prose, resulting in a work that flows freely and highlights unanticipated rhythms and phrases, like in this example:

“And then hopped sidewise to the Wall

To let a Beetle pass.”

(“A Bird Came Down the Walk” by Emily Dickinson)

Capital letter

Usually, capitalization in writing follows specific sets of rules. However, this is not always the case. A capital letter is also a typographic unit that can be used with creativity for other purposes.

Thanks to capital letters, poets can draw focus on a particular theme for symbolic impact, or they can call attention to a subject that recurs throughout the writing. Capitalizing a word or phrase in a poem may lend it an enhanced source of strength, causing the reader’s interest to be directed to it.

Let’s take a look at:

“And then he drank a Dew

From a convenient Grass

And then hopped sidewise to the Wall

To let a Beetle pass”

(“A Bird Came Down the Walk” by Emily Dickinson)

As can be clearly seen in the midst or at the end of the above lines, “Grass,” “Dew,” and “Beetle” typically commence using upper case letters. Thus, the poet emphasizes the value of nature. To put it in other words, nature is held in high regard in this work.

Word position and spacing

Usually, when composing verses, poets need to choose carefully which words to use and when to use them. This is because not only the phrases themselves but also the particular spots they are arranged in would impact the rhythm of poems.

Word position, which shows the relationship between words and ideas, is another typical typographical pattern. In many cases, changing word placement helps develop curiosity or alter the focus.

Let’s consider these examples:

“He arrived home and went to bed”

versus “Arriving home, he went to bed”  

Take note of how the changing word placement improves the line’s rhythm. Obviously, because we don’t know what’s coming until further in the line, placing “arriving” just at the top of the verse develops our curiosity.

Word position would also show different shapes of the line and structures of poems.

A good example of this is a work of George Herbert named “Easter Wings”. The piece’s typography is designed to resemble wings and the verse represents an image of birds. The stanzas were printed sideways on two pages, showing that the creature is soaring upward with its organ of flight spread out.

"Easter Wings" by George Herbert
“Easter Wings” by George Herbert

There is no denying that this looks just like a photograph. Therefore, not even reading a single word, readers might grasp the imagery of physical and spiritual rebirth.

Examples of typography in poetry

E.E. Cummings poems

E.E. Cummings is a notable author who is famous for visual concrete works. He employs most typographical elements including line length, space and punctuation, and poem shape. The poet is described to “free the word from its grapheme, and put its formal, visual, and phonetic elements into focus.”

Some examples of typography in E.E. Cumming poems are:

  • “Me up at does”

Each sentence is only four lines long, giving the poetry a jagged appearance that conveys the subject’s sentiments about what he did. Though no phrases in the verse express his sense of guilt directly, the idea is conveyed clearly based on how the poem is written. Since his thinking is fragmented and inconsistent, the rhyme is broken up.

me up at does by ee cummings
“Me up at does” by E.E. Cummings
  • “I have found what you are like”

Our mind sees this poetry through a whole different lens because of the way it was written. We can almost grasp the concept of the woods stumbling and singing. Even if it isn’t portraying a genuine scenario, we get the impression that we can see it and that it is real.

“I have found what you are like” by E.E. Cummings
“I have found what you are like” by E.E. Cummings

“In a Station of the Metro” by Ezra Pound

Poet Ezra Pound was an advocate in the movement of imagist poetry. Many believe “In a Metro Station” to be a typical illustration of typography in poetry. The poem is brief, has no verbs but emphasizes graphic spacing instead, providing the reader with an image of a passing train.

“The apparition of these faces in the crowd:

Petals on a wet, black bough.”

The poem was initially printed with spaces between the two lines to simulate train tracks and highlight the verse’s flow. Pound makes an implied comparison between the scene of faces going through the station and a lovely vision of nature, underlining the beauty of even the most inconsequential of events.

The Altar by George Herbert

The Altar by George Herbert
The Altar by George Herbert

George Herbert is another poet known for metaphysical writings. The poem is shaped like an altar, depicting the metaphorical process of making an altar out of one’s own heart.

Final thoughts

All in all, it goes without saying that typography in poetry such as line length, punctuation, capitalization as well as word and space position, is a beautiful mixture of visuals and words. This, in the end, levels up both aesthetic and literary values among written artistic works.  

More interesting poetry articles:

  • Top 10 Best Fonts To Use In Your Poetry
  • Dissonance In Poetry: Everything You Need To Know
  • Neal Cassady: Life, The Beat Generation And Poetry
  • Top 20 Best Poetry Books That Make The Perfect Gift

Long hair, short-sighted eyes – I am a mix of contradictory things. Also, a poem & art enthusiast.

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