C HAPTER 15- F IGURES OF SPEECH, OR METAPHORICAL LANGUAGE : A SOURCE OF DEPTH AND RANGE IN POETRY Lap 4: Poetry Day 4

M USIC IS POETRY.

L ITERARY D EVICES Figures of speech, metaphorical language, figurative language, figurative devices, literary devices and rhetorical figures are terms describing organized patterns of comparison that deepen, broaden, extend, illuminate, and emphasize meaning. The literary devices that we will be studying this LAP are: metaphor, simile, imagery, paradox, anaphora, apostrophe, personification, synecdoche, metonymy, pun (paronomasia), synthesia and hyperbole.

M ETAPHORS The two most important figures of speech, and the most easily recognized, are metaphors and similes. A metaphor shows that something unknown is identical to something known and equates known objects or actions with something that is unknown or to be explained. Metaphors are words that suggest meanings that go beyond their literal meanings. Example: Katy Perry’s, Firework- “Baby you’re a firework.”-Comparing (you) to a firework.

S IMILES A simile shows that something unknown is similar to something known and illustrates the similarity or comparability to something unknown or to be explained. Similes are distinguishable from metaphors because they are introduced by “like” with nouns and “as” with clauses. Example: Katy Perry’s Firework- “Do you ever feel like a plastic bag” -Comparing you (a person) to a plastic bag and disposable.

P ERSONIFICATION Personification is the attribution of human traits to abstractions or to nonhuman objects. Personification is another dramatic figurative device through which poets explore relationships to environment, ideals and inner lives. Example: John Keats, “To Autumn”- Conspiring with him to load and bless. – Can the seasons conspire?

H YPERBOLE Hyperbole is the overstatement and understatement to create emphasis. Hyperbole is an exaggeration for effect. Example: I am so tired I cannot walk another inch” or “I’m so sleepy I might fall asleep standing here”. These statements CANNOT be taken literally making them exaggerations.

O NOMATOPOEIA o Onomatopoeia refers to words which sound is very close to the sound they are meant to depict. In other words, it refers to sound words whose pronunciation to the actual sound they represent. o Example: grunt, huff, buzz and snap...

C HAPTER 16- T ONE : T HE C REATION OF A TTITUDE IN P OETRY Tone, a term derived from the phrase tone of voice, describes the shaping of attitudes in poetry. Each poet’s use of words governs the reader’s responses through denotation and connotation, seriousness or humor, irony, metaphors, similes, hyperboles, and other literary devices. The sentences within a poem must be just long enough to achieve the poet’s intended effect- no shorter and no longer.

Is it a comparison between two things? Yes Does it use “like” or “as”? No Are they exaggerating too much or too little? YesNo SimileMetaphor Yes No Too Much? Too Little? Hyperbole Understatement Object or idea doing human things? Personification YesNo ?

A PPLY WHAT YOU KNOW You will be given a poem subject and literary device on a note card. PLEASE DO NOT WRITE ON THE NOTE CARD. Your task is to write a line for a five-six line poem using the literary device written on the card. You MAY NOT use the word of the subject in your line/poem. For example, if your subject is puppies- you may not use the word puppy (puppies) or dog(s) in your line/poem. Once each person in your group has written their line for the assigned literary device, you will compose your poem in the order to which it make the “most sense”. Some of these poems will be accurate and others will be funny. The objective is to assess your understanding of the literary devices (figurative language) as used in poetry and establishing a personal tone for effect.