Poetic Devices

Poetics Devices

Rhyme
e.g. Poet's Tree by Shel Silverstein
Underneath the poet tree,
Come and rest awhile with me,
And watch the way the word-web weaves,
Between the shady story leaves.
The branches of the poet tree,
Reach from mountains to the sea.
So come and dream, or come and climb -
Just don't get hit by falling rhymes.

Alliteration
e.g. Hug O' War by Shel Silverstein
I will not play at tug o' war I'd rather play at hug o' war, Where everyone hugs Instead of tugs Where everyone giggles And rolls on the rug, Where everyone kisses And everyone grins And everyone cuddles And everyone wins.
Onomatopoeia
e.g. The Rusty Spigot by Eve Marriam

The rusty spigot

sputters,

utters

a splutter,

spatters a smattering of drops,

gashes wider;

slash

splatters

scatters

spurts

finally stops sputtering

and plash!

gushes rushes splashes

clear water dashes.

Simile
e.g. What Happens to a Dream Deferred? by Langston Hughes
Does it dry up  
like a raisin in the sun? 
Or fester like a sore-- 
And then run?  
Does it stink like rotten meat? 
Or crust and sugar over--  
like a syrupy sweet? 

Maybe it just sags   
like a heavy load. 

Or does it explode? 


Metaphor
e.g. The Voice by Shel Silverstein

There is a voice inside of you
That whispers all day long,
"I feel this is right for me,
I know that this is wrong."
No teacher, preacher, parent, friend
Or wise man can decide
What's right for you--just listen to
The voice that speaks inside.

Hyperbole
e.g. Life is Fine by Langston Hughes

I went down to the river,
I set down on the bank.
I tried to think but couldn’t,
So I jumped in and sank.

I came up once and hollered!
I came up twice and cried!
If that water hadn’t a-been so cold
I might’ve sunk and died.

     But it was      Cold in that water!      It was cold!

I took the elevator
Sixteen floors above the ground.
I thought about my baby
And thought I would jump down.

I stood there and I hollered!
I stood there and I cried!
If it hadn’t a-been so high
I might’ve jumped and died.

     But it was      High up there!      It was high!

So since I’m still here livin’,
I guess I will live on.
I could’ve died for love—
But for livin’ I was born

Though you may hear me holler,
And you may see me cry—
I’ll be dogged, sweet baby,
If you gonna see me die.

Life is fine!      Fine as wine!      Life is fine!

Personification
e.g. Take a Poem to Lunch by Denise Rodgers

I'd love to take a poem to lunch

or treat it to a wholesome brunch

of fresh cut fruit and apple crunch.

I'd spread it neatly on the cloth

beside a bowl of chicken broth

and watch a mug of root beer froth.

I'd feel the words collect the mood,

the taste and feel of tempting food

popped in the mouth and slowly chewed,

and get the smell of fresh baked bread

that sniffs inside and fills our head

with thoughts that no word ever said.

And as the words rest on the page

beside the cumin, salt and sage,

and every slowly starts to age,

like soup that simmers as it's stirred,

ingredients get mixed and blurred

and blends in taste with every word

until the poet gets it right,

the taste and smell

and sound and sight,

the words that make it fit.

Just write.

Symbolism
e.g. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we’ll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we’ll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

Imagery
e.g. The Daffodils by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud 

That floats on high o'er vales and hills, 

When all at once I saw a crowd, 

A host, of golden daffodils; 

Beside the lake, beneath the trees, 

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. 

Continuous as the stars that shine 

And twinkle on the milky way, 

They stretched in never-ending line 

Along the margin of a bay: 

Ten thousand saw I at a glance, 

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. 

The waves beside them danced; but they 

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: 

A poet could not but be gay, 

In such a jocund company: 

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought 

What wealth the show to me had brought: 

For oft, when on my couch I lie 

In vacant or in pensive mood, 

They flash upon that inward eye 

Which is the bliss of solitude; 

And then my heart with pleasure fills, 

And dances with the daffodils. 

Free Verse
e.g. Fog by Carl Sandbug
The fog comes 
on little cat feet. 

It sits looking 
over harbor and city 
on silent haunches 
and then moves on.

Allusion
e.g. Smart by Shel Silverstein

My dad gave me one dollar bill
'Cause I'm his smartest son,
And I swapped it for two shiny quarters 
'Cause two is more than one!
And then I took the quarters
And traded them to Lou
For three dimes -- I guess he don't know That three is more than two!
Just then, along came old blind Bates
And just 'cause he can't see
He gave me four nickels for my three dimes, And four is more than three!
And I took the nickels to Hiram Coombs Down at the seed-feed store,
And the fool gave me five pennies for them, And five is more than four!
And then I went and showed my dad, And he got red in the cheeks
And closed his eyes and shook his head-- Too proud of me to speak! 

Rhythm
e.g. Bear in There by Shel Silverstein
There's a polar bear
In our Frigidaire—
He likes it 'cause it's cold in there.
With his seat in the meat
And his face in the fish
And his big hairy paws
In the buttery dish,
He's nibbling the noodles,
He's munching the rice,
He's slurping the soda,
He's licking the ice.
And he lets out a roar
If you open the door.
And it gives me a scare
To know he's in there—
That polary bear
In our Fridgitydaire.