FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE &
LITERARY DEVICES
THE “WHAT”
DEFINE POETRY!
• Poetry (from the Greek "ποίησις", poiesis, a
"making") is a form of literary art in which
language is used for its aesthetic and evocative
qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent
meaning. Poetry may be written independently,
as discrete poems, or may occur in conjunction
with other arts, as in poetic drama, hymns or
lyrics.
WHAT DOES ALL THAT MEAN??!!
THE “REAL”
DEFINITION OF
POETRY IS…
THE “WHY”
WHY IS POETRY IMPORTANT?
•
Poetry takes a simple concept and makes
it more powerful and beautiful
•
Which one of these poems is better?
Why?
The Turtle
breaks from the blue-black
skin of the water, dragging her shell
with its mossy scutes
across the shallows and through the rushes
The Turtle
and over the mudflats, to the uprise,
comes out of the water
to the yellow sand,
walks across the sand
to dig her ungainly feet
digs a nest
a nest, and hunker there spewing
and lays some eggs
her white eggs down
into the darkness…
By: Mr. Brooks
By: Mary Oliver
WHAT IS FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE?
• Figurative language presents
ordinary things in fresh ways,
communicating ideas that go beyond
words’ ordinary meanings.
• HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES…
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
IT’S LIKE A SIMILE
– a comparison of two unlike things using the
words like or as.
Examples of simile:
• “Life is like a box of chocolates.”
• “The girl is as beautiful as a rose.”
• “The willow is like an etching…”
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
IT IS A METAPHOR
– a comparison of two unlike things without
using the words like or as.
Examples of metaphor:
• “My father is a tall, sturdy oak.”
• “The hotel is a diamond in the sky.”
• “who know’s if the moon’s a balloon…”
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
PERSONIFICATION
– the giving of human qualities to an animal,
object, or idea.
Examples of personification:
• “Hunger sat shivering on the road.”
• “The flowers danced on the lawn.”
• “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Smokey the
Bear” are personified characters.
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
HYPERBOLE
- an exaggerated statement used to make a
point.
Examples of hyperbole:
• “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”
• “I could sleep for a year.”
• “This book weighs a ton.”
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:
IMAGINE THE IMAGERY
-figures of speech or vivid descriptions used to
produce mental images (appeal to the five
senses).
Examples of imagery:
• “Her clammy back felt like bark of the tree after a
summer’s rain.”
• “…the small pond behind my house was lapping
at it’s banks…”
• “The willow’s music is like a soprano…”
Oxymoron
• When two opposite words are put together;
example:
• Deadly sound
• Cruel tenderness
• Exciting misery
1. I can resist anything but temptation.
2. All animals are equal, but some are more equal than
others.
3. The child is father of the man…
4. What a pity that youth must be wasted on the young
WHAT IS A SOUND DEVICE?
• The effect of a poem can depend on
the sound of its words.
• HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES…
SOUND DEVICE:
SOUNDS LIKE ONOMATOPOEIA
- the use of words whose sounds suggest their
meanings.
Examples of onomatopoeia:
• “The bang of a gun.”
• “The hiss of a snake.”
• “The buzz of a bee.”
• “The pop of a firecracker.”
SOUND DEVICE: REPETITION
- the repeating of sound, words, phrases or lines in a
poem used to emphasize an idea or convey a certain
feeling.
Examples of repetition:
• “Sing a song full of faith that the dark past has taught
us, Sing a song of the hope that the present has
brought us…”
• “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…”
• “The isolation during my vacation created a situation
of relaxation.”
SOUND DEVICE:
I RHYME ALL THE TIME AND I GUESS IT
SOUNDS FINE…
- repetition of sound at the ends of words. (Rhyme occurring
within a line is called internal rhyme. Rhyme occurring at
the end of a line is called end rhyme)
Rhyme Scheme – the pattern of end rhyme in a poem. Lines
that rhyme are given the same letter.
Example of internal rhyme, end rhyme, and rhyme scheme:
• I looked at the shell in the ocean
a
• I looked at the bell in the sea,
b
• I noticed the smell and the motion
a
• Were very peculiar to me.”
b
SOUND DEVICE:
DO YOU HAVE RHYTHM? LET’S CLAP!
– the pattern of sound created by stressed (more
emphasis, `) and unstressed (less emphasis, υ)
syllables. Many poems are given diacritical
markings (` and υ) depending on the rhythm.
Example of rhythm:
“I looked at the shell in the ocean
I looked at the bell in the sea,
I noticed the smell and the motion
Were very peculiar to me.”
SOUND DEVICE: ASSONANCE
- repetition of VOWEL SOUNDS at the
BEGINNING, MIDDLE or END of at least two
words in a line of poetry.
Examples of Assonance
• Repeating the “eh” sound in the words:
“crescent,” “flesh,” “extending,” “medicine”
and “death”
SOUND DEVICE: CONSONANCE
- repetition of CONSONANT SOUNDS at the
BEGINNING, MIDDLE or END of at least two
words in a line of poetry.
Examples of Consonance
Repeating the “sh” sound in the words:
“shush,” “wish,” “sharp,” “cushion” and
“quash”
SOUND DEVICE: ALLITERATION
- repetition of CONSONANT SOUNDS at the
BEGINNING of at least two words in a line of
poetry. Example of alliteration:
Examples of Alliteration
• “the frog frolicked frivolously on the forest floor.”
• “…Little skinny shoulder blades Sticking through
your clothes…”
• “…struck out by a steed flying fearless and
fleet…”
WHAT IS FORM?
• The form of a poem involves the physical
arrangement of the words on the page,
sometimes involving rhyme and rhythm.
• LINE: a sentence or fragment of sentence.
• STANZA: a group of more than one line.
• HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF FORM…
FORM: COUPLET
-a pair of lines that rhyme. A couplet may be a
poem in itself or part of a larger poem.
What is an example of a COUPLET?
The artist stirred some blue and green
To paint an underwater scene.
FORM: HAIKU
-an unrhymed poem consisting of three lines and seventeen
(17) syllables. These poems are normally about nature.
The first line is five (5) syllables.
The second line is seven (7) syllables.
The third line is five (5) syllables.
What is an example of a HAIKU?
The autumn wind blows, (5 syllables)
Calling the leaves on the ground (7 syllables)
To join him in dance. (5 syllables)
FORM: QUATRAIN
-a four-line poem of any kind. They are often combined to form a larger
poem. Its rhyme scheme may be “AABB,” “ABAB,” “ABCB,” or “ABBA.”
What is an example of a QUATRAIN?
A robin sitting in a tree
(A)
Turned her head and winked at me, (A)
She sang a song as if to say,
(B)
“I’m glad to see you here today.” (B)
There is nothing quite so peaceful
As the sound of gentle rain,
Pitter-pitter-patting
Against my window pane.
(A)
(B)
(C)
(B)
FORM: CINQUAIN
-an unrhymed, five-line poem.
The first line is one (1) word that names the subject.
The second line is two (2) words that describe the subject.
The third line is three (3) action verbs that describe the subject.
The fourth line is four (4) words that describe a feeling about the subject.
The fifth line is one (1) word that is a synonym or a summary of the subject.
What is an example of a CINQUAIN?
Butterflies
Gentle creatures
Fluttering, searching, landing
Lovely flashes of light
Miracles
FORM: ENJAMBMENT
• The running over of a line or thought into the
next line without a strong break or pause
• Example:
I’m feeling rather sleepy, but
I really don’t know why. I guess it
is the way the day has spun
out of control.
FORM: FREE VERSE
• Poetry that does not contain regular patterns of rhyme and rhythm. The
lines flow more naturally and have “everyday speech” rhythm. Poets who
write in free verse often use the sound devices we have already discussed.
Here’s an example from May Swenson’s “Southbound on the Freeway:
They all hiss as they glide,
like inches, down the marked
tapes. Those soft shapes,
shadowy inside
the hard bodies – are they
their guts or their brains
• Label the assonance, consonance and alliteration.
• What is the effect of the enjambment?
Now it is your turn
1. He felt a graveyard wind go by
Cold, cold as was his enemy.
2. The morning wind arose
And called across the world for day.
3. The storm shook the land with endless thunder
4. The pale moon like a petal
Floats in the dusk of Spring
5. Beautiful woman is she,
A woman whose autumn of life is here
6. A mere frown from her would kill me.
7. O my grey hairs! You are truly white as plum blossoms.
8. The first dart of daybreak pierced the sky.
9. Beauty walks in the woods waking flowers from wintry sleep,
10. It seems much as if
Sorrow had tripped up my heels.
11. Each moment apart takes a year
Till we reunite my dear.
12. Our hearts are music-makers in the clouds!
14. Rest from weary laughter
In the quiet arms of grief.
15. The hungry students probably would have continued eating
Right on through the lunch table had it not been for the bell.
16. Footsteps fell as soft as fall
The rose's petals on a dewy lawn,
17. Now the sun is laid to sleep.