What is Theme? A Look at 20 Common Themes in Literature

common themes in literature

When someone asks you “What is this book about?”, there are a few ways you can answer. There’s “plot,” which refers to the literal events in the book, and there’s “character,” which refers to the people in the book and the struggles they overcome. Finally, there are themes in literature that correspond with the work’s…

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How to Write an Acrostic Poem: Examples and Forms

how to write an acrostic poem

If you’re a fan of steganography—the art of concealing messages in text—you might enjoy writing an acrostic poem. From the abecedarian to the golden shovel, acrostic poetry hijacks the poem’s use of line breaks. With this form, you can embed hidden meanings, derive inspiration, or simply have fun with the structure of poetry. Famous acrostic…

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How to Write a Free Verse Poem: Writing Poetry Without Fixed Form

how to write free verse poetry

A free verse poem is a poem that doesn’t rely on any particular form, meter, or rhyme scheme, yet still conveys powerful feelings and ideas. Rather than letting a certain structure define the poem, the poet lets the poem structure itself through the interplay of language, sound, and literary devices. Wait a minute—poetry doesn’t have…

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Repetition Definition: Types of Repetition in Poetry and Prose

Repetition Definition: Types of Repetition in Poetry and Prose

What is repetition? At its simplest, repetition is a word or phrase used multiple times in a text, for the purpose of emphasizing an emotion or idea. It might seem counterintuitive to repeat, repeat, repeat, but when wielded correctly, the repetition of words and phrases has powerful effects in literature. You’re most likely to find…

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Line Breaks in Poetry

line breaks in poetry

Line breaks in poetry are what separate the form from prose. But when it comes to the craft of poetry, deciding where to break the line, on what word, and how the line should be broken proves difficult. Indeed, poetry line breaks often confuse writers and readers alike. How do you read them? How do…

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Irony Definition: Different Types of Irony in Literature

irony definition

What is irony? Well, it’s like rain on your wedding day. It’s a free ride, when you’ve already paid. ’90s radio is helpful here. Okay; but what is irony? It can often be easier to point to specific ironies than to find a definition of irony itself that hits home. Irony involves contradiction of our…

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Imagery Definition: 5+ Types of Imagery in Literature

imagery in writing

What is imagery? Take a moment to conceptualize something in your mind: an object, a sound, a scent. Transcribe whatever you think about into language, transmitting to the reader the precise experience you had in your brain. This is imagery in literature​​—a powerful literary device that communicates our everyday sensory experiences. Literature abounds with imagery…

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Onomatopoeia Definition and Examples

onomatopoeia in writing

What is onomatopoeia? To describe it in a zip, an onomatopoeia is a word that smacks the reader’s ears and makes them pop. Onomatopoeia words describe sounds by copying the sound itself. Crash! Bang! Whiz! An onomatopoeia doesn’t just describe sounds, it emulates the sound itself. With this literary device, you can hear the meow…

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Persona Poetry: How to Write a Persona Poem

persona poetry: how to write a persona poem

Persona poems allow poets to inhabit the minds of other people and write from their perspectives. If you’ve ever wanted to get inside someone’s brain, crawl around in it for a while, and come to a deeper understanding of their psyche, you might want to learn how to write a persona poem. The persona poetry…

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How to Write a Love Poem

romantic love poems

Love poems have tried to capture the essence of love since the dawn of poetry itself. Because love is a highly personal and variable experience, no two love poets will approach the topic in quite the same way. As a result, a corpus of beautiful love poems has emerged throughout our many millennia of writing…

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