poetic devices

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4,6

POETIC DEVICES

Poetic devices can be found everywhere, not just in poetry...

What is a poetic device? 

= a tool a poet/writer uses in a text

= stijlfiguur

Why would you use a poetic device?
What is the purpose?

Why do you use a poetic device? 

- to create rhythm

- to enhance a poem's meaning

- to intensify a mood/feeling

- to make it look better

Poetic devices you're learning:

- alliteration

- rhyme

- repetition

- simile

- metaphor

- assonance

- hyperbole

Alliteration

when two or more words (that are relatively close to each other) start with the same letter(s)

"And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea"

"O! wonderful for weight and whiteness!"

example of an alliteration?

Rhyme

= two or more words of which the last part sounds the same

He is not here; but far away

The noise of life begins again,

And ghastly thro’ the drizzling rain

On the bald street breaks the blank day.

(ABBA-rhyme)

example of an rhyme?

Repetition

= a word or phrase that is repeated several times

O Captain! my Captain! our fearful trip is done,

The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,

The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,

While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;

                         But O heart! heart! heart!

...

example of repetition?

Simile

= a comparison (with comparative word 'like'/'as')

"Jerry's mind wandered during class

Like a balloon floating up in the air.

While he daydreamed about eating lunch

His stomach growled loud like a bear.

His classmates laughed like hyenas,

Which made him feel like a fool.

From now on he'd listen to his mom

And eat breakfast before coming to school."

example of an simile?

Metaphor

= a comparison (without comparative word 'like'/'as')

= implicit comparison

“Hope” is the thing with feathers 

That perches in the soul 

And sings the tune without the words

And never stops at all 

example of an metaphor?

Assonance

= words that have the same sounds, 

either the same vowels or consonants

"Tyger Tyger, burning bright,

In the forests of the night;

What immortal hand or eye,

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?"

example of an assonace?

Hyperbole

= exaggeration

"I gave her the ocean, for she gave me a drop."

“Life’s endless war, an eternal siege.”

“I’ve lived a thousand lives in one lifetime.”

example of an hyperbole?

What poetic device is dominant?

"Tyger Tyger, burning bright,"
- William Blake, Tyger (1794).

"I’ve been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn and a king"
- That's life, Frank Sinatra (1966).

1. assonance
2. rhyme
3. hyperbole
4. alliteration

Alliteration

Alliteration: the repetition of a sound or letter at the beginning of multiple words in a series.

“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary…” 

Edgar Allen Poe, The Raven (1845)

What poetic device is dominant here?

"Psychic spies from China try to steal your mind's elation"
- Californication, Red Hot Chili Peppers (2000).

Boy toy named Troy used to live in Detroit
- Anaconda, Nicki Minaj (2014).

1. assonance
2. simile
3. rhyme
4. alliteration

Assonance

Assonance is the repetition of vowel (klinker) or diphthong sounds (tweeklank) in one or more words found close together.

Chips and dips

Surf and turf 

What poetic device is this?

Cause baby you’re a firework
Come on show them what you’re worth
Make them go oh, oh, oh
As you shoot across the sky
- Firework, Katy Perry (2010).

1. onomatopoeia
2. simile
3. metaphor
4. repetition

Metaphor

Metaphor describes an object or action in a way that isn’t literally true, but helps explain an idea or make a comparison.

life is an emotional rollercoaster

the apple on your cheek

love is a battlefield

What poetic device is used in the first line?

Sweet like a honey bun, spit like a Tommy gun
Rollie a one of one, come get your mommy some
- Money, Cardi B (2018).

1. assonance
2. alliteration
3. metaphor
4. simile

Simile

Simile describes something by comparing it to something else with the words like or as.

life is like a box of chocolates

Those two are as different as night and day.

What poetic device is this?

You were my sun
You were my earth ...
The bridges were burned
Now it's your turn, to cry
Cry me a river
- Cry me a river, Justin Timberlake (2002).

1. assonance
2. hyperbole
3. metaphor
4. simile

Hyperbole

Hyperbole exaggerates something.

“Burning brighter than the sun” — Rihanna

“I’m so high I can hear heaven” — Katy Perry

Poetic devices can be found everywhere, not just in poetry...

What have we learned?

I can smell your scent for miles                                   = HYPERBOLE

You just gotta ignite the night                          = PERSONIFICATION

... caught in a landslide                         =  HYPERBOLE / METAPHOR

You were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter                         = METAPHOR

I'm a hot air balloon that could go to space               = METAPHOR/                                                                                                    HYPERBOLE  

What did you think of this class?
Did you like the format?

Workbook / homework

p 124-125