One of the techniques used to achieve a poet’s ideas is the use of stanzas.

Stanzas are
both a functional and creative tool that influences a poem and how it is read.

A stanza is a set of lines that are grouped together in a poem. Stanzas are sepa-
rated in order to divide and organize a poem. In poetry, they function similarly to
how paragraphs function in prose. There are various types of stanzas that are typi-
cally defined by the number of lines. Stanzas are used by poets to influence a
poem’s structure, rhythm, shape, and organization.

Devices that create sound and rhythm in poetry

Assonance: using identical vowel sounds, like the o sound in words like roses and
golden or the e sound in sleep and green.
Examples of assonance across words include: crying time; hop-scotch; great flakes; be-
tween trees; and, the kind knight rides by.

Alliteration: using the same initial consonant sound like picture perfect play or daring
deed
The term itself derives from the Latin word “Latira”, meaning “letters of alphabet”.
A strong example of alliteration is in the tongue twister Peter Piper.
Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers

Consonance: using the same final consonant sound, like up and drip or pain and bone.
It’s the counterpart to assonance, which refers to the repetition of vowel sounds instead
of consonant ones, and has some overlap with alliteration, which is limited to sounds
that repeat at the start of words.

Cacophony A discordant series of harsh, unpleasant sounds helps to convey disorder.

This is often furthered by the combined effect of the meaning and the difficulty of pro-
nunciation.
Example: My stick fingers click with a snicker And, chuckling, they knuckle the keys;
Light-footed, my steel feelers flicker And pluck from these keys melodies. —“Player
Piano,” John Updike

Euphony: A series of musically pleasant sounds, conveying a sense of harmony and

beauty to the language.
Example: Than Oars divide the Ocean,
Too silver for a seam—
Or Butterflies, off Banks of Noon
Leap, splashless as they swim.
— “A Bird Came Down the Walk,” Emily Dickinson (last stanza)

Onomatopoeia: using words that are like sounds effects, such as boom, whoosh, and
pop

Repetition is a literary device that involves intentionally using a word or phrase for ef-
fect, two or more times in a speech or written work. For repetition to be noticeable, the
words or phrases should be repeated within close proximity of each other. Repeating
the same words or phrases in a literary work of poetry or prose can bring clarity to an
idea and/or make it memorable for the reader.

Rhyme

Types of rhyme include:

Full rhyme – cat/hat/, dog/log.
Slant Rhyme also called Half or para-rhyme – cat/hit, lover/river, bells/twelve.
Internal rhyme – rhyme that does not occur at the end of the line (the usual place
rhyme is found) –
Today, as I walked, the large black cat, tipped his hat at me and smiled.

(we will not discuss this) Rhythm: Although the general public is seldom directly con-
scious of it, nearly everyone responds on some level to the organization of speech
rhythms (verbal stresses) into a regular pattern of accented syllables separated by un-
accented syllables. Rhythm helps to distinguish poetry from prose.
Such patterns are sometimes referred to as meter. Meter is the organization of voice
patterns, in terms of both the arrangement of stresses and their frequency of repetition
per line of verse. Poetry is organized by the division of each line into “feet,” metric units
which each consist of a particular arrangement of strong and weak stresses. The most
common metric unit is the iambic, in which an unstressed syllable is followed by a
stressed one (as in the words reverse and compose).

A Partial list of Devices that create meaning in poetry

Connotation: The emotional, psychological or social overtones of a word; its implica-

tions and associations apart from its literal meaning.

Contrast: Closely arranged things with strikingly different characteristics. Example: He

was dark, sinister, and cruel; she was radiant, pleasant, and kind.

Hyperbole: An outrageous exaggeration used for effect. Example: He weighs a ton.

Imagery: The use of vivid language to generate ideas and/or evoke mental images, not
only of the visual sense, but of sensation and emotion as well. While most commonly
used in reference to figurative language, imagery can apply to any component of a
poem that evoke sensory experience and emotional response, and also applies to the
concrete things so brought to mind.
Poetry works it magic by the way it uses words to evoke “images” that carry depths of
meaning.

The poet’s carefully described impressions of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch can
be transferred to the thoughtful reader through imaginative use and combinations of dic-
tion. In addition to its more tangible initial impact, effective imagery has the potential to
tap the inner wisdom of the reader to arouse meditative and inspirational responses.
Related images are often clustered or scattered throughout a work, thus serving to cre-
ate a particular mood or tone. Images of disease, corruption, and death, for example,
are recurrent patterns shaping our perceptions of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Irony: A contradictory statement or situation to reveal a reality different from what ap-
pears to be true. Example: Wow, thanks for expensive gift...let’s see: did it come with a
Fun Meal or the Burger King equivalent?

Metaphor: A direct comparison between two unlike things, stating that one is the other
or does the action of the other.
Example: He’s a couch potato. She has a heart of gold. Your eyes are the sun. Her fin-
gers danced across the keyboard.

An extended metaphor is one that goes on for several sentences or a whole poem. If a
metaphor is extended across an entire piece of writing, it’s called a controlling
metaphor. The red dress in the poem “What Do Women Want?” is an example of a
controlling metaphor.
In the novel Invisible Man, for example, Ralph Ellison extends the metaphor of invisibil-
ity to describe how black men and women are often overlooked in American society,
pushed to the margins and into the shadows.

Oxymoron: A combination of two words that appear to contradict each other.

Example: original copy; bittersweet; seriously funny; virtual reality

Paradox: A statement in which a seeming contradiction may reveal an unexpected

truth. When an author creates a paradox on purpose, they’re trying to engage the
reader on a deeper level. They do not present the information the reader needs on the
surface. Instead, the reader is asked to dig deeper and try to uncover something more
meaningful in the present contradiction or seeming impossibility.

Common Examples of Paradoxes

• The more you give, the more you get.
• The pen is mightier than the sword.
• The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
• Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
• Less is more.
• The only constant is change
(more info here: https://poemanalysis.com/literary-device/paradox/ )

Oxymorons are often confused with paradoxes. Despite the similarities, however, oxy-
morons and paradoxes are two different types of literary devices, each with their own
special usage.

The main difference between an oxymoron and a paradox is that oxymorons use con-
tradictory words whereas paradoxes use contradictory ideas. The scope of a para-
dox can go much deeper, drawing on complicated themes and philosophical concepts.
The scope of oxymorons, however, is limited only to the scope of the individual words
used.

Personification: Attributing human characteristics to an inanimate object, animal, or

abstract idea. Example: The days crept by slowly, sorrowfully.
Pun: Word play in which words with totally different meanings have similar or identical
sounds. Example: Like a firefly in the rain, I’m de-lighted.
Simile: A direct comparison of two unlike things using “like” or “as.”
Example: Her eyes are like comets.
Symbol: An ordinary object, event, animal, or person to which we have attached extra-
ordinary meaning and significance – a flag to represent a country, a lion to represent
courage, a wall to symbolize separation. Example: A small cross by the dangerous
curve on the road reminded all of Johnny’s death.

Point of View: Point of view (POV) is what the character or narrator telling
the story can see (his or her perspective). The author chooses “who” is to tell the
story by determining the point of view. Depending on who the narrator is, he/she
will be standing at one point and seeing the action. This viewpoint will give the nar-
rator a partial or whole view of events as they happen. Many stories have
the protagonist telling the story, while in others, the narrator may be another char-
acter or an outside viewer, a narrator who is not in the story at all. The narrator
should not be confused with the author, who is the writer of the story and whose
opinions may not be those written into the narrative.
• First Person:
• Narrator uses "I" or "we."
• Provides a direct and personal connection to the narrator's thoughts and
experiences.
• Limited to the narrator's knowledge and perceptions.
• Second Person:
• Uses "you" to address the reader directly.
• Like in “The Tell Tale Heart”
• Third Person Limited:
• Narrator is external to the story.
• Focuses on the thoughts and feelings of a single character.
• Uses "he," "she," or character names.
• Third Person Omniscient:
• Narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all characters.
• Offers a broader perspective on events and characters.
• Uses "he," "she," or character names.
• Third Person Objective:
• Narrator is external and does not have access to the thoughts or feel-
ings of characters.
• Relies on actions and dialogue to convey the story.
• Creates a more detached and observational tone.
• Stream of Consciousness:
• Presents the continuous flow of thoughts and feelings of a character.
• Mimics the natural thought process, often without clear organization or
punctuation.
• Unreliable Narrator:
• Narrator's credibility or perceptions are in question.
• Adds an element of suspense or complexity to the storytelling.
• Multiple Points of View:
• The story is told from the perspectives of multiple characters.
• Provides a more comprehensive understanding of events and motiva-
tions.

• Tone, Mood: The means by which a poet reveals attitudes and feelings, in the
style of language or expression of thought used to develop the subject. Certain
tones include not only irony and satire, but may be loving, condescending, bitter,
pitying, fanciful, solemn, and a host of other emotions and attitudes. Tone can also
refer to the overall mood of the poem itself, in the sense of a pervading atmos-
phere intended to influence the readers’ emotional response and foster expecta-
tions of the conclusion.