Poetry and Literary Devices

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Alliteration

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The repetition of initial consonant sounds in words. Example: She sells seashells down by the seashore.

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Assonance

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The repetition of vowel sounds in words. Example: The rain in Spain falls mainly in the plains.

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Blank Verse

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Unrhymed lines of iambic pentameter. Example 1: 'But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?' Example 2: 'It is the east. And Juliet is the sun!' [William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet]

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Consonance

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The repetition of consonant sounds. Example: She gave the big dog a hug.

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Couplet

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A pair of lines in poetry of a similar length that rhyme. Example: 'Tell me if you think you know / How to make a turtle go.' [Charles Ghinga, Turtle Trouble]

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Free Verse

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A poem that does not have a regular rhythm or rhyme.

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Haiku

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A form of Japanese poetry that has three lines: the first line has five syllables, the second has seven syllables, and the third has five syllables. Example: 'Behind me the moon / Brushes shadows of pine trees / Lightly on the floor.' [Kikaku]

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Iambic Pentameter

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A line of five 'iambs' or 'feet' in which an unstressed syllable is followed by a stressed syllable. Example: 'So long as men can breathe or eyes can see / So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.' [William Shakespeare, Sonnet 18]

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Meter

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The pattern of repeated stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.

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Onomatopoeia

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The use of a word that sounds like its meaning. Examples: Bang! Boom! Wow! Hey! Ouch!