POETRY UNIT
LESSON 1: AN INTRODUCTION TO POETRY What is a poem Figurative Language
WHAT IS A POEM? A verbal composition designed to convey experiences, ideas, or emotions in a vivid and imaginative way, characterized by the use of language chosen for its sound and suggestive power and by the use of literary techniques such as meter, metaphor, and rhyme. - Dictionary.com
WHAT IS A POEM? Creative Imaginative Expresses Ideas
WHAT MAKES A GOOD POEM? FIGUATIVE LANGUAGE!
FIGURATIVE AND LITERAL LANGUAGE Literally: Words are used as exactly as their definition describes them Ex: The car is blue. He caught the football. Figuratively: Figure out what the word/phrase means Ex: I ve got your back You re a doll Figures of Speech
Figurative Language SIMILE Comparison between two unlike things Uses like or as Example: The baseball player sprinted to first base fast as a rocket.
Figurative Language EXAMPLES OF SIMILES IN POETRY Friends are like chocolate cake, You can never have too many. Chocolate cake is like heaven, Always amazing you with each taste or feeling. Chocolate cake is like life, with so many different pieces. Chocolate cake is like happiness, you can never get enough of it. - Unknown author Compares many things to chocolate cake using like
Figurative Language METAPHOR Also compares two unlike things Does not use like or as Example: The baseball player was a rocket sprinting to first base.
Figurative Language EXAMPLES OF METAPHORS IN POETRY Hope is the thing with feathers, That perches in the soul And sings the tune without the words And never stops at all Compares hope with feathers - Emily Dickinson
Figurative Language ALLITERATION Repetition of the first consonant sounds in neighboring words Example: The drooling, daring, dog stole food from the table. Doesn t always have to be consecutive Example: Darren decided to do his dreaded homework after school.
Figurative Language EXAMPLES OF ALLITERATION IN POETRY She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that s best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes: Thus mellowed to that tender light Which Heaven to gaudy day denies. Repeats Constant Sounds
Figurative Language ONOMATOPOEIA Spell out sounds Sound like what they mean Examples: Crack, Boom, Pop
Figurative Language EXAMPLES OF ONOMATOPOEIA IN POETRY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ezxzvompmg Uses Many Sound Words
Figurative Language PERSONIFICATION Gives human qualities to objects ideas or animals Example: The trees roared during the storm.
Figurative Language EXAMPLES OF PERSONIFICATION IN POETRY "Ah, William, we're weary of weather," said the sunflowers, shining with dew. Sunflowers preforming human acts "Our traveling habits have tired us. Can you give us a room with a view?" They arranged themselves at the window and counted the steps of the sun, and they both took root in the carpet where the topaz tortoises run. -William Blake
Figurative Language HYPERBOLE Extreme exaggeration for emphasis Example: I must have eaten a million pieces of candy on Halloween!
Figurative Language EXAMPLES OF HYPERBOLE IN POETRY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_mxsjhrmmy#t=68 This poem exaggerates the amount of garbage that has piled up. Does this video show the exaggeration in the poem?
NAME THE FORM OF FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
HE DREW A LINE AS STRAIGHT AS AN ARROW. Simile
THE CLOUDS SMILED DOWN AT ME. Personification
I'D RATHER TAKE A BATH WITH A MAN-EATING SHARK OR WRESTLE A LION ALONE IN THE DARK, EAT SPINACH AND LIVER, PET TEN PORCUPINES, THAN TACKLE THE HOMEWORK, MY TEACHER ASSIGNS. Hyperbole
SPLAT! Onomatopoeia
MARY MURPHY MAKES MARVELOUS MACAROONS. Alliteration
THE SNOW IS A WHITE BLANKET Metaphor
LYRIC QUEST ASSIGNMENT Step1: Review the six forms of figurative language mentioned here Step 2: Research for song lyrics that have at least 5 of these forms. (Make sure it is school appropriate!) Bonus Marks if you find all 6! Step 3: Once you are certain, Copy the lyrics into a Google Doc opened in google classroom Use a different text colour for each of the different types of figurative language. Place a color key at the corner of the page (Simile = Red) Step 4: On a separate page of your Google Doc explain why each of the highlighted parts of the song are examples of figurative language. Step 5: Provide a typed summary of what you think the song is trying to communicate to the audience Turn in the completed assignment in Google Classroom.