POETRY TOOLBOX

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POETRY TOOLBOX Figurative language and poetic
devices

• Mr. Sabolcik
• West Forsyth HS
• 2012

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In this presentation, we will cover

• Figurative Language
• Simile
• Metaphor
• Hyperbole
• Personification

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Make a T-Chart!

• Literal Figurative

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Language Can Be Broken Down into Two Different
Kinds
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2 Kinds of Language

• Literal
• Maintains the same meaning regardless of who is
  reading it.
• Stays absolutely true to the intended meaning of
  the words.
• That is a piece of cake

• Figurative
• the use of words in such a way where the literal
  meaning of the words is not true or does not make
  sense
• However, we get what the author means.
• It is used so that authors can be fresh,
  creative, and clear.
• That is a piece of cake
• Math Test 11?

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(No Transcript)
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Figurative or Literal?

• I love school!
• That test was harder than a rock.
• The quarterback flew past the defender.
• Lamar is faster than the speed of light.
• Mr. Sabolcik is old.

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Comparison of two unlike things using Like or
As (or As though or than)
Figurative Language
Metaphor
SIMILE
Has like or as
His temper was as explosive as a volcano.
"My love is like a red, red rose."
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Spot the Similes!

• Flint by Christina Rosetti
• An emerald is as green as grass,
• A ruby red as blood
• A sapphire shines as blue as heaven
• A flint lies in the mud.
• A diamond is like a brilliant stone,
• To catch the world's desire
• An opal holds a fiery spark
• But a flint holds a fire.

What are the two things being compared in each
simile and how are they similar?
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Your Turn!

• Write a simile and explain how your simile
  compares the two things.
• Begin your simile My pet is like a
• Think, Pair, Share!
• Be prepared to share yours with the class.

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• A comparison between 2 unlike things to show
  similarity
• No explicit words (like, as, than)

Figurative Language
Simile
METAPHOR
No like, as, Or Than
Life is a journey full of ups and downs.
Tyler is the Michael Jordan of English I.
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Explain the Metaphor!
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Spot the Metaphors!

• Hold fast to dreams
• For if dreams die
• Life is a broken-winged bird
• That cannot fly.
• What are the two things being compared and how
  are they similar?
• What does it mean that life is a broken-winged
  bird?
• What does the poet tell us about life without
  dreams?

• Hold fast to dreams For when dreams go Life is a
  barren field Frozen with snow.
• What are the two things being compared and how
  are they similar?
• What does it mean that life is a barren, frozen
  field?
• What does the poet tell us about life without
  dreams?

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Your Turn!

• Write a sentence with a metaphor and explain the
  relationship between the two things it compares.
• Begin your metaphor in the following way
  Friendship is a (thing)
• Think, Pair, Share!
• Be prepared to share your work with the class.

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• An exaggeration.
• It adds emphasis to words or phrases!

Figurative Language
Hyperbole
James is faster than light.
Sabolcik is ancient!
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Quickwrite Explain the hyperbole!

• These books weigh

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Spot the hyperboles!

• I Ate a Spicy Pepper by Mr. Sabolcik
• I ate a spicy pepper
• From my brother on a dare.
• The pepper caught my head on fire
• And burned off all my hair.
• My mouth erupted lava
• And my tongue began to melt.
• My ears were shooting jets of steam.
• At least thats how they felt.

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Effects of Hyperbole?

• Adds a more colorful or exciting emphasis
• Gets the readers attention
• Comedic effects

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Your turn!

• Write your own hyperbole about how great English
  I is, and describe what effect it has on your
  reader!
• Be prepared to share your work with the class for
  participation points!

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- When a writer gives human characteristics or
qualities to a non-human thing
Figurative Language
Metaphor
Personification
This is a more specific Kind of metaphor
where Non-human things do Something that humans
do
The stars danced playfully in the moonlit sky.
The funeral raced by me in a blur.
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Quickwrite How is this personification?
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Spot the personifications!

• Two Sunflowers Move in the Yellow Room.
• "Ah, William, we're weary of weather,"said the
  sunflowers, shining with dew."Our traveling
  habits have tired us.Can you give us a room with
  a view?"
• They arranged themselves at the windowand
  counted the steps of the sun,and they both took
  root in the carpetwhere the topaz tortoises
  run. 

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Now make your own!

• Use a personification to describe something
  within your reach right now.
• Think, Pair, Share!

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- When a word sounds like what it describes
Figurative Language
Onomatopoeia
Thud
Boom!
Meow
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Spot the onomatopoeias!

• Cynthia in the Snow
• It SUSHES.It hushesThe loudness in the road.It
  flitter-twitters,And laughs away from
  me.  Gwendolyn BrooksIt laughs a lovely
  whiteness,And whitely whirs away,To be,Some
  otherwhere,Still white as milk or shirts.So
  beautiful it hurts.

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Write your own onomatopoeia!

• For each of the following situations
• Someone slips on a banana peel
• Car drives b y
• Someone feels angry
• The door slams shut
• A gun is shot

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-a combination of contradictory words that are
next to each other
Figurative Language
Paradox
Oxymoron
This is a more specific Kind of metaphor
where Non-human things do Something that humans
do
Living Dead
Light Darkness
Jumbo Shrimp
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What effect does an oxymoron have on the reader?

• An oxymoron can be used by a reader to
  deliberately bring attention to a contradiction.
• For example Wilfred Owen, in his poem The
  Send-off refers to soldiers leaving for the
  front line, who "lined the train with faces
  grimly gay.
• In this case the oxymoron grimly gay highlights
  the contradiction between how the soldiers feel
  and how they act though putting on a brave face
  and acting gay, they actually feel grim

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Brainstorm a list of oxymorons!

• Whoever gets the most wins!