By Hannah VermontPoetry can be hard. It's not easy to ramble something off and have it sound like Shakespeare, right? Well, that's why I'm here! The Poetry Princess is back, and this time we will be discussing the literary devices used by the best of the best to make their poems sound like dripping honey. There are many different devices used in poetry. The most common ones that we will be discussing today are alliteration, consonance, repetition, rhyme scheme, meter, rhythm, imagery and voice.
Alliteration is the repeated use of the same consonant sound at the beginning of a word in the same line. It is often coupled with consonance(the repetition of one consonant sound in the same word) in tongue twisters: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers; A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked; As you can see, repetition is a big thing in poetry. Whether its with letters, rhyme schemes, or words, it can make an impact on the reader. Most poets will use the repetition of a particular word or phrase in order to convey the meaning or main idea behind their work: The Babe, anon, is sleeping, The Babe, anon, is near, Everyday you swear he's growing, Everyday you hold him here; In this stanza, we see an ABAB rhyme scheme with the repetition of the first in the lines and the structure of the lines as well. This draws the attention of the reader to what is being said. Meter is the stressed and unstressed pattern of syllables in the lines of a poem. The meter provides the rhythm, or flow, of the poem through each stressed syllable having an unstressed syllable to balance it(which makes one meter). Usually, the line will start with an unstressed syllable and end with a stressed one. Shakespeare used iambic pentameter. Another common form would be in iambic tetrameter. Iambic pentameter refers to there being 5 meters in each line, whilst tetrameter signifies 4. These two terms speak to how many "meters" are in one line. [Shall I] [compare] [thee to] [a sum][mer’s day?]---5 meters [Thou art] [more lov][ely and] [more temp][erate].----5 meters [Rough winds] [do shake] [the dar][ling buds] [of May,]----5 meters [And sum][mer’s lease] [hath all] [too short] [a date.]----5 meters Imagery is used in poetry to spark any of the five senses. Using any amount of descriptive language to get the reader to feel something is considered imagery. Velvety lashes sweep across the hand, Making tiny traces of phantom lines Luscious and smooth, he touches the stalks Emerald hills elongate before him, The above lines uses tactile imagery to makes the reader feel what the poet is talking about. With similes and the comparison to things most people can relate to, the reader is able to understand what the narrator is feeling. Voice is when the speaker/narrator of the poem is coming out through the words. This can be done through imagery, tone, rhythm, and diction. And turnin' corners, And sometimes goin' in the dark Where there ain't been no light, So boy, don't you turn back. Don't you set down on the steps Near the end of the poem, the speaker's voice can be heard, as a mother speaking to her son. Reading it aloud, it is possible to hear the mother's voice coming out. And there you have it folks! Different common concepts used when creating poetry. Now that you know, we will look into picking a part a short poem and understanding possibilities of its meaning. Poetry Princess out...!
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