Poetic Devices/ Figure of Speech/ Literary Devices

1. Simile : Compares one thing to another (of a different kind, and yet alike in some significant way)

For e.g. Her mother was looking as a late winter moon.

Her face ashen like that of a corpse.

1. Metaphor: A word or phrase for one thing that is used in place of another thing in order to show or suggest that they are similar. ‘Like’ or ‘As’ is not used in metaphor.

For e.g. Life is a big roller-coaster ride.

This world is a rattrap and all humans are rats.

1. Alliteration: The repetition of consonant sounds, especially at the beginning of the words.

For e.g. Don’t drink and drive.

If Peter piper picked a pack of pickled peppers.

1. Repetition: The repeated use word or word pattern.

For e.g. All she did was smile, smile and smile.

1. Personification: The practice of representing an inanimate object or an abstract idea as a person, and endowing it with human traits.

For e.g. The sun stretched its golden arms and greeted everyone with his kind smile

The trees were fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

1. Pun: The pun can use multiple meanings of the same word (homonyms) or different meanings of similar sounding words.

For e.g. I am a mender of bad soles.

I was struggling to figure out how lightning works.

1. Antithesis: The juxtaposition of contrasting words or ideas to give a feeling of balance

For e.g. There was both Peace and War

Good and Evil are the part of life.

1. Onomatopoeia: The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named.

For e.g. Buzz, Woof, Hiss, Quack, Beep

1. Assonance: The use of words that have the same or very similar vowel sounds near one another.

For e.g. The fat cat had a smack. Alas! It was a tough nut to crack.

Well, it rises high into the bright blue sky.

1. Oxymoron: The conjoining of two contradictory words.

For e.g. I observed deafening silence there.

It was an intelligent donkey.