Poetic Techniques

Poetic Techniques

1. Theme

   • main topic or issue in the poem

2. Rhythm

   • beat of the poem

3. Tone

   • voice of the poet/speaker
     • can be changed for different meanings

4. Metaphor

   • Image created without using 'like', 'as' or 'than'

5. Simile

   • Special kind of image
     • made by comparing two things of different nature using the words 'like', 'as' or 'than'

6. Images

   • word-pictures created with our imagination

7. Personification

   • when an inanimate object is given human characteristics

8. Alliteration

   • Lots of words starting with the same letter

9. Assonance

   • when a vowel sound is repeated in a line
     • words that rhyme often have assonance

10. Onomatopoeia

    • when a word imitates the sound it is describing

11. Mood

    • Main emotion of the poem

12. Atmosphere

    • linked to the setting