Sound Devices
This device uses language, not as parts of speech, but to represent sound effects.
What is Onomatopoeia?
This device uses "like" or "as" to compare two separate things; the act of comparison illuminates something.
What is a Simile?
This device is a question asked without expectation or need of an answer
What is a Rhetorical Question?
"Skkrt" and "pshw pshw", from Gucci Mane and 21 Savage respectively (skkrt being heavily adopted by many), are widely used examples of this device.
What is onomatopoeia?
This device uses repeating consonant sounds within the interior and end of words.
What is Consonance?
This device compares two separate things by insisting one is the other. This act of comparison illuminates something.
What is Metaphor?
A device wherein the literal meaning of the words is unrelated to the intended meaning. This device is understood through cultural or generational usage.
What is an Idiom?
Ye describing his affection for KK: "...you mean to tell me that this girl with this body, this face, is also into style, she's a nice person, and she has her own money and is family-oriented? She's cooler than a fighter jet, or even a dinosaur!" is an example of this device.
What is hyperbole?
Ye's "Heartless" features this use of repeated consonant sounds when he states "Talking talking talking talk."
What is Consonance?
This device uses repeating consonant sounds, but only at the beginnings of words.
What is Alliteration?
This device pairs two contradictory words together; this pairing produces a new effect.
What is Oxymoron?
This device is the act of referencing a well-known (to the listener) figure, concept, event, or media for explanatory or humorous purposes.
What is Allusion?
Ludacris respectfully asking "How low can you go?"
is an example of this type of device.
What is Rhetorical Question?
"Time to plant, time to reap, time to kill, time to heal"
by Pete Seeger uses repeating starting words for emotional effect.
What is anaphora?
This device features repeating vowel sounds that are used at the middle or end of words; it can include rhyme, but is not limited to it.
What is Assonance?
This device takes the form of a statement or situation wherein a contradiction is expressed.
What is Paradox?
This device features characters communicating directly with an object, non-living concept, or absent person; by definition, it is a monologue.
What is Apostrophe?
"I’m wondering if a thug’s prayers reach
Is Pious pious cause God loves pious?
Socrates asked whose bias do y'all seek?
All for Plato, screech…"
in Jay-Z's and Ye's "No Church in the Wild" is full of examples of this device.
What are Allusions?
Kendrick Lamar's "Swimming Pools" - 'I was in a dark room, loud tunes, looking to make a vow soon' -
...is an example of this type of vowel rhyming.
What is assonance?
This device is the intentional repetition of initial words/phrases – often in speeches – where emphasis creates an effect.
What is Anaphora?
This device is a comparison between two different systems or ideas, wherein the act of comparison helps explain one or the other. These are often extended, and are similar to simile & metaphor in effect.
What is Analogy?
This device uses mild, soft, sanitized language to speak about unpleasant concepts.
What is Euphemism?
"You say I treat you like a book on a shelf,
I don't take you out that often
'cause I know that I've completed you,"
is making this type of comparison between a person and a book.
What is a simile // analogy?