Elements of Poetry: Sound Devices

Elements of Poetry:Sound Devices

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.”

Alliteration Therepetition of initialconsonant sounds, in two or more neighboring words or syllables. The wild and wooly walrus waits and wonders when we will walk by. Slowly, silently, now the moon Walks the night in her silver shoon; This way, and that, she peers, and sees Silver fruit upon silver trees… -- from Silver by Walter de la Mare How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? (almost ALL tongue twisters!)

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.”

Assonance Arepetition of vowel sounds within words or syllables. Fleet feet sweep by sleeping geese. Free and easy. Make the grade. The stony walls enclosed the holy space.

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 Through the windows – through the doors – burst like a ruthless force Liesstretching to my dazzling sight / A luminous belt, a misty light.

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: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…”

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.

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

Rhyme Scheme continued… Examples: Twinkle, twinkle little star a How I wonder what you are. a Up above the earth so high, b Like a diamond in the sky. b Baa, baa, black sheep a Have you any wool? b Yes sir, yes sir, c Three bags full. b

Rhyme Scheme continued… What is the rhyme scheme of this stanza? Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. From Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

Elements of Poetry: Sound Devices