ENG3CI – Poetry Unit

1. ENG3CI – Poetry Unit Literary Terms

2. Alliteration Definition: A pattern of sound that includes the repetition of consonant sounds in nearby words. Student Examples: • “The bumbling buffoon bounced into battle.” • “The walrus was waiting for the water.” • “She sells sea shells by the seashore.”

3. Allusion Definition: A direct or indirect reference in one work to another work or to a historical person or event. Student Example: “She was dancing like she was onstage with Miley Cyrus.”

4. Hyperbole Definition: The device of exaggeration or overstatement. A device often used to create irony, humour or dramatic effect. Student Example: “I would rather be burnt by a thousand suns than run laps around the track at practice after school.”

5. Imagery Definition: The collected images that exist in a text. These images include mental pictures and any sensory perceptions created in a text through its use of language. Student Example: “The word spread like leaves in a storm.”

6. Metaphor Definition: An implied comparison that does not use ‘like’ or ‘as,’ thus connecting two or more usually unlike things that have something in common. Student Example: “The assignment was a breeze.”

7. Onomatopoeia Definition: A device in which a word imitates the sound it represents. Student Examples: • “The gun went off with a bang.” • “The floorboards creaked underfoot.” • “The leaves rustled in the wind.”

8. Oxymoron Definition: A device that combines contradictory words for dramatic effect. Student Examples: • “Living dead.” • “Jumbo shrimp.” • “Pretty Ugly.”

9. Personification Definition: A technique in which inanimate objects or concepts are given human qualities, forms or actions. Student Example: “The river grabbed at her with greedy hands.”

10. Simile Definition: A stated comparison that uses ‘like’ or ‘as.’ Student Examples: • “Emma runs as fast as a roadrunner.” • “Her head rung like a midday church bell.”

11. Symbolism Definition: Something that represents or stands for something else. Student Examples: • “A poppy is a symbol of fallen soldiers.” • “A heart symbolizes love.” • “White doves symbolize peace and serenity.”