Similes: figures of speech that compares two unlike things, using the words like or as. | "His feet were as big as boats."
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Alliteration: the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words. | "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers." |
Metaphor: a figure of speech that compares two unlike things directly, without the use of like or as. | "Her hair is silk." |
Personification: assigning human qualities to non-human things. | "The tropical storm slept for two days." |
Onomatopoeia: words that imitate sounds. | "Boom. Gurgle. Plink." |
Hyperbole: an expression of exaggeration. | "I nearly died laughing." |
| Symbolism: using an object to represent an idea. A symbol means what it is and also something more. | Lions often symbolize royalty. |
| Puns: words with a humorous double meaning, a "play on words." | "A dog not only has a fur coat but also pants." |
| Idioms: expressions that have a meaning apart from the meanings of the individual words. | "It's raining cats and dogs." |
Foot: the time period into which the beat of the poetic line is divided. A foot is made up of several
syllables, some long and some short. | |
Meter: refers to how the feet are put together to form lines of poetry. The combinations of long
and short syllables give poetry a musical feel. | |
| Rhythm: the pattern of long and short syllables in a poetic line. In modern poetry, some words receive greater vocal emphasis than others. |
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| Lyrics: what poets write, the actual words used to form the framework of rhythm and meter. | |
Mood: the overall feeling the poem creates. Mood, or tone, for example, can be playful, sad, lonely, angry or joyful. | |
