simile – WRITE TIME AND AGAIN

Below is a table of various poetic devices and their meanings. Over the past year I’ve done articles on individual ones, but here are I am putting them all together in one post. These are just some of them.

Poetic Devices	Meaning	Example
Assonance	Rhyming of the same vowel sounds	Leaves blew in the breeze
Alliteration	The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.	Sweet singing doves
Metaphor	This is where an object in, or the subject of, a poem is described as being the same as another otherwise unrelated object.	The sand is a warm blanket
Simile	A figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind. It’s used to make a description more vivid.	As fast as a cheetah.
Personification	Giving an inanimate object human characteristics.	The moon smiled back.
Imagery	Used in poetry, novels, or other writing that uses vivid description that appeals to the readers’ senses. This creates an image or idea in their head.	The leaves sounded like clapping hands.
Allusion	An expression intended to call something to mind without mentioning it specifically. It’s a hint towards something.	Chocolate is his kryptonite. Superman is alluded to but not mentioned.
Hyperbole	Exaggerated statements or not meant to be taken literally	I am so hungry I could eat a whole side of beef.
Allegory	A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, like a moral or political moral.	Animal Farm by George Orwell is an example of an allegory.
Consonance	The repetition of consonant sounds within a line of text.	The boss had a loss. Molly remained jolly.
Repetition	The act of repeating something that has already been said. Used to create effect.	Time after time. Over and over.
Enjambment	The continuation of a sentence or phrase from one line of poetry to the next.	Birds fly above a dew covered grassy meadow.
Meter	In poetry, meter is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse	iambic pentameter trochaic foot anapestic foot (More on these in another post)

Comparisons, we all make them whether we are aware of it or not. We do this for emphasis in making clear a point we’re trying to make. In writing we use comparisons for the same reason, but add to that, visuals. If we want our readers to know just how big something is, we need to go beyond using the word big or huge or even gargantuan. Readers want to SEE the hugeness. Two forms of comparison writers use to accomplish this is:

Simile–Comparing using the words like or as.