Wondering what alliteration is or how to write in iambic pentameter?
Poets use all sorts of poetic devices and figurative language to make their poems sound a certain way and give the reader a certain feeling. You’ve probably heard about some of these — like simile, metaphor, alliteration, rhyme, and onomatopoeia — but there are all sorts of devices and figurative language you can use in your own writing to really get your message across.
The websites listed here explain the different poetic terms and devices and give samples to show you how they are used. The best way to learn, however, is to just keep writing and experimenting!
Poetry Foundation (extensive glossary)
McGraw-Hill Glossary of Poetic Terms
Poets’ Graves Glossary of Poetic Terms (extensive)
And here’s the big list. How many have you heard of?
allegory
alliteration
allusion
ambiguity
anachronism
anagram
anapest
anaphora
anthropomorphism
antithesis
aphorism
apostrophe
assonance
cacoophony
cadence
caesura
chiasmus
choriamb
circumlocution
conceit
consonance
dactyl
dimeter
dissonance
double dactyl
elision
ellipsis
end-stopped
enjambment
falling meter
figure of speech
foot
heptameter
heroic couplet
hyperbole
iamb
image
imagery
irony
kenning
litotes
metaphor
meter
metonymy
motif
neologism
objectivism
onomatopoeia
oxymoron
palindrome
paradox
parody
pentameter
personification
poetic diction
poetic license
pun
refrain
rhyme
rhythm
scansion
simile
spondee
sprung rhythm
stanza
stress
syllable
symbol
synecdoche
synesthesia
tetrameter
tone
trimeter
trochee
understatement
Leave a Comment