Share Literary and Poetic Devices
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What is the following an example of: "All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand."-Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare’s Macbeth
Hyperbole
Which literary device involves the repetition of the initial consonant sounds in a series of words? "“The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew,
The furrow followed free”
Alliteration
What literary device involves the repetition of vowel sounds within non-rhyming words? “Hear the mellow wedding bells”
— Edgar Allan Poe, “The Bells”
Assonance
"The legends and the myths Achilles and his gold Hercules and his gifts Spider-Man’s control And Batman with his fists And clearly I don’t see myself upon that list" these lyrics by Coldplay have references to well-known characters- this is
Allusion
What literary device is used when the opposite of what is expected occurs?
Irony
What is the term for the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities?
Symbolism
What literary device involves creating a mental image through descriptive language?
Imagery
What is the central idea or message of a poem that the poet wants to convey to the reader?
Theme
What poetic device involves the repetition of the same sounds at the end of lines or within lines of poetry? "Twinkle, twinkle little star, How I wonder what you are"
Rhyme
What do we call a grouped set of lines in a poem, often separated by a space from other such groups, similar to a paragraph in prose?
Stanza
What poetic device involves the use of words that imitate the sounds they describe?
Onomatopoeia
What is the term for the continuation of a sentence or clause across a line break in a poem?
Enjambment
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...” — Charles Dickens- is a very good example of...
juxtaposition
A strong pause within a line of poetry (often punctuation mid-line). Breaks rhythm, adds drama eg. “To be, or not to be — that is the question.” — Shakespeare
Caesura
The attitude of the poem's persona sets the t... of the poem
tone
If a poem does not follow a strict rhyme and rhythm, it is called
free verse
