POETRY WEEK 1 Poetic Devices

Terms  The terms for discussion today include:  Figurative Language / Imagery  Personification, Simile, Metaphor  Alliteration, Assonance, Onomatopoeia  Symbol + Symbolism, Hyperbole, Understatement & Repetition

Figurative Language (fig lang)  Writing or speech that adds greater depth to a poem’s imagery, sound, or literal meaning.  A writer uses figurative language mainly to link (connect) two different things together  EX: a quiet storm (oxymoron)  EX: “a block of ice melted over the audience” (metaphor)

3 Focuses of Figurative language:  Image Focus  Simile, Metaphor, Personification  Sound Focus  Alliteration, Onomatopoeia  Meaning Focus  Idioms, Cliche, Understatement, Hyperbole, Symbol, Oxymoron, Paradox  …and more you’ll learn in English 12 (so exciting!!)

Imagery  The use of image(s) in a poem to create a specific mood, emotion or feeling for the reader.  Imagery is likely the most important thing to understand when reading a poem.

Imagery (cont’d)  Poems have imagery for a reason! (to give you the meaning).  If you ignore the image, then you will NEVER get the full meaning of the poem!! So the #1 rule for reading poetry is…

Describe this picture’s imagery

Image Focus: Personification  when an idea, object or animal receives human characteristics  Examples:  The sun smiled down upon me.  The wind whistled through the trees.  Necessity is the mother of invention.  What other figurative language do you see in this line?

Image Focus: Metaphor and Simile  Transfers the characteristics of one thing to another WITHOUT using “like” or “as”  Her eyes were glistening jewels  “Mrs. Hancock is a birthday cake…”  Transfers the characteristics of one thing to another using “like” or “as” -Sadness falls inside me like the rain -A love as endless as the stars above MetaphorSimile

Metaphor (cont’d)  Metaphors are all about taking the characteristic(s) from one thing and applying it to another  They do NOT always look like “a ______ is a _______” 3 Questions to ask for metaphors: 1. What thing is giving characteristic(s)? To what? 2. Which characteristic(s) are being moved? 3. What meaning does this produce?

Example 1: “His eyes were stars in the night’s sky” 1. What thing is giving characteristics? To what? Answer: stars  his eyes 2. What characteristics are being moved? Answer: twinkling, sparkles, bright, amazing 3. What meaning does this produce? Answer: Speaker is amazed by the brightness and wonder of his eyes.

Example 2: “A block of ice melted over the crowd”  You should be able to see that this sentence is NOT literal. Therefore, it must use figurative language  ice is not really melting on people… -_-  It’s also not using personification or simile so it’s likely a metaphor. Let’s ask our questions then!

Example 2: “A block of ice melted over the crowd” 1. What thing is giving characteristics? To what? Answer: melting block of ice  crowd 2. What characteristics are being moved? Answer: “ice” = coldness, frozen “melting” = spreading 3. What meaning does this produce? Hint: What does it mean if coldness spreads through a crowd?

Example 2: “A block of ice melted over the crowd” Answer: The metaphor describes the crowd’s reaction. In this case, the crowd is likely shocked or horrified by an event that just happened.  The metaphor here describes the “cold” reaction people feel after seeing something terrible/shocking

 Context: “The lion suddenly closed its jaws around the performer’s head. A block of ice melted over the crowd.”

Sound Focus: Alliteration and Assonance  Alliteration refers to the repetition of a consonant sound in the first syllables of some words e.g. The lion lies lazily.  Assonance is when vowel sounds create internal rhyme within sentences  deep heat, finding time  The wet feathered bird  The long vowel sound is repeated in both examples AlliterationAssonance

Sound Focus: Onomatopoeia  Using words that try to copy the sounds of the objects they are associated with.  Example: The bee goes buzz buzz buzz buzz… The car goes vroom. Snakes hiss.  Can we think of some onomatopoeic words?  Adjective = onomatopoeic  Pronunciation: oh-no-mah-toe-pee-ah

Meaning Focus: Symbol  When something has a greater meaning than its dictionary definition.  Example: A red rose is just a flower until it is given to someone else. Then it symbolizes/signifies love. To signify = to mean/represent something

Symbolism Can we think of some symbols connected to Chinese culture or history?

 Common symbols as images:

 Symbolic meaning in some words:  New York  way of living an expensive lifestyle  The colour white  pure, innocent etc.  Basically, whenever we see/think things beyond what is there, then we are thinking about symbolic meaning.

What do you see?

A face? Well, I see a circle, two dots and a line...

What do you see?

Meaning Focus: Hyperbole  Where something is exaggerated (overstated) to emphasize it or create an effect  Pronunciation: hi-PER-bo-lee  Examples:  The bag weighed a ton.  I would die if he asked me to dance.  He was busy. He had ten million things to do.  Can also be image focus for fig lang.

Meaning Focus: Understatement  Where something is said to be less than it really is. This is done to emphasize it or create an effect.  Examples:  I got 98% on my test, which is just okay I guess.  Throwing your cellphone at the lion will make it a little bit tricky to get back.  Killing the lion to get your cellphone back could get you in a bit of trouble as well.

Repetition  The repeating of words, phrases, lines, or stanzas. Repetition is an effective literary device that may suggest order, or add special meaning to a piece of literature. I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody too? Then there's a pair of us-don't tell! They'd banish us you know. from "I'm nobody! Who are You?" by Emily Dickinson

Examples of Repetition:  Because I do not hope to turn again Because I do not hope Because I do not hope to turn  Desiring this man's gift and that man's scope I no longer strive to strive towards such things  from 'Ash-Wednesday' by T. S. Eliot  I looked upon the rotting sea, And drew my eyes away; I looked upon the rotting deck, And there the dead men lay. from "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Coleridge