POETIC DEVICE: CAESURA

​We use poetic devices to enhance our written work and create a deeper connection for our reader. Today, we’ll take a look at the poetic device: Caesura

Caesura is a pause in a line of text created by a space, comma, dash, ellipsis, or other form of punctuation. This can also serve as a stop in the illustrations or text to show the passage of time, or a change of scene. This technique is often found in picture books where the page turns have an element of surprise or guessing game.

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​​This month, let’s take a close look at the use of caesura in Rhyme Doctor Patricia Toht’s latest release, PICK A PERFECT EGG, beautifully illustrated by Jarvis. (If you aren’t familiar with Patty’s “Pick a…” books, as in PICK A PUMPKIN and PICK A PINE TREE—be sure to check them out!)

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In this rhyming celebration of spring, egg decorating, and Easter you’ll see that Patty uses the poetic device caesura elegantly in her book for page turn suspense and scene changes. I’ll share an example so that you can see this literary device at work. After Patty has opened the book with the story of a family heading to the local farmer’s market to pick a carton of perfect eggs for egg dying activities, the family gets back into the car and heads for home. Rhyming couplets are used throughout the story, and on this spread describe the child eagerly holding the egg carton in the car:
  
Hold them safely as you ride
through the greening countryside.
Now . . . 

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Patty employs caesura with ellipsis to pause the rhyming couplet, and shift with a page turn to a new spread which showcases the start of egg coloring activities at home (scene change and suspense—what is happening next.)
 
find a pot that’s wide and tall,
large enough to hold them all.

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Patty continues to employ caesura to pause the flow of  rhyming couplets to ratchet up the tension and page turn reveals throughout this book.
​This gorgeous selection has become my new spring gift-giving favorite!

​Can you find a way to use caesura to add suspense, surprise, or a scene change in any of your current projects? It’s an effective tool to add to your writing toolbox. Happy writing!
 
by Eileen Meyer, Rhyme Doctor

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