Poetry writing allows the use of literary devices as a way to add meaning to text with an economy of words. Writers use them to create color and drama in poetry and other forms of creative writing. A reader may not notice them for what they are, focusing instead on the effect that they create. About 14 literary devices are classified as such, and they are accepted as writers' tools. A reader may
. be familiar with the use of a metaphor that is commonly used to say one thing is another. Sandburg's line about the fog coming in on cat's feet may illustrate the use of a metaphor. Other literary devices are equally well known and familiar. Others include the simile, the oxymoron and the hyperbole. All add immeasurably to the poet's ability to create a mood in a poem. Oxymoron is entertaining because it joins two words that do not match, so the effect is jolting and dramatic. Jumbo shrimp are opposites, and some may say military intelligence likewise fits the same description. One literary device that may not be as well known is personification whereby the poet assigns life-like qualities to inanimate objects. Words of this kind occur in one's everyday language as may be seen when one is displeased with his audio system's performance and complains that "My stereo hates me". The inanimate object has no ability to have or express human emotions, but the use of personification makes the point that the frustrated music lover expresses. The Personification Classics site at http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112392/personificationclassics.html provides poems by Emily Dickenson and William Blake and others in which personification is used. The site at E Reading Worksheets at http://www.ereadingworksheets.com/figurative-language/figurative-language-examples/personification-examples/ shows a long list of 50 examples of personification that can satisfy any reader's interest. It describes personification as figurative language that gives life to inanimate objects. More Reference Links: http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112392/personificationclassics.html http://www.ereadingworksheets.com/figurative-language/figurative-language-examples/personification-examples/
