Vocabulary for Poetry Vocabulary for Poetry Unit and Figurative Unit and Figurative

LanguageLanguage

Sometimes words mean more Sometimes words mean more than what they say…than what they say…

““Poetry is truth in its Sunday Poetry is truth in its Sunday clothes.”clothes.”

Joseph RouxJoseph Roux

AlliterationAlliteration•The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words or within words.

Example

“…after life’s fitful fever.”William Shakespeare / Macbeth

Alliteration ExampleAlliteration Example

Betty Botter bought some butter,But, said she, the butter’s bitter;If I put it in my batterIt will make my batter bitter,But a bit of better butter,That would make my batter better.

OnomatopoeiaOnomatopoeia

•Words that imitate or suggest the sound of what they describe.

Example Bam Meow Ring Ruff, Ruff

Boom

SimileSimile

•Compares two unlike things using “like”, “as”, “as if”

Examples“This room is like a freezer.”“He is as fast as a cheetah.”

MetaphorMetaphor

•Compares two unlike things without using “like” or “as”

ExamplesThe room is a freezer.She is a cheetah.

Metaphor ExamplesMetaphor Examples“morning is / a new sheet of paper / for you to write on.”

Eve Merriam “Metaphor”

“the beautiful uncut hair of graves.”

Walt Whitman Song of Myself

PersonificationPersonification

•When human qualities or actions are given to non-human objects.

ExamplesThe cd player is singing to me.The warm room invited me in.

A little riddle…What is A little riddle…What is the speaker of the the speaker of the

poem?poem?By Sylvia Path

I am silver and exact.I have no preconceptions.Whatever I see I swallow immediatelyJust as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.I am not cruel, only truthful--

HyperboleHyperbole

•An obvious overly exaggerated statement.

Examples-My teacher is so old, he edited the Bible.

Hyperbole ExamplesHyperbole Examples

•"I could eat a horse."

•"If I've told you once, I've told you a million times.“

•"I nearly died laughing."

Now let’s see if Now let’s see if you’ve learned you’ve learned

anything.anything.Decide what Decide what

vocabulary word vocabulary word each example is each example is

illustrating.illustrating.

BuzzBuzz

Onomatopoeia

He was a lion on the He was a lion on the soccer field.soccer field.

•Metaphor

““Fame, love, and fortune Fame, love, and fortune on my footsteps wait,”on my footsteps wait,”

-John James Ingalls-John James Ingalls

“Fame, love, and fortune on my footsteps wait,”

-Alliteration

““The quality of mercy is The quality of mercy is not strained; / It droppeth not strained; / It droppeth

as the gentle rain from as the gentle rain from heaven”heaven”

-William Shakespeare -William Shakespeare -Simile

-It compares the “quality of mercy” to “rain from heaven.”

““The waves beside them The waves beside them danced…”danced…”

-William Wordsworth-William Wordsworth

•Personification–Waves don’t dance, people dance.

““I wandered lonely as a I wandered lonely as a cloud”cloud”

-William Wordsworth-William Wordsworth

•Simile-It compares the speaker

to a lonely cloud.

““Poetry is truth.”Poetry is truth.”

•Metaphor

““How sweet the moonlight How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!”sleeps upon this bank!”

-William Shakespeare-William Shakespeare

•Personification–The moonlight is sleeping like a person would.

It’s a billion degrees in It’s a billion degrees in here.here.

•Hyperbole

““An hundred years should go An hundred years should go to praise / Thine eyes and on to praise / Thine eyes and on

thy forehead gaze,”thy forehead gaze,”-Andrew Marvell-Andrew Marvell

Translation: “I’ll praise your eyes and look at your forehead for 100 years b/c you’re so beautiful.

Hyperbole

The leaves played tag in The leaves played tag in the yard.the yard.

Personification

““Life is a broken-winged Life is a broken-winged birdbird

That cannot fly.”That cannot fly.”-Langston Hughes-Langston Hughes

Metaphor