Poetic Devices: How I use them
Metaphors
A figure of speech that compares two things, usually by stating that one thing is another.
I love to use metaphors because they make poems a lot more interesting. For example, if you wanted to say, “She looked better than him,” you could say something like: “She was a jewel while he was a mere rock.” The second sentence is more engaging - and this is because I added metaphors. Metaphors don’t give you the idea - they dress it up to look like something else, and if you look closely, you’ll see the idea. This gives viewers a reason to keep reading.
Metaphors don’t give you the idea - they dress it up to look like something else, and if you look closely, you’ll see the idea. This gives viewers a reason to keep reading.
A way I’ve used metaphors in 10 minutes on the clock - a poem I wrote and posted - is in this line:
my Vehement Artist has paint in the shade of Jitters;
he splashes the bucket of paint
and it washes over my soul.
Let me explain: In this metaphor, I’m trying to say “I was nervous.” However, If you were reading through a poem and saw that sentence, would you really care? In these lines, “my vehement artist” is supposed to be someone inside of me who makes me feel my emotions. So, the “paint in the shade of Jitters” is the emotion of anxiety or nervousness, and the paint washing over my soul is me feeling the emotion. Sure, it makes the poem longer, but it also makes it more appealing, so it’s more likely for the viewer to read the whole poem.
Personification
Giving human characteristics to something nonhuman.
Personification is similar to metaphors, but a little different. I like using them to make my poems fun and less serious. For example, compare these two sentences: “The feathers were blown side to side by the wind,” and “The feathers danced in the wind.” The second sentence is not only shorter but less aggressive than the first sentence. Personification is a great way to help your viewer visualize something confusing.
Here’s an example of how I’ve used this:
Rays of sun come into my vision
they nudge me and say, “It’s summer.”
This line is from my poem called “When It’s early.” I used personification in the second line there. What I was trying to convey through the personification is that when I saw the rays of sunshine, I remembered that it was summer. Now, imagine if I wrote that whole thing in a poem. It would be terribly boring, and I wouldn't even want to read it. This goes on to show that personification adds colour and creativity to a poem.
Rhyme + Rhythm
Rhyme - repetition of similar sounds in two or more words.
Rhythm - the beat and pace of a poem.
Adding these to a poem makes it not only engaging to read but also amusing to say! There's a reason why some songs are catchy, while others are just… meh. Most songs these days use rhyme and rhythm in their lyrics. For example: in Billie Eilish’s song “Birds of a Feather”, she uses these two elements in the first two lines and throughout the whole song. Here are the lines:
I want you to stay
‘Til I'm in the grave
As you can see, each sentence has 5 syllables, and they both end with the same sound. The rhyme scheme is A A - A represents one kind of Rhyne, and the fact that there are two of them means that there are two lines that end with the same kind of rhyme. You see rhyme in another song, called “The perfect pair” from Beabadoobee.
A You ought to know that
B I think we're one and the same
A I don't think we could help it
A No, I don't think we could help it
C We don't talk much
B Guess 'cause nothing has changed
You might not notice the rhyme right away, but you probably did notice that I listed the rhyme scheme beside each line. From there, you can tell where the rhyme is. You also may notice that I grouped the first, third, and fourth lines in the same kind of Rhyme, even though “that” doesn't necessarily rhyme with the word “it”. I did this because the way Beabadoobee sang it made the words rhyme. By the way - I analyzed "The perfect pair" by Beabadoobee, which was really exciting! Make sure to check it out.
Imagine a poem that had absolutely zero poetic devices. Unless the words were very powerful, I would find the poem a little boring. Wouldn't it be more of a speech? However, with even just devices added here and there, the poem could transform beautifully!
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What are some poetic devices you like using? Anyway, that's all I wanted to share for today's Blog post. If you have any thoughts on this, leave them in the comments down below. Make sure to visit this blog every now and then for more posts!
If you want to read some poetry, click on these links:
10 minutes on the clock ⇨ https://poetryplusyelena.blogspot.com/2024/08/10-minutes-on-clock.html
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