Sounds of the Shadows
This term describes the repetition of beginning consonant sounds.
What is alliteration?
A phrase with a meaning different from its literal words, like “kick the bucket.”
What is an idiom?
The author’s attitude toward a subject.
What is tone?
Giving human traits to nonhuman things.
What is personification?
The repetition of sounds at the end of words.
Rhyme
“The light of the fire is a sight” is an example of this vowel sound repetition.
What is assonance?
An intentional understatement for effect, like “It’s just a scratch” when your car is wrecked.
What is an understatement?
The feeling or atmosphere a poem creates for the reader.
What is mood?
Comparing two things using “like” or “as.”
What is a simile?
Identify the figurative language: “Her smile was sunshine.”
Metaphor
When consonant sounds repeat anywhere in words (not just the beginning), it’s called ___.
What is consonance?
Words the poet chooses to convey tone or feeling.
What is diction?
The choice of words that help build tone or mood.
What is diction?
A direct comparison that doesn’t use “like” or “as.”
What is a metaphor?
What’s the tone here: “The sky wept quietly as the boy said goodbye”?
Melancholy/Sad
Identify the sound device: “The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain.”
What is repetition?
What is assonance?
Language that appeals to the five senses.
What is imagery?
If the tone is “hopeful,” what kind of mood might that create for readers?
What is optimistic, inspired, happy, joyful?
An extreme exaggeration for emphasis or humor.
What is a hyperbole?
What poetic device is used in this line: “Boom! Crash! The thunder shouted.”
Onomatopoeia and personification
“The knocking, the tapping, the rapping” from The Raven is an example of this repeated technique.
What is repetition?
Comparing two unlike things using “like” or “as” falls under this larger umbrella of poetic tools.
What is figurative language?
A dark, eerie tone in a poem usually leads to this kind of mood.
What is suspenseful or frightening?
When something stands for a larger idea or concept.
What is symbolism?
Explain how diction and tone work together in a poem.
Diction shapes tone by showing the writer’s attitude through word choice.