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Name: _______________________________________ Period: _______________
Edgar Allan Poe: “To Helen”
Literary Devices
Rhyme: The repetition of sounds in two or more words or phrases that appear close to each other in a poem. If
the rhyme occurs at the end of the lines, it is called end rhyme.
Here is an example from John Greenleaf Whittier’s Snowbound:
All day the gusty north wind bore
The loosening drift its breath before;
Low circling round its southern zone,
The sun through dazzling snow-mist shone.
The pattern of end rhymes in a poem is called rhyme scheme. A poem’s rhyme scheme may be identified by
assigning the letter “a” to the first rhyme, the letter “b” to the second rhyme, and so forth.
John Greenleaf Whittier’s Snowbound:
A
All day the gusty north wind bore
A
The loosening drift its breath before;
B
Low circling round its southern zone,
B
The sun through dazzling snow-mist shone.
Task: Write the rhyme scheme of the poem, “To Helen”, below.
Stanza 1: _______________________________
Stanza 2: _______________________________
Stanza 3: _______________________________
Allusion: A reference to a person, a place, an event, or literary work that a writer expects a reader to recognize.
Allusions may be drawn form literature, mythology, religion, history, or geography.
Example: An allusion to Greek mythology may be found in this line from Oliver Wendell Holmes’ “The
Chambered Nautilus”:
In gulfs enchanted, where the Siren sings
Here Holmes alludes to the Sirens, sea nymphs who enchanted sailors with their songs and lured them to their
deaths. The allusion helps to evoke the mystery of the sea.
Task: List at least (3) references to Greek mythology found in the poem
1. __________________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________________________
Alliteration: The repetition of similar sounds, usually consonants, in a group of words, usually in the same line.
It is pleasing to the ear, it emphasizes words in which it occurs, and it links and emphasizes the ideas the words
express.
Here is an example from Poe’s “The Raven”:
Doubting, dreaming, dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.
Here, alliteration links the ideas of dreaming, doubting, and daring.
Task: List (3) examples of alliteration in the poem.
1. ________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________
Assonance: The repetition of similar vowel sounds, especially in poetry. Assonance creates a musical effect
and emphasizes certain sounds to create a mood. Assonance can be found in different lines.
Here is an example from Poe’s “The Bells”:
From the molten-golden notes.
Task: List (2) examples of assonance in the poem.
1. _______________________________________
2. _______________________________________
Simile: A figure of speech comparing two essentially unlike things through the use of a specific word of
comparison, such as like, as, than, or resembles.
Task: List (2) similes found in the poem and explain the comparison being made.
1. ____________________________________________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________________________________________