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Rhythm: In literature, rhythm is the pattern of stressed and unstressed beats. Rhythm is most
commonly found in poetry, though it is also present in some works of drama and prose. The
rhythm of a poem can be analyzed through the number of lines in a verse, the number of
syllables in the line, and the arrangement of syllables based on whether they are long or short,
accented or unaccented.
Types of Meter:
The definition of rhythm necessitates the presence of beats, or metrical units. There are five
key metrical units in the English language, as described below:
Iamb—An iamb is comprised of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable.
There is a popular rhythm called iambic pentameter that Shakespeare often used, which is a
line that consists of five iambs, otherwise known as ten syllables in a alternating pattern of
unstressed and stressed beats. Examples of iambs: beGIN, aGAIN, aLIVE
Trochee—The opposite of an iamb, a trochee is one stressed syllable followed by one
unstressed syllable. Examples of trochees: ALtar, BRIDESmaid, MARRiage
Spondee—A spondee is a pattern of two subsequent stressed syllables. Examples of
spondees in English are usually compound words or two one-syllables words: HOW NOW,
RAINSTORM, SUNSHINE
Dactyl—A dactyl is comprised of one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables. A
poem written with many dactyls has a very musical quality to it, such as in a limerick (There
ONCE was a MAN from NanTUCKet). Examples of dactyls: ANimal, TERRible, DIFFerent
Anapest—An anapest is the opposite of a dactyl in that it has two unstressed syllables
followed by one stressed syllable. Examples of anapests: souvenIR, a la CARTE, debonAIR. (Note
that all of these examples have a clear French influence, in which anapests are much more
common than in Germanic languages).
Alliteration: Alliteration is a literary device where words are used in quick succession and begin
with letters belonging to the same sound group. Whether it is the consonant sound or a specific
vowel group, the alliteration involves creating a repetition of similar sounds in the sentence.
Alliterations are also created when the words all begin with the same letter. Alliterations are
used to add character to the writing and often add an element of ‘fun’ to the piece..
Example:
The Wicked Witch of the West went her own way. (The ‘W’ sound is highlighted and repeated
throughout the sentence.)
Repetition: Repetition consists of repeating a word, phrase, or sentence, and is common in
both poetry and prose. It is a rhetorical technique to add emphasis, unity, and/or power. Due to
this definition of repetition, it is a common technique for orators to use. There have been
examples of repetition throughout the course of human history, as it is a good way to help
remember a story, particular lines of a story, or a story in song form. Thus, repetition has been
an essential part of oral storytelling and can be found in legends, folk tales, and religious texts.
Different Types of Repetition:
There are unique terms for many different types of repetition, most of them from Greek origin.
Anaphora: Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several subsequent lines.
Martin Luther King Junior’s speech “I Have a Dream” is a famous example, as he repeats “I have
a dream” at the beginning of several lines.
Mesodiplosis: Repetition of a word in the middle of every line of clause. For example: “we are
perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.”
Epistrophe: Repetition of a word at the end of every line or clause. For example: “What lies
behind us and what lies before us are tiny compared to what lies within us.” (Ralph Waldo
Emerson)
Symploce: A combination of anaphora and epistrophe, symploce is the repetition of a word
or phrase at the beginning of a line and the repetition of another phrase at the end of the line.
For example, symploce occurs in the following statement from Bill Clinton: “When there is talk
of hatred, let us stand up and talk against it. When there is talk of violence, let us stand up and
talk against it.”
Antanaclasis: From the Greek for “bending back,” this is repetition of the same word, but
with different denotations or connotations, often as a type of pun. For example, “Marriage is a
wonderful institution, but who wants to live in an institution?” (Groucho Marx)
Antistasis: More extreme than antanaclasis, this is the repetition of words in opposite senses.
For example: “We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang
separately.” (Benjamin Franklin)
Negative-Positive Restatement: Repetition of an idea in a negative way first, and then in a
positive way. An example is JFK’s famous line “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask
what you can do for your country.”
Epizeuxis or palilogia: Repetition of the same word or phrase without any words in between.
For example, the first three words of the folk song “Row, row, row your boat.”
Diacope: Similar to epizeuxis, this is the repetition of a word or phrase with only one or two
words between the repeated words. “Diacope” comes from the Greek for “to cut in two.” The
famous line from Shakespeare’s rendition of the St. Crispin’s Day speech in Henry V is an
example: “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.”
Conduplicatio: Repetition of one word in different places throughout a line or paragraph. Elie
Weisel used this technique in his The Perils of Indifference: “I am filled with a profound and
abiding gratitude to the American people. Gratitude is a word that I cherish. Gratitude is what
defines the humanity of the human being.”
Anadiplosis or gradatio: Repetition of the last word of one line as the first word of the next.
For example, the proverb “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
Epanalepsis: Repetition of the first word or words of a line also at the end of that line. For
example, “Nothing can be created out of nothing.” (Lucretius)
Diaphora: Repetition of a name to refer to the person and then to the meaning of the name.
The colloquialism “Boys will be boys” is an example of diaphora.
Epimone: Repetition of a phrase question for emphasis or to dwell on a point. From the
Greek for “delay.” An example of epimone is Sojourner Truth’s speech from the Women’s
Convention in 1851 where she repeated the rhetorical question “And ain’t I a woman?” several
times over.
Polyptoton: Repetition of words with the same root but different forms. For example, “With
eager feeding, food doth choke the feeder.” (William Shakespeare, Richard II)
Refrains: Ever heard a song on the radio and been unable to get it out of your head? It likely got
stuck there because of the chorus. In poetry, the chorus is called a refrain.
Coming from an old French word refraindre, meaning to repeat, a poetic refrain is a word,
group of words, line, or group of lines repeated at specific moments in the poem. In songs, the
point of the chorus is to be easily remembered and catchy. In poetry, the refrain's purpose has
a little more to it.
The refrain typically appears at the end of the stanza or as its own stanza in between others,
though this is not always the case. A refrain can include rhymes, but it is not necessary. It can
also be repeated exactly, or the phrasing can vary slightly. Some poetic forms require a refrain,
like a villanelle or a sestina.
Onomatopoeia: The term ‘onomatopoeia’ refers to words whose very sound is very close to the
sound they are meant to depict. In other words, it refers to sound words whose pronunciation
to the actual sound they represent.
Example:
Words such as grunt, huff, buzz and snap are words whose pronunciation sounds very similar to
the actual sounds these words represent. In literature such words are useful in creating a
stronger mental image. For instance, sentences such as “the whispering of the forest trees” or
“the hum of a thousand bees” or “the click of the door in the nighttime” create vivid mental
images.
Simile: Similes are one of the most commonly used literary devices; referring to the practice of
drawing parallels or comparisons between two unrelated and dissimilar things, people, beings,
places and concepts. By using similes a greater degree of meaning and understanding is
attached to an otherwise simple sentence. The reader is able to better understand the
sentiment the author wishes to convey. Similes are marked by the use of the words ‘as’ or ‘such
as’ or ‘like’.
Example:
He is like a mouse in front of the teacher.
Personification: Personification is one of the most commonly used and recognized literary
devices. It refers to the practice of attaching human traits and characteristics with inanimate
objects, phenomena and animals.
Example:
“The raging winds”
“The wise owl”
“The warm and comforting fire”
Rhyme: Rhyme is a popular literary device in which the repetition of the same or similar sounds
occurs in two or more words, usually at the end of lines in poems or songs. In a rhyme in
English, the vowel sounds in the stressed syllables are matching, while the preceding consonant
sound does not match. The consonants after the stressed syllables must match as well. For
example, the words “gaining” and “straining” are rhyming words in English because they start
with different consonant sounds, but the first stressed vowel is identical, as is the rest of the
word.
Types of Rhyme:
There are many different ways to classify rhyme. Many people recognize “perfect rhymes” as
the only real type of rhyme. For example, “mind” and “kind” are perfect rhymes, whereas
“mind” and “line” are an imperfect match in sounds. Even within the classification of “perfect”
rhymes, there are a few different types:
Single: This is a rhyme in which the stress is on the final syllable of the words (“mind” and
“behind”).
Double: This perfect rhyme has the stress on the penultimate, or second-to-last, syllable
(“toasting” and “roasting”).
Dactylic: This rhyme, relatively uncommon in English, has the stress on the antepenultimate,
or third-from-last, syllable (“terrible” and “wearable”).
Here are some other types of general rhymes that are not perfect:
Imperfect or near rhyme: In this type of rhyme, the same sounds occur in two words but in
unstressed syllables (“thing” and “missing”).
Identical rhymes: Homonyms in English don’t satisfy the rules of perfect rhymes because
while the vowels are matching, the preceding consonants also match and therefore the rhyme
is considered inferior. For example, “way,” “weigh,” and “whey” are identical rhymes and are
not considered to be good rhymes. However, in French, this type of rhyming is actually quite
popular and has its own classification, rime riche.
Eye rhyme: This is common in English because so many of our words are spelled in the same
way, yet have different pronunciations. For example, “good” and food” look like they should
rhyme, but their vowel sounds are different.
Imagery: In literature, one of the strongest devices is imagery wherein the author uses words
and phrases to create “mental images” for the reader. Imagery helps the reader to visualize
more realistically the author’s writings. The usage of metaphors, allusions, descriptive words
and similes amongst other literary forms in order to “tickle” and awaken the readers’ sensory
perceptions is referred to as imagery. Imagery is not limited to only visual sensations, but also
refers to igniting kinesthetic, olfactory, tactile, gustatory, thermal and auditory sensations as
well.
Example:
The gushing brook stole its way down the lush green mountains, dotted with tiny flowers in a
riot of colors and trees coming alive with gaily chirping birds.