Poetic Devices Flashcards
(16 cards)
Alliteration
The repetition of the beginning sounds in a series of words for effect.
Ex. Peter Piper Picked a Pack of Pickled Peppers
Allusion
An expression meant to call to mind something without explicitly saying it; an indirect or passing reference.
Ex. When they woke up from their car trip in a brand new city she said, “Dorthy, I don’t think we’re in kansas anymore…”
Assonance
The repetition of middle vowel sounds in a series of words for effect.
Ex. And so, he’d know it was time to mow the lawn or go.
Foreshadowing
A suggestions that a particular event will happen some time in the future.
Ex. A glimpse of a gun inside a drawer may foreshadow that it will be used in dangerous circumstances later on in the story.
Flashback
A scene or part in a story that takes you back in time. In visual storytelling, flashbacks are evident through colour changes, blurred frames, younger looking characters, sound effects, and more.
Ex. A girl who is afraid of heights flashes back to a time when she was young and fell of the top of a climbing structure in the park.
Hyperbole
Extreme exaggeration used not to deceive, but for effect.
Ex. I’ve told you a million times - go clean your room!
Situational Irony
When there is a contrast between what happened and what was EXPECTED to happen.
Ex. The police station was robbed.
Juxtaposition
The placing of contrasting ideas side-by-side to emphasize their differences.
Ex. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times….
Metaphor
An implied comparison NOT using the words: “like” or “as”
Ex. The classroom was a zoo.
Onomotopeia
The use of a word whose sound is the same as the spelling of the word itself.
Ex. Boom
Ex. Crack
Ex. Woof
Oxymoron
A figure of speech in which 2 unlike or contradictory terms are joined together to create a new word.
Ex. It was a bittersweet moment.
Personification
The attribution of human characteristics to something which is NOT human.
Ex. The raindrops danced along the window pane.
Pun
The humorous use of words that sound the same. A “play” on words. Many children’s jokes use puns.
Ex. Where does the snowman keep his money? In the snow BANK.
Repetition
The deliberate reuse of a word or phrase for effect.
Ex. “…we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender…”
Simile
A direct comparison that uses the words “like” or “as”.
Ex. The girl was as hungry as a horse.
Symbol
An ordinary object, animal, person, or colour which has extraordinary meaning attached to it.
Ex. dove is a symbol for peace
Ex. The colour red can symbolize anger or sexuality.
