10 Poetic Devices to Spice Up Your Slam Poetry

Ever notice that some slam poems just dazzle so brightly above the rest - but you can't put your finger on exactly what stood out?

Chances are, if you heard someone deliver a spoken word piece that was just killing it, and that poem is sticking with you for days to come, it was probably littered with the right balance of poetic devices that helped surface the strong points.

When writing slam poetry, using literary and poetic devices tactically and tastefully can be tricky - use too much and you drown your emphasis; too little and your poem has no flair. In many cases, trial and error is the best way to know what helps or hinders your delivery. The best poetic devices are the ones that make your words sound the way you want to make someone feel. Tough concept to grasp, I know - but with some practice you'll nail it!

If you're looking for ways to give your poem a pulse, to really set fire to the stage and put a riveting piece of knowledge out to the audience, then try tinkering with some of these poetic devices.

10 poetic devices to use in your slam poetry - and how to use them!

1. Repetition

Repetition can be used for full verses, single lines or even just a single word or sound. The ultimate goal is to make something 'stick' better. If there's a main point you're conveying, or a message you want to resonate, try adding some form of repetition to see if you can make it stand out more. Repetition is a good aid to helping others understand the theme of your poem as well - especially in instances where other tools and imagery can actually hide the story behind your words. 

Further to the emphasis of a specific sound or point, remember that slam poetry is also known as spoken word. SPOKEN! And when you speak it, you do it on stage. And when you perform on stage, you should have your poem memorized. Sooooo, back to repetition - yes, you got it - it helps you memorize your poem!

I used a couple instances of repetition in Daddy's Little Girl. But if you want to hear it from a true authority, check out Marc Kelly Smith in Kiss It.
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Here's an idea for a poem: Find a picture that uses repetition, then write a narrative poem using repetition as your primary tool


2. Rhyme & Different Types of Rhymes

Of all the poetic devices, rhyme is far and away my favorite - call it a product of a being a hip hop fan maybe. But I'm going to break this down a little for you. There are numerous types of rhymes that can be used to give your slam poem character - its not just about rhyming the last syllable of two lines. This goes a lot deeper than elementary rhymes - we all know that scheme, dream, team and cream rhyme. It doesn't take a wizard to put those together. So let's look at a couple other ways to rhyme.

A. Rhyming deeper into your lines - try rhyming the last three, four - even five syllables or more. Eminem is a pioneer for these types of rhymes; he's one of my biggest inspirations. When you incorporate this level of rhyme, first of all - you sound sick! It's the kind of rhyme that makes the audience snap their fingers (that's good in the poetry slam world). Further to that, it actually challenges you to be a better slam poet in a fun way. I love coming up with these types of rhyme schemes. And finally, it works toward the memorization of your slam poem. Once you nail down that first line, the rhyme line inherently follows. Check out my poem Intro for a couple examples. Also, Eminem kills the deep rhymes in a number of tracks - think about the beginning of Lose Yourself... "palms are sweaty...arms are heavy...vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti...calm and ready...keeps on forgetting" on and on! 

Also, here's an example from my poem "The Letter Never Delivered" - this one a bit more complex
   "Just 'cuz your attitude shattered chandeliers
   Into blizzards of glass tears..."

B. Internal Rhyme - this is when you rhyme words within the same line. Here are a few examples:

"A smoke stack of throw backs who knows that..."
"Can't combat the wombat, stick it to his mom that..."
"...damaged love was a sandwich of..."

C. The Outside-In Rhyme (enjabment) - an outside-in rhyme (which might or might not be a term that I coined myself) is when you rhyme the end of one line with the start of the next line. This adds flow to your piece, allowing one line to seamlessly move to the next. Outside-in rhymes make the next line sound more natural. Here's an example from my poem "Sick"

"...so sick of wandering deserts with a broken compass,
I've done this far too long..."

A reader informed me that these "outside-in" rhymes (admittedly self-titled using logic) are also known as "enjabment". This is partially true. Enjabment is moving over from one line to another without a terminating punctuation mark, which is generally something that's happening when these rhymes are written. However, enjabment is broader than just the rhyme because of the other qualities of enjabment such as:

• Enjambment lines usually do not have a punctuation mark at the end (or, enjabment is the opposite of an "end-stopped" line)
• Enjabment is a running on of a thought from one line to another without final punctuation

D. Compound Rhyme - compound rhymes are the rhyme scheme formed from two compound words where both words within the compound rhyme. An example would be "wildwood" and "childhood". Compound rhymes catch audience attention because they add flair to your lines. When implemented correctly, you'll definitely start sounding like a more advanced poet. I used a compound rhyme in Shit & Rainbows - "...a smokestack of throwbacks..." - but this one is a little tricky because smoke and throw are not exact rhymes. Its sort of a compound-assonance rhyme (yea...made that up). See assonance below for more info!

E. Broken Rhyme Scheme - There is no set pattern for a broken rhyme scheme, but the object is to bring a verse together with 'slanted' rhymes, or rhymes that fall out of the expected rhythmic order. Here is an example from "I Am (a poem about life)"

I Am That Child Who Scares Parents
Sneaking Out The Back Door At 16,
Careless,
3 AM, 
Bottle Of Jack Daniels
Flying Off The Handles
Of Life
And Landing In Shambles...

3. Alliteration

Alliteration is the phonetic alignment and repeated use of a sound or letter in the first syllable of a word. Alliteration can be used for any combination of two words or more. As a poetic tool, alliteration is one of the oldest, most widely used and effective means of enhancing your poetry. 

There are various ways to implement alliteration - I've found that picking 'hard' sounds such as D's or B's can add a very strong emphasis to a particular line or verse. In The Letter Never Delivered, I used a line of alliteration with B's to ensure the audience would perceive the strength of my message in delivery:

"...To block out the boisterous battles of bellows / from behind barricaded doors / breachless ..."

Another spin on alliteration is consonance - I call this reverse alliteration. Consonance uses repetitive sounds in the latter syllable of a word. An example would be "he caught fate in his mitt"

4. Metaphor 

I can probably say that until you truly master the art of metaphors, its difficult to call yourself a poet. Metaphors are a figurative means of comparing something to another unrelated entity in order to contrive the full meaning or impact of that something. A metaphor puts an object or concept in a more clear perspective, provides imagery and creates an analogy to give deeper understanding to a thing, a story, a message or a concept. A really strong metaphor should make your audience think differently about something.

Metaphors can be short and quick, or they can be entire stories in relation to something else. A short metaphor is something like these line from Strength - "suppressed by a substance's song" and "life is a two-way street". Grapefruit is an example of a long metaphor.

Taylor Mali had a great metaphoric poem that aligned love with owning a dog - check it out!

Metaphors... think deeply about how often you use them in life. They come up in everyday thought. Take them and give them more vibrancy. In fact, as an exercise, try making up 10 new metaphors. They might even spark a new slam poem!

5. Assonance

​Similar to alliteration, assonance uses the repetition of a sound. The difference is that assonance is the repetition of a vowel sound. This can be a really fun alternative to rhyme. An example would be "...frogs ribbit kiss fish in the distance bitch...". In this case the 'i' sound was repeated in several words. Another example of assonance would be "that black flag" - short and sweet, yet super effective!

6. Similes

A simile, much like a metaphor, is used as a comparison or an analogy. The difference is that similes use the word "like" or "as" in their comparison. Often what this does is ensure a listener understands there is a comparison and the meaning is not necessarily literal. An example of a simile would be "her womb was like a black hole." If I wanted to use that as a metaphor, it would read "her womb was a black hole." A metaphor is generally a stronger poetic device, but similes can bail you out of situations where the metaphor can be misconstrued; it keeps you out of trouble, so be sure to take advantage when you need to!

In Love Blossomed I opted for a simile here:

"Everything I thought I knew was interrupted like Trojan air by arrows..."

7. Onomatopoeia

The word onomatopoeia is honestly a pain in the ass to pronounce. It also sounds geeky - it reminds me of something I heard when reading ancient poetry and studying something boring in 7th grade English. However, its the contrary. Onomatopoeia is one of the coolest poetic devices out there; its when the phonetic pronunciation and sound of a word is parallel to the word's actual meaning. Adding these kinds of words to your slam poem really helps it jump from the page to the stage. A couple examples that I love are BARF, SMASH, and CRACK. If you read the poem "Sick", there are some examples such as this:

"I felt the whiplash crack of death slash by back so deep..."

8. Hyperbole

Hyperbole is the greatest, biggest poetic device ever! 

Get it?

Well, you will in a sec! Hyperbole is the rhetoric art of exaggeration. Hyperbole is a poetic tool that allows you to blow something way out of proportion.They create an effect of large emphasis. My recommendation is to only use hyperbole once in a while - over usage will totally diminish your story.
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9. Personification

Personification can be defined as attributing a human characteristic to an inanimate object or notion. Here are a few examples of personification:

"the rain danced wildly in the wind"
"thunder rumbled like the grumbling anger of agods" (also a simile)
"her tears sang songs of the dead"

10. Attitude, bitch!

Let's get one thing straight - this is spoken word! We call it slam poetry, so fuckin' slam! 

When you get out there, when you have your words and you're armed with your message, you have to take full advantage of the moment. Leave your heart still beating on the stage. Don't let the audience even realize there's another poet coming up to bat behind you - they should be contemplating and mulling over your work for hours, days, weeks - fuck, there's poems I remember well from years ago. They stick because they were delivered with the right attitude. Spoken word is all about delivery - you have to make this experience a powerful one for your audience. Your words should light the night and blaze the stage (pop quiz - what tools did I just use). 

A couple tips on how to perform slam poetry with attitude: use strong language (and your poetic devices!). Use the right intonation. Raise and lower your voice. Use the whole stage - own the stage. Use hand gestures. Have poise and use body language. Make eye contact (you should not be reading your poem). Have fun out there. Just go with it! You're an actor; you have the limelight for 3 minutes. Make it happen.

And as always - Slam, motherfucker - SLAM!
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