Poetry Figures of Speech- Tools that help to create images in a reader’s mind to help him understand a person or an idea Devices of Sound- Language tools that poets use to help their writing sound “cool”… also used to help highlight important ideas
Simile Figure of speech A direct comparison using like or as Example: Your nose is LIKE a button Example from a song:
Metaphor Figure of speech An implied/indirect comparison Example: Her eyes were a clear, blue sky Example from a song:
Personification Figure of speech Human qualities attributed to inanimate objects or animals Words used to make something that is NOT real SEEM real or alive Example: The wind bellowed Example from a song:
Hyperbole Figure of speech An extreme exaggeration to attain desired effect Example: My dad had a cow when he saw my grades Example from a song:
Imagery Use of sensory information to create mental pictures which reinforce common themes Sight, sound, smell, touch, taste Often occurs in groups- image clusters Example: Color imagery, Religious imagery Example from a song:
Symbolism The use of a concrete object, name, place, event or character to represent an abstract idea Example: Red rose= love River= a journey Example from a song:
Irony When the opposite of what’s expected occurs Example: You can’t get a job because you have TOO much education Example from a song: UGH!
Onomatopoeia Device of sound a word which sounds like the sound it describes Example: Buzz, honk, tweet
Assonance Device of sound a repetition of a vowel sound Example: My words like silent raindrops fell Repetition of long “I” sound
Consonance Device of sound a repetition of a consonant sound Example: Rubber baby buggy bumpers Repetition of “B” sound
Alliteration Device of sound a repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning of words Example: Tangled trail of tears Repetition of “T” sound
Rhyme Device of sound a correspondence of sound Example: the cat in the hat ate a rat on a mat
We can use these sound devices and their natural stressed syllables, lack of stress syllables, and pauses to create rhythm in poetry… one of which is Iambic Pentameter * The most common verse line in English poetry. It consists of five verse feet, with each foot an iamb-that is, an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. Shakespeare’s plays are written almost exclusively in iambic pentameter.