What is poetry? Let’s brainstorm…

Today’s Learning Objective How do poets paint a picture in our mind?

Imagery in writing involves… The Senses: Sight, hearing, touch, taste & smell Colors, shapes or images Figurative language …To create a “mental picture”

Examples of Imagery The red wheelbarrow The creeeeaking door The razor-sharp edge of broken glass The bit t er taste of ginger root The putrid smell of rotting garbage

Langston Hughes ( ) Photo by Nikolas Muray

Get ready to sketch!

The City In the morning the city Spreads its wings Making a song In stone that sings. In the evening the city Goes to bed Hanging lights About its head.

“The City” by Langston Hughes In the morning the city Spreads its wings Making a song In stone that sings. In the evening the city Goes to bed Hanging lights About its head. What did you see in your mind? What did you sketch?

Literary Devices (also known as figurative language) Simile Metaphor Personification

What’s a simile?

Simile Comparing 2 things using “like” or “as”

The rain was like a little mouse Quiet, small and gray. It pattered all around the house And then it went away. From “Rain Poem” by Elizabeth Coatsworth

Write a simile about life. Life is like…

What’s a metaphor?

Metaphor Comparing 2 things using the verb “to be”

To be = I am/was… We are/were… You are… They are… Erin & Al are… She is/was… He is… It is… The thing is…

The world is a glass overflowing with water. From “Ode to Enchanted Light” by Pablo Neruda Hold fast to dreams For if dreams die Life is a barren field Frozen with snow From “Dreams” by Langston Hughes

Metaphors are harder to use Try to describe the weather with a metaphor. How about a parent or sibling?

Personification Giving an inanimate object human or animal qualities

Pencils too pointed break their points and then laugh at you. Proud pencils get furious waiting to be sharpened. Pencils in pockets and boxes shove each other and nearly come to fighting. From “Pencils” by Carl Sandburg

Practice Personification… Think of something that is difficult to do… Does that thing laugh at you? Does it seem like it has a life of its own?

Let’s review! How do poets paint a picture in the reader’s mind? What literary devices do poet’s use to create imagery?

Simile Metaphor Personification

Works Cited e_beho.html ClipArt from Microsoft flower-image Heard, Georgia Awakening the Heart: Exploring Poetry in Elementary and Middle School. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Press. Perfect, Kathy A Poetry Lessons: Everything You Need. New York: Scholastic. Presentation by K. Coolman Nov. 17, 2009