This post is a simple guide to assist you to define poetic devices. But be warned that it is devoted to the definitions of the less common poetic devices. So you will not find such terms as metaphor, simile or personification here.
You will find the definitions of the various types of poetry as well as other terms related to poetry in this post.
I have deliberately paid much attention to the definition of the various types of rhyme in poetry. Who knows, you may be in for a surprise in that Literature objective test paper.
We cannot discount the possibility of a surprise in the essay section of the WASSCE Literature test either.
Are you now ready to find out how to define poetic devices like blank verse, free verse, heroic couplets, feminine rhyme, masculine rhyme, internal rhyme and metre?
What about eye rhyme, rime niche and scansion?
Then come along with me. Let’s get going.
PASTORAL POETRY
It is about simple, rural life (life in the countryside) especially of shepherds.
EPIC
An epic is a long narrative poem recounting the great deeds of heroic or supernatural figures of history.
ALTERNATE RHYME
The alternate rhyme is a rhyming pattern (scheme) with the first line rhyming with the third, the second with the fourth and so on.
We are talking here about the abab, cdcd etc rhyming pattern.
Example:
Those who live through pain
And have their blood shed
Shall have so much gain
When their victories are read.
SYLLABLE
A syllable is the linguistic unit on which stress is placed or not placed in poetry and other forms of expression.
Example: today(2 syllables) “to” is unstressed and “day” is stressed.
FOOT
Foot here refers to a metrical unit in poetry. It may consist of one stressed and one unstressed syllable, two stressed and one unstressed syllable etc
Example: I vow\ to thee\ my country = 3 feet
PARODY
In Literature, parody refers to an exaggerated imitation, which ridicules another author’s work in a harsh manner.
ANTI-CLIMAX OR BATHOS
It is the opposite of climax consisting in a descent from a higher level to lesser heights, the intensity or importance weakening instead of increasing toward the end
Here is a simple example of anti-climax.
He lost his wife, his child, his house, his dog and his sandals at one swoop of fate.
THEME
Theme is the underlying message in a literary work. Love, hate, materialism, corruption, politics, etc are common themes in poetry.
Example:
“My people, I have been somewhere
If I turn here, the rain beats me
If I turn there the sun burns me
The firewood of this world
Is for only those who can take heart
That is why not all can gather it ……”
KOFI AWOONOR: SONGS OF SORROW
The theme of this extract is suffering
PASTORAL POETRY:
Pastoral poetry is about simple, rural life (life in the countryside) especially of shepherds.
Example: “Michael” by William Wordsworth
ALLUSION
Allusion is the reference to issues that are outside the literary work being studied.
Example: “A Daniel has come to judgment” is biblical allusion by the character Shylock in William Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice.
CLIMAX
Climax refers to the crisis stage in a series of events in a poem, story or play.
APOSTROPHE
An address to an imaginary person or object as if they were present, usually in poetry.
Example: You my ancestors, come to my aid
RHYME
Rhyme is the sameness of sounds especially in the last syllable of words in line endings of poetry
Example: time/clime keep/reap
STANZA
A division of a poem or song.
BLANK VERSE
Blank verse refers to an unrhymed five-foot iambic metre poem
FREE VERSE
Free Verse refers to a poem with the following features.
It has no regular metre or rhythm
A Free Verse poem does not follow any standard rhyme scheme
It is based on normal pauses and natural rhythmical phrases
The experimentation with free verse started somewhere in the 19th century.
The French version of Free Verse is vers libre.
HEROIC COUPLETS
Heroic couplets are successive five-foot iambic lines rhyming in pairs
NEGRITUDE
Literature, especially poetry meant to celebrate Africa and its black people. Its main proponent is Leopold Sedar Senghor.
Examples: i) Long, long have you held (ii) Black Woman (iii) I will pronounce your name, Naett.
FORM
Form refers to the shape or appearance of a poem defined by the sound and rhythm of the words, line-length, stanza, structure as well as the use of such poetic devices as rhyme, imagery, metaphor etc.
EPIC HERO
An epic hero is a strong, adventurous, legendary figure.
SCANSION
In poetry, Scansion is the process of counting the stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem to determine its rhythm.
RHYTHM
Rhythm is the musical flow of the lines in a poem. Rhythm is poetry is produced, among other things, by the alternation of long and short words, stressed and unstressed syllables, rhyme and so on.
METRE
Metre is a term in poetry which refers to the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem.
ATMOSPHERE
Atmosphere in Literature is the general feeling that a poem or any other literary work creates. The atmosphere could be that of sadness, dullness, gaiety, frenzy, tension, calmness etc. Atmosphere and mood are interrelated.
SUBJECT MATTER
Subject matter in Literature refers to the content of a piece of writing. It deals with all that the writer has described or narrated in a literary work. It is from the subject matter that the theme is derived.
STRUCTURE
This refers to the way in which the poem has been built. The structure of a poem shows how the various elements or components are put together to form a particular piece of work. In poetry, structure deals with the stanzas into which the poem is divided as well as the number of lines and ideas that each stanza consists of.
ODE
Ode is any poem written in honour of a person or object to extol a special idea. It is usually in irregular metre and expressing noble feelings.
Example: Ode To A Nightingale
BALLAD
A ballad is a narrative poem which is usually sung. It is written in short stanzas and usually centered on love, battle, death etc. The subject of a ballad is usually communal and impersonal in nature. Common subjects of ballads include legends, tribal wars, group catastrophes, the supernatural, and heroic stories treated to show a collective or communal concern.
IDYLL
It is a poem which describes life in the countryside (villages). William Wordsworth’s The Solitary Reaper is an example of an Idyll.
DOGGEREL
It is a short and simple poem written in verse containing some amount of humour. A doggerel has no distinct form.
LIMERICK
Limerick is a type of poem which has no serious theme and is written in a single stanza of five lines.
EULOGY
A eulogy is any piece of writing which praises a person, an idea, a group, a country. At a funeral a eulogy celebrates the deceased.
ELEGY
An elegy is a poem that reflects upon a subject with sorrow. It is usually about someone who has died or about any sorrowful subject.
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DIRGE
A dirge is a song meant for mourning the dead.
REFRAIN
A refrain is line or lines of a poem or song, repeated especially at the end of each stanza or verse.
LYRIC
A lyric is a poem, which deals with the personal thoughts and feelings of the poet. It is usually written on the theme of love, death etc. It is sung to the accompaniment of musical instruments.
CONCRETE POEM
A poem shaped to look like what it means. The placement of letters, words, lines and punctuation creates a striking visual effect.
POETIC LICENCE
Poetic Licence is freedom allowed by custom in the writing of poetry to disobey the rules of grammar and expression.
QUATRAIN
A poem, or verse of a poem consisting of four lines.
INTERNAL RHYME
Internal rhyme refers to the sameness of sound in the middle of lines especially in poetry.
Example: Willy – Nilly
END RHYME
End rhyme is the sameness of sound at the end of lines in poetry.
EPIC SIMILE
An epic simile is a lengthy and elaborate kind of simile used as digression in a narrative poem
Epic simile is a regular feature of an epic (narrative poetry).
HALF RHYME
Half rhyme refers to similar initial consonants followed by different vowels and similar final consonants. Example: Force/Face
NURSERY RHYME
Popular poetry for children which has well-measured rhyming lines.
Examples: “Baa – baa – black sheep…”
“Twinkle – twinkle little star…”
FEMININE RHYME
Feminine rhyme refers to the sameness of sound in words with one unstressed syllable following a stressed one. Usually di- syllabic words. (two-syllable words)
/ _ / _ / _ / _
Example: (i) ringing/ singing (ii) leather/ together
MASCULINE RHYME
In Masculine Rhyme, there are no unstressed syllables following the stressed ones in the words that rhyme. Usually mono-syllabic words. (one-syllable words)
/ / / /
Example: (i) flee / glee (ii) hand / stand
FULL RHYME (COMPLETE RHYME)
There are three important attributes of a Full Rhyme.
First, the two rhyming words have identical vowels in the stressed rhyming syllables.
Secondly, the sound (consonant) following these vowels are also identical.
Lastly, the sounds coming before the stressed rhyming syllable are different.
Example: (i) Hand /stand (ii) Great / Mate
EYE RHYME
In an Eye Rhyme, the spellings of the rhyming elements are the same but the sounds are different.
Example: Love / Prove
TRIPLE RHYME
Sameness of sound in three-syllable words.
Example: Glamorous / amorous.
RIME NICHE
Rhymes in which the consonant preceding the rhyming syllables are similar even if spelling and meaning differ.
Another term used for rime niche is homophony.
Example: maid /made
Would you love to see how to define poetic devices that are not present in this post? Let me know in a comment below.
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Ralph Nyadzi is the Director of Studies at Cegast Academy. He is a qualified English tutor with decades of experience behind him. Since 2001, he has successfully coached thousands of High School General Arts WASSCE candidates in English, Literature and related subjects. He combines his expertise with a passion for lifelong learning to guide learners from varying backgrounds to achieve their educational goals. Ralph shares lessons from his blogging journey on BloggingtotheMax. He lives with River, his pet cat, in the Central Region of Ghana.
