Poetic Techniques

The repetition of a letter sound at the beginning of two (or more) words.

e.g. Deep into the depths of darkness I descended…

• assonance

• alliteration

• simile

When an object/colour/image is used to represent an idea.

e.g. A rose might signify love; the colour black might represent death; a dove is an image of peace.

• symbolism

• juxtaposition

• anaphora

When you portray a person, place, thing, or an action as being something else, even though it is not actually that “something else.”

e.g. This assignment is a breeze.

His words were daggers in my heart.

• free verse

• metaphor

• onomatopoeia

A repetition of hissing sounds in two (or more) words.

e.g. Sing a song of sixpence.

Conspiring cells of summer shells.

• sibilance

• allusion

• rhyme

When a line in a poem moves to another line without a punctuation mark in between.

e.g. Before the sunrise

a chain of red clouds rise

and all else is in the darkness.

• symbolism

• metaphor

• enjambment

When a comparison is made between two things.

e.g. It was as cold as a snowy winter’s eve.

She ran, like a bullet from a gun, towards the finish line.

• juxtaposition

• rhythm

• simile

A poem that is free from limitations of regular meter or rhythm, and does not have a regular rhyme scheme.

e.g. Like a skein of loose silk blown against a wall,

she walks

by the railing of a path in Kensington Gardens,

dying.

And round about there is a rabble

Of the filthy, sturdy, unkillable infants of the very poor.

They shall inherit the earth.

In her is the end of breeding. Her boredom is exquisite and excessive

and there will be no end for the children of the universe.

• rhyme

• free verse

• alliteration

When two or more words close to one another repeat the same vowel sound.

e.g. Go and mow the lawn.

The engineer held the steering to steer the vehicle.

• assonance

• sibilance

• personification

Using the 5 senses to create an image in the reader’s mind.

e.g. The carpet of bright flowers had a heady aroma. As I walked, I could feel their perfume choking my nostrils. (sight, smell, touch)

• imagery

• rhythm

• symbolism

Making a reference to a person, place, thing, or an idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance.

e.g. Stop trying to be a Romeo! (Reference to ‘Romeo and Juliet’)

I’ve got the speed and power of a young Mike Tyson. (Reference to good boxing skills)

• juxtaposition

• free verse

• allusion