Sound Devices
The repetition of beginning consonant sounds in nearby words
Alliteration
Giving human traits to non-human objects.
Personification
Hints or clues about what will happen later in a story.
Foreshadow
The person or voice telling the poem or story.
Speaker
The main topic or idea being discussed in a text.
Subject
The repetition of vowel sounds within nearby words, like “slow road home.”
Assonance
Extreme exaggeration used for emphasis.
Hyperbole
Placing two contrasting ideas or images side by side for effect.
Juxtaposition
A particular attitude or point of view toward a subject.
Perspective
The emotional or cultural meaning attached to a word beyond its dictionary definition.
Connotation
The repetition of consonant sounds within or at the end of words, such as “blank” and “think.”
Consonance
A phrase that combines contradictory terms like “Jumbo Shrimp.”
Oxymoron
A noticeable change in tone, mood, or topic in a poem or story.
Shift
When a writer unfairly favors one side over another.
Bias
The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry.
Meter
“Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers” is a classic example of this sound device.
Alliteration
“The wind whispered through the trees” uses this device.
Personification
When a dark storm appears right before a tragic event, the author is using this technique.
Foreshadow
In a poem, this is not necessarily the author, but the voice created to tell the poem.
Speaker
“The word ‘snake’ suggests danger and betrayal,” the feelings and ideas connected to the word beyond its literal definition are known as this.
Connotation
In the line “The lumpy, bumpy road,” the repeated “mp” sound is an example of this device.
Consonance
“I’ve told you a million times” is an example of this.
Hyperbole
A poem that moves from hopeful to bitter midway through contains this structural element.
Shift
A news article that only presents one side of an argument demonstrates this.
Bias
Iambic pentameter is a specific type of this poetic element.
Meter