Name: _____________________________________________
Block: ______________
Date: _____________
Poetry & Figurative Language
STUDY GUIDE
Directions: Using the different types of figurative language from the word bank below,
create your own example of each.
simile
personification
Type
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
metaphor
alliteration
hyperbole
onomatopoeia
Your own example
Directions: For questions 7 – 8, compare and contrast the given terms using the Venn
diagrams by placing the letter in the correct place.
7. Compare and contrast the characteristics of a simile and a metaphor. Write the letters
of the answer choices in the correct place in the Venn diagram.
simile
metaphor
A. compares two things
B. uses “like” or “as”
C. does not use “like” or “as”
8. Compare and contrast the characteristics of a ballad and a free verse. Write the letters
of the answer choices in the correct place in the Venn diagram.
ballad
A. no rules
B. tells a story
C. has stanzas
free verse
9. Identify the sense that is being appealed to in the following sentence:
The cries of the screaming baby pierced my eardrums.
a.
b.
c.
d.
sight
taste
touch
sound
10. Identify the sense that is being appealed to in the following sentence:
The stench of the rotting garbage was disgusting.
a.
b.
c.
d.
sound
smell
sight
taste
11. Revise the following sentence to include an example of imagery (using sensory
details).
The snow was cold.
Your revised sentence: _____________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
12. What sense did you appeal to in your revised sentence? ______________________________________
Directions: Read the poem, “I Didn’t Go Camping.” Then, use the poem to answer
questions 13 – 16.
I Didn’t Go Camping
By Kenn Nesbitt
I didn't go camping.
I didn't go hiking.
I didn't go fishing.
I didn't go biking.
I didn't go play
on the slides at the park.
I didn't watch shooting stars
way after dark.
I didn't play baseball _______
or soccer outside. _______
I didn't go on an _______
amusement park ride. _______
I didn't throw Frisbees.
I didn't fly kites,
or have any travels,
or see any sights.
I didn't watch movies _______
with blockbuster crowds, _______
or lay on the front lawn _______
and look at the clouds. _______
I didn't go swimming
at pools or beaches,
or visit an orchard
and pick a few peaches.
I didn't become
a guitarist or drummer,
but, boy, I played plenty
of Minecraft this summer.
13. Write the rhyme scheme of stanza 3 and stanza 5 on the lines provided above.
14. Identify an example of repetition from the poem. Write the example of repetition on
the line below.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
15. What is the author’s purpose in using this example of repetition (from question 14)?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
16. Which of these activities would the author of “I Didn’t Go Camping” most likely take
part in?
a. Playing basketball in the park.
b. Running a marathon in New York City.
c. Playing with his Wii in the house.
d. Camping in a forest.
Directions: Read the poem, and then use it to answer questions 17 – 18.
A new, fresher scent
the Labrador’s cold muzzle
deeper into snow
17. What type of poem is this? __________________________________________________________________________
18. How do you what type of poem it is? ______________________________________________________________
Directions: Read the poem, and then use it to answer questions 19 – 21.
There was an Old Lady of Chertsey, ______
Who made a remarkable curtsey; ______
She twirled round and round, ______
Till she sunk underground, ________
Which distressed all the people of Chertsey. _____
19. Write the rhyme scheme of the poem on the lines provided above.
20. What type of poem is this? __________________________________________________________________________
21. How do you what type of poem it is? ______________________________________________________________
Directions: Read the poem, then use it to answer questions 22 – 26.
Night crept in,
slow and smooth.
It smothered the city
in darkness.
Lights in windows
of tall buildings blinked,
One. Two. Again.
And opened
their bright eyes.
22. What sense is being appealed to in the lines below? ___________________________________________
Lights in windows
of tall buildings blinked,
One. Two. Again.
Underline the words in the poem that appeal to the sense you choose.
23. What type of poem is this? __________________________________________________________________________
24. How do you what type of poem it is? ______________________________________________________________
List TWO examples of figurative language in the poem, and identify their types in the chart
below. An example has been provided for you.
Example From Poem
Example: “Night crept in”
25.
26.
Type of Figurative Language
personification
Directions: Read the poem, “No Thank You.” Then, use the poem to answer questions 27 –
29.
No Thank You
No I do not want a kitten,
No cute, cuddly kitty-poo,
No more long hair in my cornflakes,
No more midnight meowing mews.
No more scratchin’, snarlin’, spitters,
No more sofas clawed to shreds,
No more smell of kitty litter,
No more mousies in my bed.
No I will not take that kitten—
I’ve had lice and I’ve had fleas,
I’ve been scratched and sprayed and bitten,
I’ve developed allergies.
If you’ve got an ape, I’ll take him,
If you have a lion, that’s fine,
If you brought some walking bacon,
Leave him here, I’ll treat him kind.
I have room for mice and gerbils,
I have beds for boars and bats,
But please, please take away that kitten—
Quick—’fore it becomes a cat.
27. Is the tone of “No Thank You” positive or negative? ____________________________________________
Defend your answer to the previous question by writing two words or phrases from “No
Thank You” that show this tone.
28.
29.