1. Focusing on Imagery & Figurative Language
Day 1:
Slides 1-6 in approx. 30 minutes
Slides 7-11 in approx. 20 minutes
Slide 12 is homework instructions
Day 2:
Slide 13-14: use as much of the available period as you can (after allusions quiz)
Contemporary Poetry
Focusing on Imagery
& Figurative Language

2. Lesson Objectives
Identify and analyze an author’s use of imagery and figurative language in poetry
Interpret works of modern poetry, specifically in regards to their use of imagery and figurative language

3. Where is the rhyme? structure? meter?
Most contemporary poems lack consistent rhyme, a common structure, constant meter… This means that readers often can’t:
Do a scansion or focus on typical forms
Analyze how structure matches content
Then what makes it poetry? Well, it’s still:
Structured like a poem (it’s not prose)
Contains poetic techniques
Where does a reader begin?
There is always theme, tone, the speaker, diction
Plus, MOST modern poems will contain:
Imagery
Figurative Language
Discuss with them how the poem they wrote about yesterday defies this rule: although its structure was atypical, it still was there and still mirrored the content.
“Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood.”
T. S. Eliot 

4. Imagery

5. Imagery task Grab a copy of Sound and Sense Read the following poem:
“Living in Sin” by Rich (pages 63-64)
For the poem above, identify words/ phrases that evoke vivid images (do this in your R.J.):
Classify each word/phrase by the sense it evokes (visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory [smell], and taste)
Note any trends related to your sensory findings
Answer this: What aspect(s) of the poem does the imagery enhance?

6. Imagery findings “Living in Sin” by Rich (pages 63-64)
What words/phrases evoke images?
What trends, related to your sensory findings, do you see?
What aspect(s) of the poem does the imagery enhance?
Have groups share out.

7. Figurative Language

8. What is Figurative Language?
Language is figurative when it varies from the norms of literal language, and therefore no longer means what says. Also known as the “ornaments of language,” figurative language forces the reader to make an imaginative leap in order to comprehend an author’s point or a speaker’s words. It often involves a comparison between two things that may not, at first, seem to relate to one another. Figurative language facilitates understanding because it relates something unfamiliar to something familiar.
“If you read quickly to get through a poem to what it means, you have missed the body of the poem.”
M. H. Abrams 

9. Figurative Language Terms
Simile
Paradox
Extended simile
Paradoxical Situation
Metaphor
Paradoxical Statement
Extended metaphor
Verbal Paradox
Personification
Irony
Apostrophe
Verbal Irony
Metonymy
Situation Irony
Synecdoche
Dramatic Irony
Symbol
Allegory
Hyperbole
Litote
NEW TERM
Zeugma
the use of a word to modify/govern two or more words, although it is only grammatically or logically correct with one
Examples:
“She looked at the object with suspicion and a magnifying glass.”
Charles Dickens
“…losing her heart or her necklace at the ball.”
Alexander Pope
They should already be familiar with all of these terms. Have them take a moment to (A) review them and (B) to note in their AP Survival Guide that these terms are Fig Lang. Go over any that are new to them (potentially the sub-terms)—paradox if they did not Am. Studs, and “zeugma” which is newish still to me.

10. Beyond Identification
Once terms are noted you need to first look for commonalities, consistencies/inconsistencies, and extent of use
All fig. lang. techniques used have to do with nature…
Personification only happens with the rope…
When death is the topic no fig. lang. is used, but it’s used in numerous other parts of the poem…
Metonymy is used once, whereas hyperbole and zeugma are used more often…
Then, identify how these terms—specifically their commonalities, consistencies/inconsistencies, and extent of use—impact the work as a whole.
Possible questions to ask yourself:
How does enhance the meaning of the poem?
How does reflect the tone of the poem?
How does connect to the theme of the poem?
How does embrace the speaker’s perspective? …the subject matter? …the era in which it’s set? …the historical period in which it was created?
BASIC
COM-PLEX

11. Complete the worksheet.
You may interact with the text on the handout itself (it is yours to keep), but answer all questions in your R.J.
This is due Tuesday
Pass out the handout
Homework

12. Homework Check In “The Teachers Pass the Popcorn” by Smith
“A Blessing” by Wright
How does Wright utilize imagery to enrich the tone?
Support it!
“The Teachers Pass the Popcorn” by Smith
How does Smith utilize figurative language and imagery to help establish the impact the film has on the students?
“Digging” by Heaney
How does Heaney employ literary techniques, such as imagery and metaphor, to shape the work’s distinct symbol?
Discuss their findings and struggles as a class. With the 3rd thesis, have students talk about the phrase “such as imagery and metaphor”.

13. Process Paper The same rules apply: Due dates:
A “6” earned by the end of the quarter = 100%
You will have a week between each draft
5% is deducted for each missed deadline / for each draft that shows too little growth
Due dates:
Your first thesis attempt is due Monday, Nov. 21st
All thesis statements must be completed by Wednesday, Nov. 30th
Take note that Thanksgiving break occurs during this time frame.
The final day to turn in an draft is Friday, Jan. 20th
Pass out the handout
Process Paper