1. Alliteration
The consonant sound of the letter, ‘-‘ in the beginning of the word is repeated pleasingly in quick succession.
Ex. And suddenly that summer near the end of May
Ex. Why do you weave a garment so gay?
2. Antithesis
When a striking opposition or contrast of words or ideas is employed, it is called Antithesis.
Ex. Came back thinner, rather poor, but richer by a cherry tree at my door.
Ex. So little they rose, so little they fell,
3. Paradox
Seemingly impossible use of contrasting words or ideas to suggest a well-founded idea is called Paradox.
Ex. Of our past’s tomorrow.
Ex. Still here I carry my old delicious burdens,
4. Personification
When the objects, abstract ideas or non-human beings are personified and given human qualities for poetic effect, it is called Personification.
Ex. I found a tree had come to stay.
Ex. Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
5. Hyperbole
When an over- statement or exaggerated statement is used to emphasize an idea and give poetic effect, it is called Hyperbole.
Ex. His height seems to touch the starry skies.
6. Repetition
When words, phrases or lines are repeated pleasingly for emphasis, it is called Repetition.
Ex. Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm, so deep!
Ex. I carry them, men and women, I carry them with me wherever I go,
7. Apostrophe
When people or things which are usually absent and yet are directly addressed in the poem it is called Apostrophe.
Ex. Never mind faded forests, Austin,
8. Inversion
The word order is changed to get a certain poetic effect and the line is not as per the grammatical order in Inversion. (Correct grammatical order should be mentioned in the explanation.)
Ex. Sunlight I see, dying fast,
Ex. Then felt I like a child that holds...
9. Simile
When two objects or people of a different kind with some common characteristics are compared directly by using words like: as, so, like, resembles etc., it is called as Simile.
Ex. This city now doth, like a garment, wear the beauty of the morning;
Ex. She walks in beauty, like the night
10. Metaphor
When two things, people are compared indirectly i.e. when the comparison takes it for granted that both the things are one, it is called Metaphor.
Extended Metaphor is when the ideas in Metaphor continue with in the same connection.
Ex. It was very small, five months child,
Ex. How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
11. Onomatopoeia
The words that imitate or express sound are used, it is called Onomatopoeia.
Ex. I hear the bright bee hum:
Ex. And how their wives do hum like bees
12. Transferred Epithet
When an adjective which originally belongs to a particular noun is transferred to another noun (mostly connected) it is called Transferred Epithet.
Ex. Home again, I see him drinking weak tea,
13. Synecdoche
When ‘a part’ is used to represent ‘the whole’ and vice versa or ‘an individual’ is used to represent ‘the class’ it is called Synecdoche.
Ex. Is a single heart rejoicing over what you did or said;
14. Interrogation
When a question is used with some expectation, i.e. to make the reader think over possible answers of the questions raised by the poet, it is called Interrogation.
Ex. Is anybody happier because you passed his way?
15. Rhetorical Question
When a question is asked without expecting any answers but to express strong emotions or powerful feelings or for emphasis, it is called Rhetorical question.
Ex. Pray who would, or who could, were spectacles then?
16. Tautology
When a concept or an idea is repeated by using different words of the same meaning, it is called Tautology.
Ex. That the visage or countenance had not a Nose,
Ex. Done with the indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,
17. Irony
The striking contrast between the expected situation and the reality is called irony.
Ex. But my heart would not bleed poetry. Not a single drop.
Ex. A sound as if with the Inchcape Bell, The devil below was ringing his knell.
18. Climax
It is an arrangement of the words or ideas in an ascending order or in the order of increasing importance.
Ex. Anaesthesia, amnesia, hypnosis.
Ex. The bubbles rose and burst around...
19. Oxymoron
Two contradictory qualities are predicted to be of the same person or thing in Oxymoron.
Ex. So history is new again.
Compiled by
Meenal Deshmukh, N. M. College, Mumbai
