Simile Personification metaphor Ode to La Tortilla They

Simile Personification metaphor

“Ode to La Tortilla” They are flutes When rolled, butter Dripping down my elbow As I stand on the Front lawn, just eating, Just watching a sparrow Hop on the lawn, His breakfast of worms Beneath the green, green lawn, Worms and a rip of Tortilla I throw At his thorny feet. I eat my tortilla, Breathe in, breath out, And return inside, Wiping my oily hands On my knee-scrubbed jeans. The tortillas are still warm In a dish towel, Warm as gloves just Taken off, finger by finger. Mama is rolling Them out. The radio On the window sings, El cielo es azul… I look in the black pan: The face of the tortilla With a bubble of air Rising. Mama Tells me to turn It over, and when I do, carefully, It’s blistered brown. I count to ten, Uno, dos, tres… And then snap it out Of the pan. The tortilla Dances in my hands As I carry it To the drainboard, Where I smear it With butter, The yellow ribbon of butter That will drip Slowly down my arm When I eat it on the front lawn. The sparrow will drop Like fruit From the tree To stare at me With his glassy eyes. I will rip a piece For him. He will jump On his food And gargle it down, Chirp once and fly Back into the wintry tree. ~ Gary Soto

Questions for “Ode to La Tortilla” 1. On a piece of paper, list all the examples of simile, personification, and metaphor you can find. 2. In line one, what does the poet mean by “they”? Who is he talking about? 3. Why does the poet repeat, “green, green”? this change in tense illustrate? 4. a. Define the word “gargle. ” b. What do you usually think of when you hear that word? c. What can you infer about how the bird eats the tortilla? 5. Discuss some of the ways the poet creates moods such as: exaggeration imagery suspense Choose one of these moods and create a symbol or illustration that represents it.

Hyperbole, metaphor

1. Read both poems on this page (front & back). How many examples of hyperbole can you find? List them on paper. “Appetite” In a house the size of a postage stamp lived a man as big as a barge. His mouth could drink the entire river You could say it was rather large For dinner he would eat a trillion beans And a silo full of grain, Washed it down with a tanker of milk As if he were a drain. ~ Sharon Hendricks 2. With your group, come up with three to five hyperbole jokes. For example: Your sister is so skinny, she has to run around in the shower to get wet! 3. Write them on paper and get ready to share.

Homework!

Personification

Ode to an Artichoke The soft-hearted artichoke put on armor, stood at attention, raised a small turret and kept itself watertight under its scales. Beside it, the fertile plants tangled, turned into tendrils, cattails, moving bulbs. In the subsoil, the red-whiskered carrot slept, the grapevine parched the shoots that wine climbs up, the cabbage busied itself with trying on skirts, the marjoram with making the world smell sweet, and the gentle artichoke in the kitchen garden, equipped like a soldier, burnished like a grenade, was full of itself. And one day, packed with others, in big willow baskets, it marched through the market to act out its dream – the militia. It was never as martial in rows as at the fair. Among the vegetables, men in white shirts were the artichokes’ marshals, closed ranks, commands, the explosion of a falling crate; But then Maria shows up with her basket, fearlessly chooses an artichoke, studies it, squints at it against the light like an egg, buys it, dumps it into her bag with a pair of shoes, a white cabbage, and a bottle of vinegar till she enters the kitchen and drowns it in the pot. And so this armored vegetable men call an artichoke ends its career in peace. Later, scale by scale, we strip this delight and dine on the peaceful pulp Of its green heart.

Personification 1. List five to 10 examples of Personification in “Ode to an Artichoke. ” 2. With your group, answer the following questions: A. What words compare the artichoke to a soldier or suggest the marketplace is like a battlefield? B. Pablo Neruda gives many of the vegetables in his poem human-like qualities. What is your favorite and why? C. With your group, act out a role-play for the artichoke’s story. It can be no longer than 3 minutes!

Hyperbole, personification, onomatopoeia

Read both poems on this page (front & back). How many examples of hyperbole, personification, and onomatopoeia can you find? List them on paper. 1. Discuss: Which poem did you like better? Why? What images came to mind when reading these poems? 2. Choose one of these poems. With your group, create a visual representation using markers, colored pencils or pens.

Beats on Top of Your Head I’ve got my hip hop and it’s time to drop another beat on top of your head. Rhythms fall like rain Rhythms call my name. I can sing and rap and play and dance from Dallas, Texas to Paris, France. I’ve got my hip hop won’t ever stop droppin’ beats on top of your head. Droppin’ beats while you make your bed. Droppin’ beats while you butter your bread. Droppin’ beats until your books are read. I’ve got my hip hop – don’t wanna stop but I’ve come to the end of this poem my friend. ~Jaime Adoff

“Beats on the Top of my Head” 1. What is your favorite type of music? Do you have a favorite song and if so, what is it? Why? Be descriptive! 2. If you could pick a particular type of music or song to describe your day today, what would it be? Why? Do you have different types of music or songs that could describe you for different days of the week?