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Elements of Poetry: Figurative Language. 8 th Grade English/Language Arts – Poetry Unit– Ms. Blume. We are beginning our study of poetry in 8 th grade, but remember that figurative language is also used in other types of writing and speaking as well, such as narrative and expository.
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Elements of Poetry: Figurative Language 8th Grade English/Language Arts – Poetry Unit– Ms. Blume
We are beginning our study of poetry in 8th grade, but remember that figurative language is also used in other types of writing and speaking as well, such as narrative and expository.
A little poem to begin….. by ( It uses lots of figurative language!)
Introduction to Poetry by Billy Collins I ask them to take a poemand hold it up to the lightlike a color slide or press an ear against its hive. I say drop a mouse into a poemand watch him probe his way out, or walk inside the poem's roomand feel the walls for a light switch. I want them to waterskiacross the surface of a poemwaving at the author's name on the shore. But all they want to dois tie the poem to a chair with ropeand torture a confession out of it. They begin beating it with a hoseto find out what it really means. But, what does it really mean…??
Whew!.... We should all feel relieved. nuance (noun): a subtle quality, distinction, or variation in meaning or feeling
Get ready to take Cornell Notes. Your Name Today’s Date Blume ELA8 Period Title is POETRY: FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE Write definitions, explanations, and some examples here. Write words to be defined and types of figurative language here. For these notes, you do not need to use a summary space, as you see here.
First, let’s understand the difference between… and Literal Language Figurative Language Begin taking notes.
Literal Language Literal means “exact” or “not exaggerated”. Literal language is language that means exactly what is said. Most of the time, we use literal language. Basketball practice begins at 3:30 PM. They decided to go to the movies Saturday night. The newspaper was delivered daily.
Figurative Language The opposite of literal language is figurative language. Figurative language is language that means more than what it says on the surface. It usually gives us a feeling about its subject. For example, one poet writes about “the song of the truck”. She does not mean that a truck can actually sing! Rather, she is speaking figuratively. She is referring to road noises as music. By using the word “song”, and suggesting music, she brings joyful feelings to mind. Poets use figurative language almost as frequently as literal language. When you read poetry, you must be conscious of the difference. Otherwise, a poem may make not sense at all!
Figurative Language is… Figurative language is not intended to be interpreted in a literal sense. Using figurative language gives us new ways of looking at the world, by appealing to our imagination. It often makes a comparison between different things. Figurative language can compare things that are different in enough ways so that their similarities, when pointed out, are interesting, unique and/or surprising.
Types of Figurative Language These are many special ways of putting words and phrases together to give strong, sharp, clear impressions. By creating lively, rich word pictures, readers can see the images and understand the feelings being written about. Using a variety of “figures of speech”, a writer can express themselves in the most colorful, imaginative, descriptive ways possible. Here are a few… Imagery Idiom Metaphor Onomatopoeia Personification Hyperbole Symbolism Simile
Metaphor Describes a person, place, thing, feeling, idea, or action by comparing it to something else – without using like or as. Ricardo is a walking encyclopedia. Teddy is a pig. This room is an oven! or This room is a refrigerator! Her eyes were sparkling sapphires. marshmallow clouds… hands of iron… icy stare… angelic smile… inky blackness
"Language is a road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going."(Rita Mae Brown) Metaphors aren't merely the candy sprinkles on the doughnut of language.
Simile Describes a person, place, thing, feeling, idea,or action by comparing it with something else – and USES like or as. The sun is like a yellow ball of fire in the sky. Her eyes were like sparkling sapphires. “… its fleece was white as snow”. Fell as softly as feathers…. throbbed like beating drums… closed like a steel trap… arrived as silently as drifting snow…felt free as a butterfly…
Take a moment to write these down, filling in words to make your own similes.
Hyperbole Big exaggeration; often with humor. Mile high ice-cream cones. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse. Yikes!! My backpack weighs a ton! I’ve told you a thousand times….! I’m dead tired… The cafeteria food is definitely left over from the dinosaur age.
Personification Giving human qualities to something that is NOT human. Mother Earth… Father Time… Jack Frost… The dawn spread her fingertips of rose… The sun looked over the mountain’s rim… The chocolate bar was calling his name! “… the wind swept by counting its money and throwing it away, In a wind-gaunt orchard where the limbs forked out and listened or never listened at all…: --- from “Wind Song” by Carl Sandburg
Personification example… Author Unknown
Onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia is also considered a “poetic sound device”. Words that sound like their meaning --- the “sound” they describe. buzz… hiss… roar… meow… woof… rumble… howl… snap… zip… zap… blip… whack … crack… crash… flutter… flap… squeak… whirr.. pow… plop… crunch… splash… jingle… rattle… clickety-clack… bam!
Onomatopoeia example… The rusty spigot sputters, utters a splutter, spatters a smattering of drops, gashes wider; slash splatters scatters spurts finally stops sputtering and plash! gushes rushes splashes clear water dashes. The Rusty Spigot by Eve Merriam
Onomatopoeia example…and Personification too. Cynthia in the Snow by Gwendolyn Brooks It SUSHES.It hushesThe loudness in the road.It flitter-twitters,And laughs away from me. It laughs a lovely whiteness,And whitely whirs away,To be,Some otherwhere,Still white as milk or shirts.So beautiful it hurts.
Imagery Pictures that poets create with words that appeal to our five senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste), as well as our feelings. cozy blanket glowing sunset tangy lemon angelic voices scented garden simple examples
Symbolism Something concrete(= actual; real)that stands forsomething abstract(= a quality or idea that doesn’t refer to an actual person or thing). A symbol can be a person, place, thing, or action. It can stand for an idea, belief, feeling, or attitude. A symbol keeps its own meaning while also standing for something else.
By using symbolism an author can express the theme(s) of a story on a physical level. A simple example might be when a storm happens at a critical point, when there is conflict or high emotions. The storm might symbolize these conflicts or emotions. Similarly a transition from day to night, or spring to winter, could symbolize a move from goodness to evil, or hope to despair. A river in a scene could represent the flow of life, from birth to death. Flowers can symbolize youth or beauty. • Not everything in a story is necessarily symbolic. A garden landscape is just a garden ... until it is contrasted with a bustling city, at which point the garden could symbolize tranquility, peace, or escape.
Let's look at some actual examples of symbolism used in literature and other media, with which you might be familiar. • In the novel Animal Farm, the entire story is a symbol for the evils of communism, with the main animal characters representing key figures in the Russian revolution. The novel can be read entirely as a children's story, but when you realize what the various elements and characters in the story symbolize, the novel takes on a whole new meaning. That's why this particular work has become such a classic. This kind of story is called an allegory. • In The Lord of the Flies, Ralph with his conch shell represents order and democracy, while Jack symbolizes savagery and anarchy. The island itself symbolizes the world in which we live, and the actions of the characters are symbolic of the way different people conduct their lives. The beast represents the darker side of human nature. • The movie series Star Wars has been described as symbolic of faith and religion in our world overcoming evil. • The song I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack is full of symbolism. The song isn't really about dancing at all ... dancing is a symbol for getting the most out of life. When she sings '"I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance", the mountains symbolize our fears about the future, or obstacles in life we must overcome. • The play MacBeth by William Shakespeare uses blood, both real and imagined, as a symbol of guilt, both of MacBeth and Lady MacBeth. Another symbol used in the play is a raven, which usually represents ill fortune (think of Poe’s The Raven too!). • The Harry Potter books by J. K. Rowling could be seen as containing a lot of symbolism, although there are as many interpretations as there are creatures in the books! (The author isn't saying). One clear example is a commonly used one; the use of a snake to represent evil. It is no coincidence that the symbol of Slytherin House is a serpent.
Idiom Still waters run deep. Don't go against the grain. Easy as pie. Piece of cake. An expression that means something different from what it says. Idioms are culturally based. The British and the Americans speak the same language but may not understand each other’s idioms. The use of idioms is widespread in writing and speaking, and to truly understand Standard American English, it helps to know many idioms. I think he's gone bananas! Don't bury your head in the sand! Hang in there. Go fly a kite! A needle in the haystack.
