Poetic devices are the tools poets use to shape sound, meaning and structure: rhyme, metaphor, alliteration, line breaks and more. This guide explains 23 of the most common devices, each with a definition, an example from a famous poem, and a short exercise to try it yourself. Every example comes from a public-domain poem, so you can see the device the way the poet used it. For more writing guides, visit Learn Poetry.
What are devices in poetry?
A poetic device is any technique a poet uses to create an effect. Some work on sound, like rhyme and alliteration. Some work on meaning, like metaphor and symbolism. Others work on structure, like stanzas and line breaks. You will also see them called poetic techniques, poetry tools or literary devices; the terms overlap, and most teachers use them interchangeably.
Poetic devices at a glance
| Device | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Alliteration | The repetition of the same consonant sound at the start of nearby words | “While I nodded, nearly napping” |
| Assonance | The repetition of vowel sounds inside nearby words | “Hear the mellow wedding bells” |
| Consonance | The repetition of consonant sounds, often at the middle or end of words | “When to the sessions of sweet silent thought” |
| Onomatopoeia | Words that imitate the sound they describe | “To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells” |
| Rhyme | The repetition of matching end sounds, usually at the ends of lines | “Tyger Tyger, burning bright, / In the forests of the night” |
| Internal rhyme | A rhyme inside a single line, not just at the end | “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary” |
| Repetition and refrain | Repeating a word, line or phrase for emphasis | “Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”” |
| Metaphor | A direct comparison that says one thing is another | “All the world’s a stage” |
| Simile | A comparison using “like” or “as | “I wandered lonely as a cloud” |
| Personification | Giving human qualities to something that is not human | “Because I could not stop for Death, / He kindly stopped for me” |
| Hyperbole | Deliberate exaggeration for effect | “Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear” |
| Imagery | Language that appeals to the senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch | “To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees” |
| Symbolism | Using an object or image to stand for a bigger idea | “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood” |
| Apostrophe | Speaking directly to someone absent or to a thing or idea | “Death, be not proud” |
| Allusion | A brief reference to a well-known story, person or text | “So Eden sank to grief” |
| Line break and enjambment | Enjambment is when a sentence runs past the end of a line without a pause | “so much depends / upon” |
| Caesura | A strong pause in the middle of a line, often marked by punctuation | “To err is human; to forgive, divine.” |
| Meter | The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line | “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” |
| Stanza | A group of lines that forms a unit, like a paragraph in prose | “Whose woods these are I think I know.” |
| Anaphora | Repeating the same word or phrase at the start of several lines | “In every cry of every Man, / In every Infants cry of fear” |
| Irony | A gap between what is said and what is meant, or between what is expected and what happens | “Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!” |
| Paradox | A statement that seems to contradict itself but reveals a truth | “Death, thou shalt die.” |
| Oxymoron | Two opposite words placed side by side | “Parting is such sweet sorrow” |
Sound devices
These devices shape how a poem sounds when read aloud.
1. Alliteration
The repetition of the same consonant sound at the start of nearby words.
- Example: “While I nodded, nearly napping” (Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven” (1845))
- How it works: The repeated “n” sounds make the line feel drowsy, like the speaker.
- Try it: Write a line about the weather where three words start with the same sound.
2. Assonance
The repetition of vowel sounds inside nearby words.
- Example: “Hear the mellow wedding bells” (Edgar Allan Poe, “The Bells” (1849))
- How it works: The repeated short “e” in mellow, wedding and bells rings like the bells themselves.
- Try it: Describe a sound using words that share one vowel sound.
3. Consonance
The repetition of consonant sounds, often at the middle or end of words.
- Example: “When to the sessions of sweet silent thought” (William Shakespeare, Sonnet 30 (1609))
- How it works: The soft “s” sounds throughout create a hushed, thoughtful mood.
- Try it: Write a quiet line using repeated “s” or “l” sounds.
4. Onomatopoeia
Words that imitate the sound they describe.
- Example: “To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells” (Edgar Allan Poe, “The Bells” (1849))
- How it works: “Tintinnabulation” sounds like ringing bells.
- Try it: Write a line made almost entirely of sound words: buzz, hiss, thud.
5. Rhyme
The repetition of matching end sounds, usually at the ends of lines.
- Example: “Tyger Tyger, burning bright, / In the forests of the night” (William Blake, “The Tyger” (1794))
- How it works: “Bright” and “night” rhyme, giving the opening a chant-like beat.
- Try it: Write a couplet: two lines that rhyme.
6. Internal rhyme
A rhyme inside a single line, not just at the end.
- Example: “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary” (Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven” (1845))
- How it works: “Dreary” and “weary” rhyme within the line, which speeds it up.
- Try it: Write one line that rhymes with itself in the middle.
7. Repetition and refrain
Repeating a word, line or phrase for emphasis. A refrain repeats at regular points.
- Example: “Quoth the Raven, “Nevermore.”” (Edgar Allan Poe, “The Raven” (1845))
- How it works: The repeated “Nevermore” becomes more crushing each time it returns.
- Try it: Choose a short phrase and repeat it at the end of each stanza.
Figurative language and imagery
These devices help a poem say more than its literal words.
8. Metaphor
A direct comparison that says one thing is another.
- Example: “All the world’s a stage” (William Shakespeare, As You Like It (written c. 1599))
- How it works: Life is described as a play, with people as actors.
- Try it: Finish this line: “My morning is a…”
9. Simile
A comparison using “like” or “as.”
- Example: “I wandered lonely as a cloud” (William Wordsworth, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” (1807))
- How it works: The speaker compares his loneliness to a single drifting cloud.
- Try it: Describe a feeling using “like” and an object from your kitchen.
10. Personification
Giving human qualities to something that is not human.
- Example: “Because I could not stop for Death, / He kindly stopped for me” (Emily Dickinson (1890))
- How it works: Death becomes a polite gentleman offering a carriage ride.
- Try it: Write about the wind as if it were a person running late.
11. Hyperbole
Deliberate exaggeration for effect.
- Example: “Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear” (Robert Burns, “A Red, Red Rose” (1794))
- How it works: The speaker promises to love until the seas run dry, which is impossible.
- Try it: Exaggerate how long you waited for something.
12. Imagery
Language that appeals to the senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.
- Example: “To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees” (John Keats, “To Autumn” (1820))
- How it works: You can see the heavy branches and feel the season’s ripeness.
- Try it: Describe a meal using all five senses.
13. Symbolism
Using an object or image to stand for a bigger idea.
- Example: “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood” (Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken” (1916))
- How it works: The two roads stand for life choices.
- Try it: Choose an everyday object to represent something you lost.
14. Apostrophe
Speaking directly to someone absent or to a thing or idea.
- Example: “Death, be not proud” (John Donne, Holy Sonnet 10 (1633))
- How it works: The speaker talks directly to Death and challenges it.
- Try it: Write a short poem that speaks directly to the moon or to your old school.
15. Allusion
A brief reference to a well-known story, person or text.
- Example: “So Eden sank to grief” (Robert Frost, “Nothing Gold Can Stay” (1923))
- How it works: The reference to Eden links lost spring beauty to the loss of paradise.
- Try it: Refer to a famous story or myth in one line about your own life.
Structure devices
These devices shape how a poem looks on the page and how it moves.
16. Line break and enjambment
Enjambment is when a sentence runs past the end of a line without a pause.
- Example: “so much depends / upon” (William Carlos Williams, “The Red Wheelbarrow” (1923))
- How it works: Breaking the line after “depends” makes the reader wait for the rest of the thought.
- Try it: Write one sentence and break it into three lines at surprising places.
17. Caesura
A strong pause in the middle of a line, often marked by punctuation.
- Example: “To err is human; to forgive, divine.” (Alexander Pope, “An Essay on Criticism” (1711, modern spelling))
- How it works: The semicolon splits the line into two balanced halves.
- Try it: Write a line with a full stop or semicolon in the middle.
18. Meter
The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line.
- Example: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” (William Shakespeare, Sonnet 18 (1609))
- How it works: The line follows iambic pentameter: five pairs of unstressed and stressed syllables.
- Try it: Tap out the beats of a favorite song lyric, then write a line with the same rhythm.
19. Stanza
A group of lines that forms a unit, like a paragraph in prose.
- Example: “Whose woods these are I think I know.” (Robert Frost, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” (1923))
- How it works: The poem uses four-line stanzas with a linked rhyme pattern.
- Try it: Write two four-line stanzas about the same place at different times of day.
20. Anaphora
Repeating the same word or phrase at the start of several lines.
- Example: “In every cry of every Man, / In every Infants cry of fear” (William Blake, “London” (1794))
- How it works: The repeated “In every” makes the city’s suffering feel endless.
- Try it: Start four lines with “I remember.”
Meaning and contrast
These devices create tension or surprise in what a poem says.
21. Irony
A gap between what is said and what is meant, or between what is expected and what happens.
- Example: “Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!” (Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Ozymandias” (1818))
- How it works: The king’s boast stands in an empty desert, where nothing of his works remains.
- Try it: Write about something that turned out the opposite of what you expected.
22. Paradox
A statement that seems to contradict itself but reveals a truth.
- Example: “Death, thou shalt die.” (John Donne, Holy Sonnet 10 (1633))
- How it works: Death cannot die, yet the line argues that faith defeats it.
- Try it: Write a line that sounds impossible but feels true.
23. Oxymoron
Two opposite words placed side by side.
- Example: “Parting is such sweet sorrow” (William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet (written c. 1595))
- How it works: Saying goodbye is both sad and sweet because it means you will meet again.
- Try it: Combine two opposite words to describe a feeling, such as “loud silence.”
How to identify poetic devices in a poem
- Read the poem aloud. Sound devices like alliteration, assonance and rhyme are easier to hear than to see.
- Look for comparisons. Words like “like” and “as” signal similes; “is” or “was” joining two unlike things often signals a metaphor.
- Notice what repeats. Repeated sounds, words or line openings are almost always deliberate.
- Check the line endings. Ask whether each line ends with a pause or runs into the next (enjambment).
- Ask what effect it has. Naming a device is the first step. Explaining why the poet used it is what earns marks in class.
Practice: find the devices
Read this short original stanza and see how many devices you can find. Answers are below.
The wind wailed at the window,
the moon was a coin in a pocket of cloud,
and the old house, tired as a grandfather,
sighed, settled, and slept.
Original stanza by Poetry Valley
Answers: alliteration (“wind wailed at the window,” “sighed, settled, and slept”), personification (the wind wails, the house sighs and sleeps), metaphor (“the moon was a coin”), and simile (“tired as a grandfather”).
Quick answers
What are the most common poetic devices?
Rhyme, alliteration, metaphor, simile, personification, imagery, repetition and enjambment are the devices you will meet most often, both in famous poems and in school assignments.
What is the difference between poetic devices and literary devices?
Literary devices are techniques used in all writing, including novels and speeches. Poetic devices are the ones especially common in poetry, such as meter, rhyme and line breaks. Many devices, like metaphor and imagery, belong to both groups.
How many poetic devices are there?
There is no fixed number. Most guides cover between 20 and 50. The 23 in this guide are the ones you are most likely to need for reading, writing and studying poetry.
Keep learning
See how devices carry a poem’s message in our guide to poem themes, explore different types of poems, or put the devices to work with our 150 poem ideas.
All example lines are from poems first published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain in the United States.
