Poetry Terms

Hyperbole is an extreme exaggeration used for emphasis or effect.

A pun is a play on the multiple meanings of a word or on two words that sound alike but have different meanings.

Onomatopoeia is the use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to.

Imagery is writing that appeals to the five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell.

A simile is a comparison between two unlike objects using the words 'like', 'as', 'resembles', or 'than'.

An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which contradictory terms appear in conjunction.

Alliteration is the repetition of the same initial consonant sounds in a sequence of words.

Personification is a literary device where human qualities are attributed to animals, inanimate objects, or abstract concepts.

A metaphor is a figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two unlike things without using 'like' or 'as'.

A direct metaphor explicitly states that one thing is another.