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Poetry/Figure of speech & Literary Devices

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Expert: Linda Sue Grimes -- Classic Poetry Aide - 10/18/2005


Question
Help!
Can you make the the distinction between figures of speech and literary devices, and give examples?

Are figures of speech by chance...Simile, metaphor & personification?

I am confused making the distinction.

Thanks a Million in advance for your help.

Answer
Dear Kay,

The terms "figure of speech" and "literary device" are used interchangeably, but there are differences.  The following sites will help you understand the basic differences:

Figure of speech: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figure_of_speech

Literary device: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_device

Sometimes these language uses result by chance, but often they are crafted into the discourse.  Their purpose is for clarity of meaning, but sometimes if the writer is an amateur, lack of clarity ensues.

Hope this helps.

Blessings,
Linda Sue Grimes
Classic Poetry Aide

Poetry

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Linda Sue Grimes -- Classic Poetry Aide

Expertise

Please be aware that my field of expertise is "Classic Poetry." I do not study and write about Hallmark-Card type verse, doggerel, or pornographic versification.

I assist students/readers in understanding the poems most widely studied in high school and college English classes, for example, Emily Dickinson's "Because I could not stop for death," A. E. Housman's "Loveliest of trees," Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken," W. B. Yeats' "The Second Coming," Rabindranath Tagore's "The Journey," Robert Hayden's "Those Winter Sundays," Dana Gioia’s "Words." I direct students/readers to online poetry analyses and/or research sources.

I do not dispense advice on creative writing issues, such as critiquing poems or offering ideas for poems.

Experience

2003 - present AllExperts volunteer 2007 - present Topic Editor and Feature Writer for Poetry at Suite101.com

Education/Credentials
1967 Miami University, B.A. Major in German 1971 Ball State University M.A. German/English 1984 Ball State University M.A. English 1987 Ball state University Ph.D. American, British, World Literature, Rhetoric and Composition

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