Poetic+Devices

Hyperbole
An exaggerated statement not intended to be taken literally. Example: I waited for an eternity.

Alliteration
When two or more words in a phrase start with the same letter (or sound). Example: Peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers

Rhythm & Rhyme
Rhythm is a recurrence which gives a distinct beat to a line. Rhyme is a matching of sounds. Example: One, two, Buckle my shoe.

Metaphor
A comparison of two unlike things Example: Life is a roller coaster.

Analogy
A similarity between the like features of two things Example: The comparison heart and a pump

Repetition
Saying the same thing again and again throughout a poem. Example: I am nobody who are you? Are you nobody to?

Personification
Giving something non-human human qualities Example: The wind howled.

Allusion
A reference to a real person, event, place, or work of art. Example: Nicolas Flamel in __Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone__

Euphemism
Hinting at something or making something offensive sound better. Example: He kicked the bucket.

Imagery
Language that invokes one or more of the five senses. Example: Her eyelashes brushed against my cheek as soft as baby's breath.

Irony
Words that convey the opposite of their literal meaning, or a situation where the meaning of something is contradicted by its appearance. There are three kinds if irony verbal, dramatic and irony of situation. Example: A person goes to court for a speeding ticket and on the way gets a speeding ticket.

Malapropism
Misusing or confusing words ridiculously especially words that are similar in sound. Example:Weapons of mass production.

Onomatopoeia
A word that imitates the sound it represents Example: Plop, splash, crash, squeak.

Oxymoron
Putting two contradictory words together Example:Act naturally

Satire
To make fun of human weakness. Example: media type="file" key="Colbert defines terrorism for kids - YouTube.flv"

Simile
A comparison of two unlike things using like or as. Example: The floor was as cold as ice.

Symbol
An action or object that represents more than it's literal meaning Example: The sidewalk in Where the Sidewalk ends.

Theme
The general idea Example: The theme of Romeo and Juliet might be the forcefulness of love.