FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE SOUND DEVICES FORM AND ELEMENTS OF

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE, SOUND DEVICES, FORM, AND ELEMENTS OF PLOT

What is poetry? Poetry is a literary form that combines the precise meanings of words with their emotional associations, sounds, and rhythms. Many poems are structured in stanzas, or groupings of lines. � Couplet: a group of two lines � Quatrain: a group of four lines

Figurative Language is writing or speech not meant to be interpreted literally. It is often used to create vivid impressions by setting up comparisons between dissimilar things. Figurative Language is sometimes referred to as figures of speech.

Figurative Language Metaphor�A comparison between two unlike things without using like, as, than, or resembles. � Examples: “The sky is a patchwork quilt. ” or “Fame is a bee. ” Simile�A comparison between two unlike things using the connecting words like, as, than, or resembles. � Examples: “The sky is like a patchwork quilt. ” or “The girls laughed as loud as sirens. ”

Figurative Language Personification� Giving human characteristics to nonhuman things. � Examples: “The trees danced in the wind. ” or “The blades of grass tickled my toes. ” Onomatopoeia� The use of a word whose sound imitates its meaning. � Examples: buzz, hiss, thud, and sizzle.

Figurative Language Hyperbole� An extreme exaggeration. � Example: I’m so hungry I could eat a whole cow.

Figurative Language Imagery� Descriptive language poets use to create word pictures, or images. Sensory Language� Words that provide details related to the five senses.

Sound Devices Writers use a number of sound devices to achieve a musical quality. Why do you think writers would want their work to sound like music?

Sound Devices Rhythm� The pattern created by the stressed and unstressed syllables of words in sequence. � A controlled pattern is called meter. � Example: “The wind is blowing through the trees. ” (In the above example, the first syllable is stressed, the next is unstressed, and so forth. )

Sound Devices Rhyme� The repetition of identical or similar sounds in stressed syllables. Rhyme Scheme�A pattern of end rhymes. I do not eat green eggs and ham. I will not eat them, Sam I am. Free Verse�A poem with no set rhyme or meter.

Sound Devices Alliteration� The repetition of the initial consonant sounds within nearby words. � Remember, these consonant sounds can only be found at the beginning of words. � Example: “Dark days” or “Kind cat” or “Fragrant flowers” Consonance� The repetition of consonants within nearby words in which the separating vowels differ. � Remember, these consonants can be found anywhere in the words. � Example: “Live and Love” or “hat and sit”

Sound Devices Assonance� The repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words. � Example: “child of silence” Repetition� Any language element used more than once. � Repetition can be used for musical quality or emphasis.

Forms of Poetry The structure of a poem is most often its most distinctive characteristic. � Fixed Form- is what most people consider typical poetry: it’s written in traditional verse and generally rhymes. Some fixed form poems have specific requirements on length, rhyme scheme, and number of syllables. Sonnet, Haiku � Free form or free verse- poetry follows no specific guidelines about rhyme, meter, or length. Free form often tries to capture the cadence of regular speech. Some stanzas may rhyme but not in a regular scheme.

Forms of Poetry Narrative poems- the main purpose of a narrative poem is to tell a story Lyric poetry- expresses a person’s thoughts or feelings. � Elegies, poems. odes, and sonnets are types of lyric

Don’t Forget! Poetry Still Uses… Theme: The deeper central idea of a text (The message, lesson about life). Tone: the attitude the author has toward the subject he or she is writing about. Mood: a feeling or emotion created by the choice of words, the characters and their actions, and the setting. Plot: a specific pattern or structure of events. Symbolism: something that stands for something else. For example, an eagle may symbolize freedom.

Conflict A conflict is a struggle between opposing forces. �A conflict can be as small as an argument. � A conflict can be a large as a war between nations. A resolution is when a conflict is resolved or worked out and brought to an end. Do you feel that conflicts are necessary in literature?

Conflicts in Literature In literature there are two main types of conflicts. � An external conflict is a struggle between two characters, between and individual and a group, or between a character and a force of nature. � An internal conflict is a struggle within the mind of one character.

Elements of Plot

Characters in a Story Characters are the personalities that participate in the action. Usually, story characters are human beings, but they can also be animals or even objects. � Authors use characterization to tell readers about characters. They use the following methods: Providing descriptions of what characters look like.

Characterization Ways to Build Characterization � Describing characters' words and actions � Showing characters interacting with one another � Sharing characters’ thoughts and feelings

Setting The setting of a story is the time and place of the action. The setting can be past, present or future, and it may also include a specific year, season, or hour of day. � Setting refers to a place which can be the social, economic, or cultural environment as well as a specific geographic location in a country, town , or community.

Setting can create: � Mood or Atmosphere- the feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage. Often the mood can be described in a single word, such as lighthearted, frightening, or despairing.

Symbol and Theme A symbol is a person, place, or object that has a literal meaning and also stands for something larger, such as an idea or emotion. A theme is the central message or insight into life. It can be stated or implied. �A stated theme is expressed directly by the author. � A implied theme is suggested indirectly through the experiences of the characters or through the events and setting of the work.

Ticket out the Door Choose two literary devices we discussed today in class and give an example for each.