ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF

COUNTRY

We acknowledge the land on which we meet on today, the traditional

lands of the Kaurna people, and recognise their continuing
connection to land, water and community. We pay respect to Elders
past, present and emerging.
POETIC DEVICES
 RHYTHM

From the Greek for flow

A term referring to a measured flow of words and

signifying the basic beat or pattern in language that is
established by stressed syllables, unstressed syllables and
pauses.
 METER

The more or less regular rhythmic pattern of stressed and

unstressed syllables

Four basic types of meter exist:

Quantitative
Accentual
Syllabic
Accentual-Syllabic
 ALLITERATION

Alliteration is the use of words that start with the same

sound to create an effect

Especially important in Old English verse, establishing the

rhythm and structure of the poetic line

Examples: tongue twisters- Sally sells seashells by the

seashore; Old English poetry- Beowulf
 ONOMATOPOEIA

From the Greek name-making

A device which involves the use of words that have the

same sound as the thing or action being described.

Examples: Comic books and graphic novels- BAM!,

SPLAT!, hiss, sizzle; Shakespeare- Witches Spell
from Macbeth
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

Language that employs one or more figures of speech to

modify the literal meanings of words with additional
connotations.

Figure of Speech: a literary device involving unusual use of

language, often to associate or compare distinct things.
 SIMILE

A figure of speech that compares two distinct things by

using words such as like or as.

Example: Shes as big as a house!; The child is like a

cyclone.
 METAPHOR

From the Greek to transfer

A figure of speech that associates two distinct things

without using a connective word.

Unlike a simile by saying that one thing is the other thing.

Example: The child is a cyclone.; The ocean is a roaring

lion.
 PERSONIFICATION

Personification is a technique that gives inanimate objects

human features.

Example: The ocean is a roaring lion, devouring sailors at

sea.
 HYPERBOLE

A trope employing deliberate, emphatic exaggeration,

usually for comic or ironic effect.

Examples: Ive told you a million times; Im so hungry I

could eat a horse; I had a ton of homework
 SYMBOL

Something that stands for or suggests something larger or

more complex.

Example: A circle can be a symbol of eternity- eg. A

wedding ring symbolises being with that person for eternity.
 IMAGERY

Language used to convey a visual picture.

Example: T.S. Eliots, Preludes.

 REFRAIN

A phrase, line or lines that repeats throughout a poem or

song.

Example: Karma Police-Radiohead

 ASSONANCE

The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds in words

that are close each other.

Similar to alliteration, it is the sound rather than the letter

used that is important.

Example: What large dark hands are those at the window.

 CONSONANCE

The repetition of internal or ending consonant sounds of

words close together.

The sound is important, rather than the letters used.

Examples: I dropped the locket in thick mud;

blade/blood; litter/letter.