SOUND DEVICES
Name:_____________________________
Objective: Study the devices and the explanation of the devices. You must know
and be able to explain the effect of the sound devices in the passages.
GLOSSARY
Alliteration: Words beginning with the same consonant sound
ex. “Peter Piper picked a pepper, and Run rocked rhymes,”
Assonance: Repetition of vowel sounds (A E I O U)
ex. “How now brown cow?”—the “ow” sound; “free and easy”—the “e” sound
Consonance: Repetition of consonant sounds in the middle or at the end of words.
ex. “first and last” “Odds and ends”—the “s” sound; “Stroke of luck”—the “ck” sound
Onomatopoeia: Words that sound like their meaning.
ex. “Doh!” “Boom!” “Buzz” “Hiss” “Bang” "click"
IDENTIFY
Directions: Follow the steps below to identify the sound devices used in the short poem.
Step 1: Underline the words beginning with the same consonant sound. (alliteration)
Step 2: Draw a box around the repetition of consonant sounds in the MIDDLE or at the END of
words. (consonance)
Step 3: Circle the repetition of VOWEL sounds (A E I O U) (assonance)
“The Turtle” by Ogden Nash
The turtle lives ‘twixt plated decks
Which practically conceal its sex.
I think it clever of the turtle
In such a fix to be so fertile.
Step 4: List the examples in the appropriate box in the table on the back of this page.
Sound Device
Examples of Sound Devices Being Used
Alliteration
Consonance
Assonance
What is the overall effect of the device(s) being used in the poem?
What type of sounds are being made? Is it harsh, chaotic, musical, playful, or dull?
In one to two complete sentences, justify your answer:
Overall effect of the devices being used:____________________________________
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List the different sounds being made. Use the chart to help you list the different
sounds being made (example:“ecks”):
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APPLY:
- Identify the devices being used in this poem. Make sure to use the same key markings
(Underline=Alliteration, Box=Consonance, Circle=Assonance).
“We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks
The Pool Players. - Seven at the Golden Shovel
We real cool. We
Left school. We
Lurk Late. We
Strike straight.We
- What are the effects of the devices being
used?
Alliteration:_____________________
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Consonance:_____________________
Sing sin. We
Thin gin. We
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Jazz June. We
Die soon.
Assonance:
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What is the effect of the poet’s purposeful use of bad grammar? How do the sound devices help
achieve the effective use of bad grammar?
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Tone is the writer or speaker’s attitude toward a subject, a character, or audience.
What is the poem’s tone? How do the sound devices help to reveal the poem’s tone?
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(1) Full fathom five thy father lies,
of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes:
Nothing of him that doth fade,
(5) But doth suffer a sea change
Into something rich and strange.
Sea nymphs hourly ring his knell;
Ding-dong
Hark! Now I hear them—Ding-dong; bell
William Shakespeare, from The Tempest
Identify the sound device(s) used in line one by placing the correct marking.
What sound device(s) is being used in line one? _________________________________
What is the tone of the device? Is it frightening, chaotic, musical, playful, or dull? Why?
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What are some possible images created by the sounds in line one? Justify your answer.
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What sound device is being used in lines 8 and 9?________________________________
What image does the device create?__________________________________________
Using the same sound device as Shakespeare used in the last two lines, write a four line poem
about the last few minutes before school ends. Moreover, use at least TWO other sound devices in
the four lines you create (Alliteration, Assonance, Consonance).
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EVALUATE
“Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Identify the sound device(s) used in
line one by placing the correct
marking.
underline alliteration
box consonance
circle assonance
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank into grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
List the examples in the appropriate box:
Sound Device
Examples of Sound Devices Being Used
Alliteration
Consonance
Assonance
What is the tone of the poem? How would you characterize the speaker’s attitude toward
nature? Use the effect of the sound devices to justify your answer.
_________________________________________________________________________
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CREATING A FINAL PRODUCT
Purpose: Use all of the information and practice from above to create a final poem of
personal narrative.
Think back to 6th grade. In what ways have you changed since 6th grade (physically,
mentally, and emotionally)? List some of the ways you have changed:
1. __________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________
4. _________________________________________________________________
Based on what you have listed, write a four-line poem using each
sound device at least once (Alliteration, Assonance, Consonance,
Onomatopoeia).
The poem does not have to rhyme, but I should be able to identify
your attitude toward how you have changed since 6th grade.
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