Name______Date______Period_____ English
Literary Techniques and Poetry Devices Reference Packet
1. Alliteration: the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of a group of words
Example: Nina knows numbers. The “n” sound is repeated.
2. Allusion: a reference another piece of literature; commonly, a reference to mythology
3. Assonance: the repetition of a specific vowel sound or group of vowel sounds within words throughout a poem
Example: Great ray of the sun Shine down on us today
4. Consonance: the repeating of specific consonant sounds within words throughout a poem
Example: I have a line or groove I love runs down
5. Couplet: A pair of rhyming lines with identical meter
6. End rhyme: when the words at the ends of lines in a poem rhyme
Example: I saw a boat It did not float
7. Figurative Language: writing or speech that is not meant to be taken literally. This includes metaphor, simile, personification, etc…
1 8. Hyperbole: an exaggeration that is not meant to be taken literally, or exactly
Example: It is a thousand degrees in here. That plane was five million miles long.
9. Imagery: the use of sensory words and descriptions to create an image or picture in one’s mind; vivid language describing how something looks, feels, tastes, smells, or sounds
10. Internal rhyme: when words within a line of poetry rhyme
Example: I saw a boat that did not float
11. Line: similar to a sentence in prose. The lines are numbered.
Example: An excerpt from “after any sunset”
after any sunset 1 there is a glint 2 a certain afterglow 3 a rainbow show 4
12. Metaphor: a direct comparison between two unlike things.
Examples: Her eyes are emeralds. He is a lion.
13. Meter: the rhythmic pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry
14. Mood: how the reader feels after reading a poem
Example: a poem can make a reader feel sad, afraid, proud, etc.
2 15. Onomatopoeia: the use of words that imitate sounds associated with the objects or actions to which they refer
Examples: buzz – the word sounds like the actual noise a bee makes. Also: murmur, bang, plop, zoom, hiss, cluck, clink, etc…
16. Personification: when nonhuman or inanimate objects are given human characteristics Examples: The wind whispered through the trees. The pen danced across the paper.
17. Refrain: when an entire stanza or group of lines is repeated in a poem - similar to a chorus in a song
18. Repetition: in poetry or literature, when a word, phrase or clause is repeated more than once in order to emphasize something
19. Rhyme: a poem or verse having a regular correspondence, or match, of sounds
Example: I saw a boat that did not float, and because of this, it got stuck in the moat.
20. Rhyme Scheme: the pattern of end rhyme in a poem labeled by a, b, c, etc… - rhyme scheme is the letters that are marking the pattern
Example: I saw a boat a It did not float a I watched it drown b It made me frown b
21. Sensory Language: language or speech that appeals to one or more of the five senses and creates an image – sight, sound, smell, taste, touch
Example: The salty spray of the sea air clung to my nose and my skin.
3 22. Simile: a comparison between two unlike things using the words “like” or “as” Examples: Her eyes are like emeralds. Her eyes are blue-green as the sea.
23. Speaker: the imaginary voice or character that tells a poem (NOT THE AUTHOR)
24. Stanza: a division or unit of lines in a poem, similar to a paragraph
25. Symbol: something that stands for or represents something else
Examples: The flag is a symbol for liberty or freedom A dove is a symbol for peace Red can symbolize love or anger.
26. Tone: the speaker’s attitude about his/her subject matter
Examples: The speaker can be sarcastic, sorrowful, humorous, serious, etc…
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