Poets use literary devices and figurative language to get certain effects out of poems. A poet might use a literary device such as meter to give the poem an upbeat tone. A poet might use repetition to bring a little bit of seriousness to the poem. The poet could use figurative language such as an oxymoron to give the poem humor. Literary devices and figurative language could have many different effects on a poem. For example a simile could be serious or humorous.