Repetition: Repeating words, phrases, or lines emphasizes their significance. This can create a sense of rhythm, urgency, or emotional intensity.
Alliteration and Assonance: Repeating similar sounds creates a musical effect that draws attention to the words. Alliteration repeats consonant sounds (e.g., "Peter Piper picked a peck...") while assonance repeats vowel sounds (e.g., "The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain").
Metaphor and Simile: Comparisons that highlight a specific quality or characteristic. Metaphors directly equate two things (e.g., "Her eyes were stars"), while similes use "like" or "as" (e.g., "Her eyes were like stars").
Personification: Giving human qualities to non-human things. This can make the subject more relatable or evoke stronger emotions.
Hyperbole: Exaggeration used to emphasize a point or create a humorous effect.
Anaphora: Repeating a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences. This can create a powerful and rhythmic effect, emphasizing the idea being repeated.
Enjambment: A line that continues onto the next without punctuation. This can create a sense of urgency or flow, emphasizing the connection between ideas.
Imagery: Vivid language that appeals to the senses. This can create a strong impression and draw the reader into the experience described in the poem.
These are just a few examples of how literary elements can be used for emphasis in poetry. The specific choices a poet makes will depend on their style, the subject matter, and the effect they wish to create.