POETRY!!!
Figurative Language
Authors use many types of figurative language in order to help
the reader visualize and understand what they are writing
metaphor
simile
alliteration
onomatopoeia
personification
hyperbole
These are some types
of figurative language.
Figurative language is made up of all the tools that a poet uses to create
a special effect or feeling.
It includes metaphor, simile, alliteration, personification, and
onomatopoeia.
Figurative language is a tool that an author uses to help the reader visualize what is happening in a
story or poem. There are several different types.
Simile: a comparison using like or as. It usually compares two dissimilar objects.
For example: His feet were as big as boats. We are comparing the size of feet to boats.
Metaphor: states that one thing is something else. It is a comparison, but it does not use like or as to make
the comparison.
For example: Her hair is silk. The sentence is comparing or stating that hair is silk.
Decide whether each sentence contains a simile or metaphor. Decide what is being compared.
1. The baby was like an octopus, grabbing at all the cans on the grocery store shelves.
2. As the teacher entered the room she muttered under her breath, "This class is like a three-ring circus!"
3. The giant's steps were thunder as he ran toward Jack.
4. The pillow was a cloud when I put my head upon it after a long day.
5. I feel like a limp dishrag.
6. Those girls are like two peas in a pod.
7. The fluorescent light was the sun during our test.
8. No one invites Harry to parties because he is a wet blanket.
9. The bar of soap was as slippery as an eel during the dog's bath.
10. Ted was as nervous as a cat with a long tail in a room full of rocking chairs.
Work in pairs to complete each statement with a metaphor.
1. Grandma's hair was a ...
2. The garden was a ...
3. The hole under the tree was the ...
4. The old chair was Grandpa's ...
5. The ancient tree was a ...
Mother to Son
Well, son, I'll tell you:
Life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
It's had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floorBare.
But all the time
I'se been a -climbin' on,
And reachin' landin's
And turnin' corners,
And sometimes goin' in the dark
Where there ain't been no light.
So boy, don't you turn back.
Don't you set down on the steps
'Cause you finds it's kinda hard.
Don't you fall nowFor I'se still goin', honey,
I'se still climbin',
And life for me ain't been no crystal stair.
Decide whether each of the following sentences contains a simile or
a metaphor. Write your answers on the lines.
1. The news travelled as swiftly as the breeze in the birches. __________
2. John was a streaking greyhound in the 100-yard dash._____________
3. The smoke was a slithering snake rising into the still air.___________
4. The baby's blond hair shone like a golden halo._____________
Sort the similes and metaphors.
alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of the initial consonant (sometimes vowel) sound. There should be
at least two repetitions in a line.
For example: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. The first letter, p, is a consonant.
It is repeated many times.
Underline the alliteration in these sentences.
1. Puny pumas pit their skills against zebras.
2. Pretty Polly picked pears for preserves.
3. Handsome Harry hired hundreds of hippos for Hanukkah.
Complete the following sentences with alliterative words.
4. Doodling daughters ...
5. Prickly pears ...
6. Studious students ...
7. Sunny skies ...
E.Q. :Why do authors use alliteration?
E.Q. : What is alliteration?
Alliteration is the repetition of the same consonant sound at
the beginnings of 2 or more words in a line of poetry or a
sentence.
Examples:
Peter Piper picked (a) peck (of) pickled peppers.
She sells seashells (by the) sea shore.
Practice with these:
Angela Abigail Applewhite ate anchovies and artichokes.
Bertha Bartholomew blew big, blue bubbles.
Clever Clifford Cutter clumsily closed the closet clasps.
Dwayne Dwiddle drew a drawing of dreaded Dracula.
Elmer Elwood eluded eleven elderly elephants.
Floyd Fllingle flipped flat flapjacks.
Greta Gruber grabbed a group of green grapes.
Hattie Henderson hated happy healthy hippos.
Ida Ivy identified the ivory iris.
Julie Jackson juggled the juicy, jiggly jello.
Karl Kessler kept the ketchup in the kitchen.
Lila Ledbetter lugged a lot of little lemons.
Milton Mallard mailed a mangled mango.
Norris Newton never needed new noodles.
Patsy Planter plucked plump, purple, plastic plums.
Quinella Quist quite quickly quelled the quarreling quartet.
Randy Rathbone wrapped a rather rare red rabbit.
Shelly Sherman shivered in a sheer, short shirt.
Trina Tweety tripped two twittering twins under a twiggy tree.
Uri Udall usually used his unique, unusual unicycle.
Vicky Vinc Viewed a very valuable vase.
Walter Whipple warily warned the weary warrior.
Xerxes Xenon expected to xerox extra x-rays.
Yolan Yvonne Yarger yodeled up yonder yesterday.
Zigmund Zane zig-zagged through the zany zoo zone.
Alliteration Sampler
The Eagle
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ringed with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
- Alfred Lord Tennyson
White Butterflies
Fly, white butterflies, out to sea,
Frail, pale wings for the wind to try,
Small, white wings that we scarce can see,
Fly!
Some fly light as a laugh of glee,
Some fly soft as a long, low sigh;
All to the haven where each would be,
Fly!
-Algernon Charles Swinburne
Fun with letters!
Alliteration can add variety and interest to language. It can also be fun to write. In the examples below, fill in each
blank with a word of your choice that starts with the indicated letter.
1. a plaid, purple p______________
2. soft, silent s________________
3. baseball and b________________
4. w___________, white, w______________
5. a river r____________________
6. curly c_____________________
7. jumping j___________________
8. a m___________________ mess
9. the last l________________
10. a terrible t_____________________
11. Messy M____________ made more messes in the month of M________ than M__________, M__________, and
M_____________ all made in the month of M____________________.
12. My dog D_______________ danced with D________________, the d________________.
13. For supper, P____________ ate p___________ p______________ and p_______________.
Write an alliterative "name poem." First, write each letter of your first name on a separate line. Next to each
letter, write a description of yourself using at least two words that start with that letter.
Example: S- sometimes serious, sometimes silly
A- always alert and active
M- magnificent, but messy
Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is the imitation of natural sounds in word form. These words help us form mental pictures
about the things, people, or places that are described. Sometimes the word names a thing or action by
copying the sound. For example: Bong! Buzz! Hiss!
The rusty spigot
sputters.
utters
a splutter,
spatters a smattering of drops, gashes wider;
slash,
splatters,
scatters,
spurts,
finally stops sputtering
and plash!
gushes rushes splashes
clear water dashes.
-Eve Merriam
Sort the phrases.
i
Fun Words
Onomatopoeia makes our language fun to hear and say. Design an onomatopoeia animal.
1. What is the size, color, and shape of your animal?
2. How is it like other animals?
3. How is it different from other animals?
4. Does it have eyes, ears, legs, wings, feet, claws, or
paws? If so, how many? What do they look like?
5. What unusual features does your animal have?
6. How does your animal act or behave? What does it
do?
7. What onomatopoeic words describe the sounds your
animal makes when it is happy? when it is sad? (You
can make up new words if you need to.)
8. What onomatopoeic words describe the way your
animal walks or moves?
9. What onomatopoeic words describe the way other
animals or people respond to your animal?
10. Draw a picture of your animal next to your poem.
www.picturebook.com
Personification
Personification is giving human qualities, feelings, actions or characteristics to inanimate objects.
For example: The window winked at me. The verb "wink" is a human action that the inanimate object, the
window, is doing.
Write the object being personified in the following sentences and the human characteristic they have.
1. The wind sang her mournful song through the falling leaves.
2. The microwave timer told me it was time to turn my TV dinner.
3. The video camera observed the whole scene.
4. The strawberries seemed to sing, "Eat me first!"
5. The rain kissed my cheeks as it fell.
6. The daffodils nodded their yellow heads at the walkers.
7. The water beckoned invitingly to the hot swimmer.
8. The snow whispered as it fell to the ground during the early morning hours.
9. The china danced on the shelves during the earthquake.
10. The car engine sputtered and coughed as it went down the highway.
Personification
describing human qualities in something that is
not a person
My computer died.
Personification Sampler
Under a Telephone Wire
I am a copper wire slung in the air,
Slim against the sun I make not even a clear line of shadow.
Night and day I keep singing- humming and thrumming;
It is love and war and money; it is fighting and the tears, the work and the want,
Death and laughter of men and women passing through me, carrier of your speech,
In the rain and the wet dripping, in the dawn and shine drying,
A copper wire.
-Carl Sandburg
Proud Words
Look out how you use proud words.
The Puzzled Centipede
A centipede was happy quite,
Until a frog in fun
Said, "Pray, which leg comes after which?"
This raised her mind to such a pitch,
She lay distracted in the ditch
Considering how to run.
When you let them go,
it is not easy to call them back.
They wear long boots, hard boots,
they walk off proud;
They can't hear you callingLook out how you use proud words.
-Carl Sandburg
Hyperbole
A hyperbole is a type of figurative language. It is often confused with a
simile or metaphor because it often compares two objects. The
difference is a hyperbole is an exaggeration. For example: I had a ton
of homework. Such statements are not literally true, but people make
them to sound impressive or to emphasize something, such as a
feeling, effort, or reaction.
Examples: I could sleep for a year.
This box weighs a ton.
I've told you a million times to clean your room.
They have yarns
Of a skyscraper so tall
they had to put hinges
on the two top stories
so to let the
moon go by,
Of one corn crop in Missouri when the roots
Went so deep and drew off so much water
The Mississippi riverbed that year was
dry,
Of pancakes so thin
they had only one side,
Of the man who drove a swarm of bee
across the Rocky Mountains and the Desert
"and didn't lose a bee."
Of the boy who climbed a cornstalk
growing so fast he would have starved to death
if they hadn't shot biscuits up to him,
Of the ship captain's shadow:
it froze to the deck
one cold winter night,
Of the sheep-counter
who was fast and accurate:
"I just count their feet and divide by four."
Hyperbole Sampler
My teacher is so old…
§
“they’ve already nailed the coffin shut.”
§
“she gets a seniors discount at the nursing home!”
§
“her wrinkles weigh more than she does!”
§
“she showed us a yearbook from 1500 B.C.!”
§
“she considers Shakespeare to be a ‘new-fangled modern art’!”
§
“she personally knew Shakespeare!”
§
“she remembers the tragedy when the dinosaurs died!”
§
“she’s mentioned in the Old Testament.”
§
“she can’t even remember her own name!”
§
“she taught cave men to start a fire.”
§
“she edited the bible for mistakes!”
§
“she claims that she invented the question mark!”
§
“we looked up the word ‘ancient’, and there was full definition with her name and a big picture of her.”
§
“she knows how to speak cave-man language!”
Idioms
An idiom is an expression that has a meaning apart from the meanings of its
individual
words.
For example:
It's raining cats and dogs. Its literal meaning suggests that cats and dogs are falling
from the sky. We interpret it to mean that it is raining hard.
Write the meanings of these frequently used
idioms:
1. catch a cold
2. see eye to eye
3. under the weather
4. stuffed to the gills
5. out of the frying pan and into the fire
6. on pins and needles
7. fly off the handle
8. head in the sand
9. lay down the law
10. hold your horses
11. going bananas
12. cat has your tongue
13. bury the hatchet
14. born yesterday
15. back seat driver
Imagery
Imagery involves one or more of your five senses (hearing, taste, touch, smell, sight). An author uses a
word or phrase to stimulate your memory of those senses. These memories can be positive or negative
which will contribute to the mood of your poem.
The Worker
My father lies black and hushed
Beneath white hospital sheets
He collapsed at work
His iron left him
Slow and quiet he sank
Meeting the wet concrete floor on his way
The wheels were still turning-they couldn't stop
And as they carried him out
The whirring and buzzing and humming machines
Applauded him
Lapping up his dripping iron
They couldn't stop.
-Richard W. Thomas
Identify all the senses that are used in the
poem. Also identify other poetic devices
that Thomas uses.
Imagery is the use of vivid language, usually rich in sensory words, to create pictures, or images, in the
reader's mind.
Figurative language is the language that uses imagery and such figures of speech as similes, metaphors,
and personification. Creating poetry requires the use of imagery.
Think of some imagery words to describe some part of nature:
sea, clouds, a tree, a river, an animal, etc.
Irony
Irony is a literary form that lets us say one thing by mean the opposite. Usually irony is expressed in positive words, but it implies blame. Irony
is lighter in tone than sarcasm, but it can be more cutting. There can also be irony in an event or situation in which the result is the opposite of
what we expect to happen.
The Crocodile
How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden
scale!
How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in,
With gently smiling
jaws!
-Lewis Carroll
Free Verse
Free verse is easy and fun to write. There isn't any strict verse pattern, nor does free verse poetry
rhyme. Free verse lets the writer use language that appeals to the head and the heart. The poet can
express his or her feelings, emotions, and ideas in an imaginative way. Free verse poems can be about
serious or humorous subjects.
Below are the opening lines to be used to write your own free verse poem. Complete the poem so that it
appeals to your head or your heart.
Getting up on Monday morning...
I spilled a can of orange soda pop...
The cars on the freeway hum by...
The summer sun...
Free Verse
Free verse is easy and fun to write. There isn't any strict verse pattern, nor does free verse poetry
rhyme. Free verse lets the writer use language that appeals to the head and the heart. The poet can
express his or her feelings, emotions, and ideas in an imaginative way. Free verse poems can be about
serious or humorous subjects.
Below are the opening lines to be used to write your own free verse poem. Complete the poem so that it
appeals to your head or your heart.
Getting up on Monday morning...
I spilled a can of orange soda pop...
The cars on the freeway hum by...
The summer sun...
Limericks
There was a Young Lady whose Nose
Continually prospers and grows;
When it grew out of sight,
She exclaimed in a fright,
"Oh! Farewell to the end of my Nose!"
There was a Young Lady of Niger
Who smiled as she rode on a tiger;
They returned from the ride
With the lady inside,
And the smile on the face of the tiger.
-Edward Lear
Theme
Theme is the lesson that the writer wishes to convey about a particular subject. It is what the author
wants the reader to remember the most. For example, in E. B. White's Charlotte's Web, Wilbur says at
the end, "Friendship is one of the most satisfying things in the world." However, not all themes are
specifically stated. Often one must do a bit of detective work to discover a theme.
If you finish a story and aren't sure what the point was, you should go back over the reading. Sometimes the
theme is stated directly in a key sentence, phrase, or word. Mostly, you have to think about what you are
reading to figure out its theme. Look at the title. Identify important words or phrases.
Common topics: hate, hope, independence, family, freedom, trust, truth, war, success, love, growing up,
childhood, courage, death, faith....
Mood is the overall
emotion or feeling created
by a piece of literature. It
can "color" a poem or set
the feeling for the piece
of literature for the reader.
Tone is the author's attitude
toward a subject of relationship
he or she has with the reader.
Sometimes it is hard to identify the emotions linked to poetry.
Here are some examples of possible emotional vocabulary:
Happy
joyous
delighted
cheerful
lighthearted
optimistic
hopeful
enthusiastic
Serious
somber
grim
sober
solemn
reflective
meditative
thoughtful
Brave
courageous
bold
fearless
heroic
Arrogant
smug
boastful
gloating
prudish
Exciting
inspiring
interesting
intriguing
stimulating
disquieting
Peaceful
serene
calm
harmonious
tranquil
list compiled by Pat Greene
Scary
haunting
frightened
horrified
terrified
terrorized
alarmed
Shy
bashful
demure
timid
reserved
Confused
puzzled
flustered
bewildered
perplexed
vague
undecided
Sad
dejected
miserable
melancholy
grieving
gloomy
discouraged
depressed
morose
Romantic
mushy
dreamy
sentimental
fanciful
Nervous
anxious
cautious
withdrawn
apprehensive
jittery
Speaker: the voice that is heard in the poem
NOT necessarily the author.
Examples:
Meterthe pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry. A unit of meter with two or three syllables of which
one is usually stressed. Some examples:
iambic foot- a two-syllable foot with the stress on the second syllable. It is the most common.
trochaic foot- a two-syllable foot with the stress on the first syllable. Often used to suggest evil. In Macbeth:
"Double, double, toil and trouble." Poe's "Raven": "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and
weary."
Repetitionrepeating of sounds, words, phrases, or lines for emphasis
examples
Symbol- person, object, word, image, or event that has additional meaning beyond the normal
definition
Refrain- repeated part of a poem, especially at the end or between two stanzas
Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind by Shakespeare
Blow, blow, thou winter wind,
Thou art not so unkind
As man's ingratitude;
Thy tooth is not so keen
Because thou art not seen,
Although thy breath be rude.
Heigh-ho! sing heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh-ho! the holly!
This life is most jolly.
Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky,
Thou dost not bite so nigh
As benefits forgot:
Though thou the waters warp,
Thy sting is not so sharp
As friend remember'd not.
Heigh-ho! sing heigh-ho! unto the green holly:
Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:
Then, heigh-ho! the holly!
This life is most jolly.
Stanzaa division of a poem based on thought or form. Stanzas based on form are shown by their rhyme scheme.
Some types:
couplet- a two-line stanza
triplet- a three-line stanza
quatrain- a four-line stanza
quintet- a five-line stanza
sestet- a six-line stanza
septet- a seven-line stanza
octave- an eight-line stanza
Rhyme- a similarity of sound between two words. True rhyme is identical sounding stressed syllables in
which the letters before the vowel sounds are different. Rhymed verse has end rhyme and usually
rhyme meter. Free verse has no regular meter and no end rhyme. End rhyme has rhyme at the ends of
the lines in a stanza. Internal rhyme has rhyme within a line of poetry.
Rhyme scheme- the pattern of end rhyme. Sounds are identified by letters, aabb, abab, abc abc, etc.
The Raven- Edgar Allen Poe
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, `tapping at my chamber door Only this, and nothing more.'
Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels named Lenore Nameless here for evermore.
Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
Sugar is sweet
and so are you.
Let's see what you remember...