Writing Tips: Poetry
Literary devices that may improve your poetry:
Subtext:
Subtext involves conveying deeper, unspoken meanings beneath the surface of your words.
Use metaphor, symbolism, or allusion to hint at underlying emotions or themes.
For example, in "The Great Gatsby", Jay Gatsby throws extravagant parties, hoping that his lost love, Daisy, will attend. On the surface, it's about social gatherings, but the subtext reveals Gatsby's desperate longing for a reunion, highlighting the theme of unattainable dreams.
Hendiadys:
It's a figure of speech where you express an idea with two nouns connected by "and" instead of an adjective and a noun. Add richness to your poetry by saying "fire and passion" instead of "fiery passion."
Example from Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar": "O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!" Here, "meek and gentle" combines two nouns to emphasize the speaker's sorrow and gentleness in addressing the slain Caesar's corpse.
Epiplexis:
This is a rhetorical device involving a series of questions used for emotional impact. Ask thought-provoking questions that stir emotions and provoke reflection in your readers.
Example from Langston Hughes' "Harlem": "What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" Epiplexis is used here to question the fate of deferred dreams, evoking a sense of urgency and frustration.
Subjectio:
Subjectio means turning a statement into a question, often used for emphasis. And often referred to as a “rhetorical question”.
Use this to make readers ponder, like turning "The sky is blue" into "Is the sky ever truly blue?"
Catachresis:
It's the use of an unconventional or strained metaphor to create unique and surprising imagery.
Example from Shakespeare's "Hamlet": "I will speak daggers to her." "Daggers" is used metaphorically for hurtful words, associating speech with a weapon, intensifying the impact of the line.
Prosopopoeia:
Prosopopoeia is personification, giving human attributes to non-human entities. Breathe life into your poems by making nature or objects seem human.
Example from Emily Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for Death": "Death kindly stopped for me." Death is personified as a courteous and patient entity.
Synecdoche:
This involves using a part of something to represent the whole or vice versa.
For example, the word threads means clothing, heels means high-heeled shoes, and a suit is a businessperson who wears suits to work.
This is part of my Writing Tips series. Everyday I publish a writing tip to this blog.
