Poetry Terms: Key Literary Devices Explained

Posted on Nov 5, 2026 in English Studies

1. Basic Poetry Terms

  • Speaker: Voice telling the poem (not always the poet).

  • Stanza: Group of lines, like a paragraph.

  • Theme: Main message or lesson.

  • Tone: Speaker’s attitude (angry, happy, sad).

  • Mood: Feeling created in the reader.

  • Imagery: Description using the five senses.

  • Diction: Word choice.

  • Symbolism: Something that represents a bigger idea (dove = peace).

  • Allusion: Reference to something famous (Romeo = romantic).


2. Sound Devices

  • Alliteration: Repeated beginning consonant sounds (Silly snakes slither).

  • Assonance: Repeated vowel sounds (Rain in Spain).

  • Consonance: Repeated consonant sounds (Blank, think, tank).

  • Onomatopoeia: Words that imitate sounds (Bang, buzz).

  • Repetition: Repeating words or phrases for emphasis.

  • Euphony: Smooth, pleasant sounds (Soft silver stream).

  • Cacophony: Harsh, unpleasant sounds (Clang, crack, crash).

  • Rhythm: Pattern of beats in poetry.


3. Figurative Language

  • Simile: Comparison using like or as (Fast as lightning).

  • Metaphor: Direct comparison (Time is a thief).

  • Personification: Giving human traits to nonhuman things (Wind whispered).

  • Hyperbole: Extreme exaggeration (Waited forever).

  • Oxymoron: Opposite words together (Deafening silence).

  • Paradox: Contradictory statement with a deeper truth (Less is more).

  • Irony: Contrast between expectation and reality (