Wordplay: What are Poetic Devices?

Here's an explanation, and a list.

Photo by Robbie Noble on Unsplash

What are poetic devices?

Asking this question immediately brings to mind pictures of other kinds of devices: computers, laptops, phones. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. (Unless we wanted to be very literal, that is, or make some sort of a pun.)

Poetic devices are, you guessed it, devices used in poetry. Literary devices. Techniques, if you wish. A poet’s toolkit!
They can be utilized to take a sentence of ordinary words, and make it into shining poetry. They enhance, emphasize, and build language into something beautiful.
They are, in essence, the tools with which a wordsmith builds their masterpiece.

But poetic devices can be used in more than just poetry. Poetic devices are at work all around us! (That’s personification right there.)
They appear in many knowledgeable newspapers; you can see them on social media; you may even use them yourself! (Notice the alliteration?)

Now, I’ve done some research, and here are some of my favourite poetic devices, sorted alphabetically:

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• Allegory

  Something—generally a story, poem, or picture—that can be understood to have a hidden meaning. Similar to ‘metaphor’ or ‘analogy.’

• Alliteration

  Repetition of the same sound at the start of closely connected words.

• Allusion

  A brief, indirect, or passing reference, intended to call something or someone to mind.

• Analogy

  A comparison between two things, often to help explain or clarify an idea.

• Anaphora

  The repetition of a word or group of words, at the start of successive clauses or connected sentences.

• Antonym

  The opposite of a word. Coincidentally enough, also the antonym of ‘synonym.’

• Assonance

  Repetition of vowel sounds in closely connected words. Often used for slant rhymes.

• Blank Verse

  A technique where poetry is written with meter, but without rhyme.

• Caesura

  A strategic pause in/near the middle of a line of poetry.

• Chiasmus

  A figure of speech in which a sentence is inverted, or repeated in reverse order.

• Consonance

  Repetition of similar sounding consonants in closely connected words. Similar to ‘assonance’.

• Enjambment

  A technique used in poetry, in which a sentence continues over a line break.

• Epistrophe

  The repetition of a word or group of words, at the start of successive clauses or connected sentences. Similar to ‘anaphora.’

• Foreshadowing

  A narrative technique in which the writer hints towards events yet to come.

• Hyperbole

  The use of exaggeration for a purpose, to prove a point or to show emphasis.

• Idiom

  An expression that means something different than the individual words within it.

• Imagery

  Visual symbolism; figurative language that brings to mind a picture or image.

• Irony

  The expression of one’s intended meaning through words that state the opposite, usually for comedic or humorous effect.

• Juxtaposition

  The act of placing two contrasting things or concepts side by side.

• Metaphor

  A figure of speech that refers to one thing as though it is another thing, to make a poetic comparison.

• Meter

  The rhythmic structure, or beats, in a line or verse of poetry.

• Metonym

  A technique in which a term is substituted for the name of an object or person.

• Motif

  A repeating image, sound, or symbol that is referred to throughout a larger work such as a poem or story.

• Onomatopoeia

  A written-down word mimicking a real-world sound.

• Oxymoron

  A combination of contradictory or opposing words.

• Personification

  A technique in which something non-human is given human characteristics or nature.

• Proverb

  A traditional or well-known saying, usually to offer advice, wisdom, or to impart some kind of truth. Many proverbs make use of other poetic devices.

• Pun

  The humorous use of a word that either has multiple meanings, or is similar to a different word in sound, using this to play with the various meanings for comedic effect.

• Repetition

  In which something—a word, phrase, or idea—is repeated; said more than once. This can be a good way to emphasize an idea.

• Repetition

  When something—a word, phrase, or idea—is repeated; said more than once. This can be a good way to emphasize an idea.

• Rhyme

  Repeating sounds in differing words, in the final syllables of sounds of said words.

• Rhythm

  A pattern of sound or movement, in this case throughout a written work.

• Sarcasm

  The use of irony, usually spoken irony, to taunt or mock.

• Simile

  An expression of comparison, usually using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’. Similar to ‘metaphor.’

• Symbolism

  A technique which involves giving things deeper meaning than they would ordinarily have.

• Synechdoche

  A figure of speech in which the term for a part of something is substituted for the whole, or the term for the whole substituted for a part of it. Similar to ‘metonym.’

• Synonym

  A word with a similar meaning to another word.

• Tmesis

  A technique in which a word or phrase is broken up through use of another word.

• Tone

  A literary device conveying the author or narrator’s attitude towards a given topic.

• Zeugma

  A play of words in which a word is used to apply differently, with two different meanings, to two other words within one single sentence.

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There! You've finally made it to the bottom of my list—and hopefully learned a lot along the way.

What's your favourite poetic device? Are there any you're planning to use more often? Is there a poetic device I haven't included, that you'd like to share? Comment and let me know!

Thanks for reading! Keep an eye out for future posts, where I may or may not expand on some of the above.

May every story be incredible—

Emily B.