Poetic Devices and Poems
miXing
AnD
mATcHinG
By: William Meyer
SECTION A
• Poetic Devices Glossary
Poetic Devices Glossary
Irony: a difficult term to define can refer to a manner of expression or a quality in the thing perceived. In both cases, irony involves the perception of discrepancy, usually between apparent and real significance. It is an indirect way of communicating an attitude. Irony can vary in tone, from humorous to bitter. Example- Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge: “Water, water, every where, and all the boards did shrink; Water, water, every where, nor any drop to drink.”
Diction: choice of words. A writing style may vary according to the level of diction: formal or informal. Other terms to distinguish diction are monosyllabic or polysyllabic, concrete or abstract, specific or general. Words that derive from Anglo-Saxon (Old English) tend to be monosyllabic, simple, and familiar; words that are Latinate in origin are often polysyllabic, formal, general and abstract, and they produce a different effect. Jargon is a derogatory term for the needless use of technical terms. Example- Wherever You Are, Be Somewhere Else by Denise Riley: “In a look until dropped like an egg on the floor let slop, crashed to slide and run, yolk yellow for the live, the dead who worked through me.”
Hyperbole: a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect. Example- A Boy and a Man by James Ramsey Ullman: “It was not a mere man he was holding, but a giant; or a block of granite. The pull was unendurable. The pain was unendurable.”
Antithesis: the use of similar grammatical constructions to express contrasting ideas. It is similar to parallelism, but antithesis refers only to the use of parallel phrasing to express contrasts. Example- The Hind and the Panther, Part I by John Dryden: If, as our dreaming Platonists report, There could be spirits of a middle sort, Too black for heav'n, and yet too white for hell, Who
AnD
mATcHinG
By: William Meyer
SECTION A
• Poetic Devices Glossary
Poetic Devices Glossary
Irony: a difficult term to define can refer to a manner of expression or a quality in the thing perceived. In both cases, irony involves the perception of discrepancy, usually between apparent and real significance. It is an indirect way of communicating an attitude. Irony can vary in tone, from humorous to bitter. Example- Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge: “Water, water, every where, and all the boards did shrink; Water, water, every where, nor any drop to drink.”
Diction: choice of words. A writing style may vary according to the level of diction: formal or informal. Other terms to distinguish diction are monosyllabic or polysyllabic, concrete or abstract, specific or general. Words that derive from Anglo-Saxon (Old English) tend to be monosyllabic, simple, and familiar; words that are Latinate in origin are often polysyllabic, formal, general and abstract, and they produce a different effect. Jargon is a derogatory term for the needless use of technical terms. Example- Wherever You Are, Be Somewhere Else by Denise Riley: “In a look until dropped like an egg on the floor let slop, crashed to slide and run, yolk yellow for the live, the dead who worked through me.”
Hyperbole: a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect. Example- A Boy and a Man by James Ramsey Ullman: “It was not a mere man he was holding, but a giant; or a block of granite. The pull was unendurable. The pain was unendurable.”
Antithesis: the use of similar grammatical constructions to express contrasting ideas. It is similar to parallelism, but antithesis refers only to the use of parallel phrasing to express contrasts. Example- The Hind and the Panther, Part I by John Dryden: If, as our dreaming Platonists report, There could be spirits of a middle sort, Too black for heav'n, and yet too white for hell, Who