Poetic Devices (as portrayed through the music of Childish Gambino)
RHYME
Words that sound similar to one another
Example:
I took off my nine to five
But you still don't have the time
To kiss me
Just hit me.
And if I left you all alone
Would you still pick up the phone?
It's iffy
You miss me.
I got furniture to move
And we'll both be thirty soon
In Oakland, in Oakland.
The only one I know is you
So what am I supposed to do?
In Oakland, in Oakland.
Notes:
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There are multiple types of rhyme, including perfect rhyme and slant rhyme.
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Perfect rhyme is the type we are most familiar with; this is where the words are so alike that their final sounds are not only similar, but identical (e.g. "alone" and "phone").
RHYME SCHEME
A pattern of rhymes in a poem; similar sounds are labelled using letters from the alphabet
Example:
I took off my nine to five
But you still don't have the time
To kiss me
Just hit me.
And if I left you all alone
Would you still pick up the phone?
It's iffy
You miss me.
I got furniture to move
And we'll both be thirty soon
In Oakland, in Oakland.
The only one I know is you
So what am I supposed to do?
In Oakland, in Oakland.
A
A
B
B
C
C
B
B
D
D
D
D
Notes:
Note that the same letter is only given if the sound matches all of the sounds with that letter, not just the one right near it.
SLANT RHYME
A rhyme that sounds similar, but not identical like it does in perfect rhyme
Example:
I come around when you least expect me
I'm sitting at the bar when your glass is empty
You thinking that this song's coming on to tempt me
I need to be alone like the way you left me
Notes:
All of the sounds highlighted above repeat the "eh" "ee" sounds in the same rhythm.
Even though the consonant sounds are different, the words sound similar enough to be considered slant rhyme. For this reason, slant rhyme is also called "near rhyme."
END RHYME
When the words at the ends of lines of poetry rhyme with one another
Example:
Nevertheless
I got that fresh
Like it was Crest,
Grind 'cause I'm stressed
Notes:
Both end rhyme and internal rhyme deal with where the rhymes actually fall within the poem.
End rhyme is the one people tend to be most familiar with.
INTERNAL
RHYME
When words within the same line of poetry rhyme with one another
Examples:
"That's why I never wanna say no to you,
The coldest dude to hold a groove"
"Record this, ain't nobody can ignore this"
"Culture shock at barber shops
'Cause I ain't hood enough"
Notes:
Internal rhymes often sound similar to assonance, which is the repetition of vowel sounds.
Pay attention to whether the words sound similar because of multiple sounds (internal rhyme) or just the vowel sounds (assonance).
ASSONANCE
The repetition of vowel sounds
Example:
It's kinda sad but I'm laughing, whatever happens,
Assassins are stabbed in the back of my cabin,
Labrador yapping; I'm glad that it happened.
Notes:
Note that the words do not necessarily have to be within the same line, but they should be relatively close to one another to create assonance.
CONSONANCE
The repetition of consonant sounds
Example:
Murder verses
The only motive was motivation
Notes:
Assonance and consonance are the same concept, just with different letters.
Remember which is which by noticing that "assonance" starts with a vowel, so it applies to vowel sounds. "Consonance" sounds similar to the word "consonant," which is the type of letter it applies to (such as the repeated "m", "r", and "v" sounds in the example above).
ALLITERATION
When words start with the same sound
Examples:
-
"I've lost all hope of a happy ending"
-
"It's a lie that you're living."
-
"Lost love"
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"Be still now, broken bones, as I travel on"
-
"Not bad for a family of foster child
Lookin' fly man, I'm flossin' now"
Notes:
Alliteration can be created with either vowel or consonant sounds.
The one important difference between alliteration and assonance/consonance is that alliteration refers to the first sound at the beginning of the word, while the other two can be anywhere within the words.
RHYTHM
Repeated sound patterns
Example:
This is America
Don't catch you slippin' now
Don't catch you slippin' now
Look what I'm whippin' now
Notes:
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Rhythm and meter are similar concepts in poetry. Both deal with repeated sound patterns, but:
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Meter is specific to the pattern of sounds created based on which syllables we emphasize (aka "stressed" syllables) and which ones we don't (aka "unstressed" syllables).
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Rhythm is a more general term applied to any repeated patterns of sound, regardless of what they are created by (words, instruments, etc.)