What do you mean by poetic devices

Now after reading about poetic devices based on sounds, next one is poetic devices based on the meaning of the words. We all know several words convey more than one meaning. Poet uses words which used in with other words depicts a thought. Some significant words carry layers of meaning. Allegory is a poetic device in which abstract ideas are portrayed through characters, events, and figures.

A writer can employ this in prose and poetry to tell a story to the audience. This help in explaining the idea on which the poem is based. Often, the objective is to teach a moral lesson. An allusion is an indirect reference to a place, person or an idea of political, historical or cultural significance. It is usually a brief reference which does not describe the person or thing in a detailed manner.

It is more like a passing comment. This poetic device depicts a contradictory situation. It refers to a situation that ends up in a different way than expected. Irony describes the difference between reality and appearance. Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.

Irony brings added meanings to a situation or in a poem. Irony makes the poem more intriguing. It also compels a reader to use imagination to seek the hidden meaning in lines. It is a comparison between two, unlike things. It shows the resemblance between two completely different things.

Here the comparison is direct and not hidden. In oxymoron, two contradictory ideas are put together side by side or in a sentence to create a good effect. Why, then, O brawling love! O loving hate! O anything, of nothing, first create! O heavy lightness! Serious vanity! Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms! Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health! Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is! This love feels I, that feel no love in this. Dost thou not laugh?

Here in the above lines, we can see how contradictory words put together, like Loving-hate, bright-smoke, cold-fire, sick health, waking sleep. We can easily find many oxymoron words in these lines. It is a poetic device in which an animal, idea or thing is given human characteristics. The Non-human object is depicted like humans. We provide human quality to non-human things.

A simile is a way of making a comparison. It shows the similarity between two opposite things. Simile use words such as like or as to draw a comparison. A simile is a figure of speech that makes a comparison, showing similarities between two different things.

In this kind of poetic devices, words are arranged by the poet. These arrangements of words give meaning to the poem and make it appealing. These arrangements are arbitrary and sometimes mechanical. Verse denotes a single line of a poem. In general, this term is also used for a stanza or a specific part of poetry. In this, a poem does not have a set meter, and no rhyming scheme is present.

Often poets use this to hide their fluctuation of thoughts. After the Sea-Ship—after the whistling winds; After the white-gray sails, taut to their spars and ropes, Below, a myriad, myriad waves, hastening, lifting up their necks, Tending in ceaseless flow toward the track of the ship: Waves of the ocean, bubbling and gurgling, blithely prying, Waves, undulating waves—liquid, uneven, emulous waves, Toward that whirling current, laughing and buoyant, with curves,Where the great Vessel, sailing, and tacking, displaced the surface.

Cacophony — Cacophony is a very interesting poetic device that is known to create a state of chaos or a sense of unpleasantness in the mind of the readers. It refers to the use of an unmusical series of weird and unpleasant sounds, which actually stands for a disorder or discomfort.

This type of poetic device is usually used by the poet to bring about the essence of discomfort or a discordant situation in the minds of the readers. The most important part of using this technique is to use the correct kind of words. Euphony — The word euphony has been derived from the Greek word called euphonious, which in normal terms means sweet voice. Thus euphony is a poetic device that is usually used to bring about a very sweet and melodious sound effect to the style of writing.

This device tends to give a pleasing and soothing effect to the readers by using repetitive sounds of vowels and smooth consonants. Most of the time this poetic device is used with other poetic devices like rhyme, assonance or alliteration to create a better and more soothing effect on the writing style. This device is also known to bring about a peaceful and pleasant feel in any piece of literary work and convey the expression or message more efficiently.

Rhyme — Rhyme is an interesting and fun technique that refers to the use of words which has similar sound effects at the end of each sentence. This technique is known to bring about a sense of musicality to the poems. The use of this poetic device is known to differentiate poetry from prose and is known to create a pleasing effect in the poem. Rhyming sentences actually makes it easier for people to learn the poems swiftly and makes the poems much more fun and enjoyable.

Allegory — Allegory is a very effective poetic device that actually represents the abstract ideas that the poet wants to put forward in the form of characters, events, and figures.

This particular device is not restricted to poetry but can be used in any part of prose as well. In the case of poetry, it helps to narrate the idea on which the entire plot is based.

Most of the time, the primary idea behind using an allegory to put forward a moral lesson. Allusion — Allusion primarily refers to indirect references made in a piece of literary work. These references might include a reference to a particular place, person, or idea.

These ideas might be either political or historical, and cultural. An allusion is known to be a very brief reference and does not discuss anything with proper details. It might be compared to a passing comment; it touches the idea but does not explain it. When such allusions are used, the reader is expected to understand the idea with the knowledge they have. Irony — Irony is a very interesting poetic device that is used to represent a contradictory situation.

Such kinds of situations are expected to end in one manner but actually ends up in some other manner. Irony is known to make the difference between reality and appearance clearer to the readers. Metaphor — A Metaphor primarily refers to a comparison in between two very unlikely things. This device is used to bring about the resemblance between two things that are known to be completely different from each other.

However, the comparison stated in such cases is absolutely direct and is not hidden, and does not need to be assumed. But such comparisons are very different from a simile. Oxymoron — Oxymoron basically refers to the use of two contradictory ideas which are put together one beside the other or as a part of a sentence to create an interesting effect. These types of devices make the writing more interesting and engaging. Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone, Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Personification — Personification is another very interesting poetic device that is used to give an animal, an idea or a particular thing a human-like characteristic. When any non-human object is defined as a human being, the entire concept is referred to as personification. This device makes any writing very impactful and interesting. Simile — A simile refers to different types of direct comparisons which are made in literary texts.

It puts forward the difference between two things that have no similarity with each other. These types of poetic devices can be divided into two types.

The first type is verse. Verse stands for either a single line of a poem or a specific paragraph, or a stanza. The verse can be further divided into two types, namely free verse and blank verse. A free verse refers to a style of writing that does not have a set manner. The lines in such verses are not rhythmic or rhyming. Whereas a blank verse also does not offer any rhyming pattern but has the use of iambic pentameter.

A Rhyme Scheme is known to add a rhyming effect to a poem by utilization of words that almost sound similar. When this device is added to poetry, it sounds more musical and rhythmic. There are many different types of verses that can be used. Internal rhymes often require assonance for the words to sound similar.

Poems that master musicality will sound either euphonious or cacophonous. Cacophony is a bit harder to find in literature, though certainly not impossible. Usually, cacophony occurs when the poet uses harsh, staccato sounds repeatedly. Who else might sing in cacophony than the emotive, sea-worn sailor? Metrical considerations are often reserved for classic poetry. Still, meter can affect how the reader moves and feels your poem, and some contemporary poets write in meter.

All syllables in the English language are either stressed or unstressed. Finding these prosodic considerations in contemporary poetry is challenging, but not impossible. Many poets in the earliest 20th century used meter, such as Edna St.

Vincent Millay. Perhaps the next important metrical poet is you? Every element of this poetic devices list could take months to master, and each of the sound devices in poetry requires its own special class.

Luckily, the instructors at Writers. Take a look at our upcoming poetry courses , and take the next step in mastering the literary devices in poetry. Very interesting stuff! Can the above be described as being an example of any particular kind of literary or poetic device? Hi Louis, good question! Scholars continue to debate the full extent of what constitutes a zeugma.

I hope this helps! Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Writing Tips. Poetry Workshop: Bring Your Poems to Life with Rosemary Tantra Bensko January 19th, Join us for this workshop on creating powerful poems—poems that are clear and organized, fresh and moving, full of life.

I am a feather on the bright sky I am the blue horse that runs in the plain I am the fish that rolls, shining, in the water I am the shadow that follows a child I am the evening light, the lustre of meadows I am an eagle playing with the wind I am a cluster of bright beads I am the farthest star I am the cold of dawn I am the roaring of the rain I am the glitter on the crust of the snow I am the long track of the moon in a lake I am a flame of four colors I am a deer standing away in the dusk I am a field of sumac and the pomme blanche I am an angle of geese in the winter sky I am the hunger of a young wolf I am the whole dream of these things You see, I am alive, I am alive I stand in good relation to the earth I stand in good relation to the gods I stand in good relation to all that is beautiful I stand in good relation to the daughter of Tsen-tainte You see, I am alive, I am alive.

You are then resolved to depart, and abandon unhappy Dido; the same winds will bear away your promises and sails. You are resolved, Aeneas, to weigh your anchor and your vows, and go in quest of Italy, a land to which you are wholly a stranger. With throats unslaked, with black lips baked, agape they heard me call.

Take your next online writing course with our award-winning instructors! Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Tumblr. Comments Very interesting stuff! These are very helpful! I am a poet, and I did not know about half of these!