FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE & LITERARY DEVICES

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE & LITERARY DEVICES

WHAT IS FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE? • Figurative language presents ordinary things in fresh ways, communicating ideas that go beyond words’ ordinary meanings. • HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES…

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE: IT’S LIKE A SIMILE – a comparison of two unlike things using the words like or as. Examples of simile: • “Life is like a box ofchocolates.” • “The girl is as beautiful as a rose.” • “The willow is like an etching…”

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:IT IS A METAPHOR – a comparison of two unlike things without using the words like or as. Examples of metaphor: • “My father is a tall, sturdy oak.” • “The hotel is a diamond in the sky.” • “who know’s if the moon’s a balloon…”

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:PERSONIFICATION – the giving of human qualities to an animal, object, or idea. Examples of personification: • “Hungersatshivering on the road.” • “The flowersdanced on the lawn.” • “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Smokey the Bear” are personified characters.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:HYPERBOLE - an exaggerated statement used to make a point. Examples of hyperbole: • “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” • “I could sleep for a year.” • “This book weighs a ton.”

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE:IMAGINE THE IMAGERY -figures of speech or vivid descriptions used to produce mental images (appeal to the five senses). Examples of imagery: • “Her clammy back felt like bark of the tree after a summer’s rain.” • “…the small pond behind my house was lapping at it’s banks…” • “The willow’s music is like a soprano…”

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGEIDIOMS Idioms are expressions that people use in everyday language. Idioms don’t make literal sense, but we understand what they mean. Examples of Idioms: • Up the creek without a paddle. (means a situation involving trouble) • After kicking a goal, Tony felt on top of the world. (means he was excited)

IDIOMS-continued Examples of Idioms: • She cried crocodile tears (means she was not crying she was faking it) • They are two pees in a pod (means they are so alike)

WHAT IS Allusion? • An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to a place, person, or something that happened. This can be real or Imaginary and may refer to anything, including paintings, opera, folk lore, mythical figures, or religious manuscripts. The reference can be direct or may be inferred, and can broaden the reader’s understanding.

Literary Allusion Examples that ALLUDE to people or events in literature. • “I was surprised his nose was not growing like Pinocchio’s.” This refers to the story of Pinocchio, where his nose grew whenever he told a lie. It is from The Adventures of Pinocchio, written by Carlo Collodi. • “When she lost her job, she acted like a Scrooge, and refused to buy anything that wasn’t necessary.” Scrooge was an extremely stingy character from Charles Dickens’, A Christmas Carol. • “He was a real Romeo with the ladies.” Romeo was a character in Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, and was very romantic in expressing his love for Juliet.

BIBLICAL ALLUSSIONS THERE ARE MANY BIBLICAL ALLUSIONS THAT ARE USED IN OUR EVERYDAY LANGUAGE AND IN WRITING • “He was a Good Samaritan yesterday when he helped the lady start her car.” This refers to the biblical story of the Good Samaritan. • “She turned the other cheek after she was cheated out of a promotion.” This comes from teaching of Jesus that you should not get revenge. • “This place is like a Garden of Eden.” The Garden of Eden was the paradise God made for Adam and Eve. • “You are a Solomon when it comes to making decisions. This refers to King Solomon, who was very wise. • “When the volcano erupted, the nearby forest was swallowed up in dust and ash like Jonah.” Jonah was a person who was swallowed alive by a whale. • “It is raining so hard, I hope it doesn’t rain for 40 days and 40 nights.” This makes a reference to the biblical story of Noah and the ark he built. He was told by God that it would rain for 40 days and 40 nights and flood the land.

WHAT IS A SOUND DEVICE? • The effect of a poem can depend on the sound of its words. • HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES…

SOUND DEVICE:SOUNDS LIKE ONOMATOPOEIA - the use of words whose sounds suggest their meanings. Examples of onomatopoeia: • “The bang of a gun.” • “The hiss of a snake.” • “The buzz of a bee.” • “The pop of a firecracker.”

SOUND DEVICE: REPETITION - the repeating of sound, words, phrases or lines in a poem used to emphasize an idea or convey a certain feeling. Examples of repetition: • “Sing a song full of faith that the dark past has taught us, Sing a song of the hope that the present has brought us…” • “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…” • “The isolation during my vacation created a situation of relaxation.”

SOUND DEVICE: I RHYME ALL THE TIME AND I GUESS IT SOUNDS FINE… - repetition of sound at the ends of words. (Rhyme occurring within a line is called internal rhyme. Rhyme occurring at the end of a line is called end rhyme) Rhyme Scheme – the pattern of end rhyme in a poem. Lines that rhyme are given the same letter. Example of internal rhyme, end rhyme, and rhyme scheme: • I looked at the shell in the ocean a • I looked at the bell in the sea, b • I noticed the smell and the motion a • Were very peculiar to me.”b

SOUND DEVICE: DO YOU HAVE RHYTHM? LET’S CLAP! – the pattern of sound created by stressed (more emphasis, `) and unstressed (less emphasis, υ) syllables. Many poems are given diacritical markings (` and υ) depending on the rhythm. Example of rhythm: “I looked at the shell in the ocean I looked at the bell in the sea, I noticed the smell and the motion Were very peculiar to me.”

SOUND DEVICE: ASSONANCE - repetition of VOWEL SOUNDS at the BEGINNING, MIDDLE or END of at least two words in a line of poetry. Examples of Assonance • Repeating the “eh” sound in the words: “crescent,”“flesh,”“extending,”“medicine” and “death”

SOUND DEVICE:CONSONANCE - repetition of CONSONANT SOUNDS at the BEGINNING, MIDDLE or END of at least two words in a line of poetry. Examples of Consonance Repeating the “sh” sound in the words: “shush,”“wish,”“sharp,”“cushion” and “quash”

SOUND DEVICE:ALLITERATION - repetition of CONSONANT SOUNDS at the BEGINNING of at least two words in a line of poetry. Example of alliteration: Examples of Alliteration • “the frog frolicked frivolously on the forest floor.” • “…Little skinny shoulder blades Sticking through your clothes…” • “…struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet…”

WHAT IS FORM? • The form of a poem involves the physical arrangement of the words on the page, sometimes involving rhyme and rhythm. • LINE: a sentence or fragment of sentence. • STANZA: a group of more than one line. • HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF FORM…

FORM: COUPLET -a pair of lines that rhyme. A couplet may be a poem in itself or part of a larger poem. What is an example of a COUPLET? The artist stirred some blue and green To paint an underwater scene.

FORM: HAIKU -an unrhymed poem consisting of three lines and seventeen (17) syllables. These poems are normally about nature. The first line is five (5) syllables. The second line is seven (7) syllables. The third line is five (5) syllables. What is an example of a HAIKU? The autumn wind blows, (5 syllables) Calling the leaves on the ground (7 syllables) To join him in dance. (5 syllables)

FORM: LIMERICK -a humorous five-line poem made up of thirteen (13) beats with an “AABBA” rhyme scheme. The poem is named after the city of Limerick in Ireland. What is an example of a LIMERICK? There was a young boy from Caboo, (3 beats) Who had trouble tying his shoe. (3 beats) He said to his ox, (2 beats) “I’ll just walk in my socks.” (2 beats) Now all of his friends do that, too! (3 beats)

FORM: QUATRAIN -a four-line poem of any kind. They are often combined to form a larger poem. Its rhyme scheme may be “AABB,”“ABAB,”“ABCB,” or “ABBA.” What is an example of a QUATRAIN? A robin sitting in a tree (A) Turned her head and winked at me, (A) She sang a song as if to say, (B) “I’m glad to see you here today.” (B) There is nothing quite so peaceful (A) As the sound of gentle rain, (B) Pitter-pitter-patting (C) Against my window pane. (B)

FORM: CINQUAIN -an unrhymed, five-line poem. The first line is one (1) word that names the subject. The second line is two (2) words that describe the subject. The third line is three (3) action verbs that describe the subject. The fourth line is four (4) words that describe a feeling about the subject. The fifth line is one (1) word that is a synonym or a summary of the subject. What is an example of a CINQUAIN? Butterflies Gentle creatures Fluttering, searching, landing Lovely flashes of light Miracles

FORM: ENJAMBMENT • The running over of a line or thought into the next line without a strong break or pause • Example: I’m feeling rather sleepy, but I really don’t know why. I guess it is the way the day has spun out of control.

FORM: FREE VERSE • Poetry that does not contain regular patterns of rhyme and rhythm. The lines flow more naturally and have “everyday speech” rhythm. Poets who write in free verse often use the sound devices we have already discussed. Here’s an example from May Swenson’s “Southbound on the Freeway: They all hiss as they glide, like inches, down the marked tapes. Those soft shapes, shadowy inside the hard bodies – are they their guts or their brains • Label the assonance, consonance and alliteration. • What is the effect of the enjambment?

ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT TODAY’S LESSON: • FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE • SOUND DEVICES • FORM

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE & LITERARY DEVICES