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Unlock the power of imagery & figures of speech in poetry to create vivid and impactful writing. Learn about similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, and symbols. Enhance your poetic expression and deepen your understanding of literary devices.
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Imagery & Figurative Language An “image” is “a word or sequence of words that refers to any sensory experience”
Imagery What are your five senses? Sight, Hearing, Touch, Taste, and Smell • An image conveys a sense perception , i.e., a visual picture, a sound, a feeling of touch, a taste, or an odor
Figures of Speech Figurative language uses figures of speech to convey unique images and create some sort of special effect or impression. A “figure of speech” is an intentional difference from the ordinary usage of language.
Poetry works by comparison • Poets often create images or enhance meaning by comparing one thing to another for special effect.
Simile • A simile is a type of metaphor, a figure in which an clear comparison is made using the comparative wordslike, as, resembles, than. Similes are easy to spot. (X is like Y: X is compared to Y in order to illustrate X more fancifully, poetically, or effectively. But Y is not a literal representation of X, not actual.) • The team’s center looked like a skyscraper. • My love is like a red, red rose. • We were as quiet as frightened mice.
More similes • Dumb as a door knob • As good as gold • Like a bat out of hell • Tough as nails • Working like a dog • Larger than life
Metaphor • A metaphor also compares, but a metaphor is a bit more sophisticated than a simile. • For one thing, in a metaphor, the words like or as are missing. So readers have to recognize the comparison on their own without those easy words which help us to spot a simile so quickly.
Metaphor (continued) In a metaphor, a poet writes that X is Y. Readers understand that we are not to take the comparison literally, but that the metaphor helps us to see X in a new way. My brother is a prince. Paul Brown Stadium was a slaughterhouse.
More metaphors • Jimmy was a lion in the fight. • Her eyes are dark emeralds. • Her teeth are pearls. • There are plenty of fish in the sea
Personification Another kind of comparison is called personification. Here, animals, elements of nature, and objects are given human qualities. -The full moon smiled down at me • An angry wind slashed its way across the island.
More on Figurative Language • The three main uses of figurative language needed to read poetry are the previous: • Simile • Metaphor • Personification • But there are many other poetic devices used. The more you recognize, the richer your reading experience can be.
Hyperbole • Hyperbole is intentional exaggeration or overstating, often for dramatic or humorous effect: Your predicament saddens me so much that I feel a actual flood of tears coming on:
Symbol • A symbol is a person, place, an object, or an action that stands for something beyond itself. • A dove is a symbol for peace. • In slave code songs, a drinking gourd is a symbol for the big dipper.
