Download Literary Devices

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Rhyme: Some poems have a pattern
rhyme at the end of each line. For
example, words rhyme in pairs (aa,bb) or
some have a skip-skip pattern (abab).
Check out the rhyming patterns of your
favorite poems or make up some of your
own.
A couplet is one form of bound verse. It
has two rhyming lines with about the
same number of poetic feet in each line.
Usually, a couplet's content is something
silly. It has no title.
Example:
 Take my nice, new shiny nickel (A) 4 feet
Sell me that juicy, garlic pickle! (A) 4 feet
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A triplet, or tercet, is another form of
bound verse. It contains three lines of
poetry, usually rhyming, with about the
same number of poetic feet in each line.
It has a title.
Example:
 The presents that you bring (A)
Are not only just for me (B)
Because you brought the spring. (A)
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A quatrain is a poem written in four,
rhymed lines following a set pattern. They
follow any one of four rhyme patterns
(AABB, ABAB, ABBA, or ABCB). The poem
usually has about the same number of
poetic feet in each line. When quatrains
are part of a longer poem, each group is
called a stanza or "paragraph". There is
a title if the quatrain stands alone.

The lizard is a timid thing (A)
That cannot dance or fly or sing; (A)
He hunts for bugs beneath the floor (B)
And longs to be a dinosaur. (B)

Free Verse: Poetry can be free of any
rhyme, and can have different numbers
of words on each line.
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Alliteration: The same sound starts a
series of words or syllables. Ex. The cold
clammy hands clasped around my neck.
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Similes: A simile is a comparison using the
words "like" or "as". Ex. He was as
comfortable as a bug in a rug.
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Personification: Personification is making
a non-living object seem alive, like a
person. Ex. The wind groaned.
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Onomatopoeia: the formation of a word,
as cuckoo, meow, honk, or boom, by
imitation of a sound made by or
associated with its referent.

Metaphors: A metaphor is a comparison
in which something is said to be
something else. Ex. the clouds are fluffy
pillows.

Refrain: Some poems have a refrain, or
repeated words or phrases. This is similar
to the chorus in a song.