Apostrophe describes any instance when the speaker talks to a person or object that is absent from the poem. Apostropheĭon’t confuse this with the punctuation mark for possessive nouns-the literary device apostrophe is different. For example, if you were to use matchsticks as a metaphor for love, you could explore love in all its intensity: love as a stroke of luck against a matchbox strip, love as wildfire, love as different matchbox designs, love as phillumeny, etc. The conceit ranks among the most powerful literary devices in poetry.In your own poetry, you can employ a conceit by exploring one metaphor in depth. With the flea as a conceit for intimacy, Donne presents a poem both humorous and strangely erotic.Ī conceit must run through the entire poem as the poem’s central device. The speaker uses the flea as a conceit for physical relations, arguing that two bodies have already intermingled if they’ve shared the odious bed bug. Consider the poem “ The Flea” by John Donne. In order for a metaphor to be a conceit, it must run through the entire poem and be the poem’s central device. Which, when you think about it, it’s kind of stuck-up to have a fancy word for an extended metaphor, so a conceit is pretty conceited, don’t you think? ConceitĪ conceit is, essentially, an extended metaphor. Still, our eye isn’t drawn to the column of I am’s, but rather to Momaday’s stunning metaphors for selfhood. The self shapes the core of Momaday’s poem, as emphasized by the anaphora. This poem is an experiment in metaphor: how many ways can the self be reproduced after “I am”? The simple “I am” anaphora draws attention towards the poet’s increasing need to define himself, while also setting the poet up for a series of well-crafted poetic devices.Īnaphora describes a poem that repeats the same phrase at the beginning of each line. I stand in good relation to the daughter of Tsen-tainte I stand in good relation to all that is beautiful I am a field of sumac and the pomme blanche I am the long track of the moon in a lake
I am the glitter on the crust of the snow I am the evening light, the lustre of meadows I am the fish that rolls, shining, in the water I am the blue horse that runs in the plain Sometimes the anaphora is a central element of the poem’s construction other times, poets only use anaphora in one or two stanzas, not the whole piece.Ĭonsider “ The Delight Song of Tsoai-talee” by N. AnaphoraĪnaphora describes a poem that repeats the same phrase at the beginning of each line. Try to include these poetic devices in your next finished poems! 1.
Let’s examine the essential literary devices in poetry, with examples.
Literary Devices in Poetry: Poetic Devices List We also examine sound devices in poetry as distinct yet essential components of the craft. We will be analyzing and identifying poetic devices in this article, using the poetry of Margaret Atwood, Louise Glück, Shakespeare, and others. Before you read this article, make sure you also read our list of common literary devices across both poetry and prose, which discusses metaphor, juxtaposition, and other essential figures of speech. This article is specific to the literary devices in poetry. Your poetry will be greatly enriched by mastery over the items in this poetic devices list, including mastery over the sound devices in poetry. What do the words “anaphora,” “enjambment,” “consonance,” and “euphony” have in common? They are all literary devices in poetry-and important poetic devices, at that.