Reading Classwork
Poetry Genre: Poetic Devices
Task 172
Name
Date_
Reading Teachers: D’Alessio & Konieczna
Objectives
•
•
•
SWBAT define alliteration, personification, onomatopoeia, hyperbole
SWBAT Identify examples of figurative language and imagery in a poem
SWBAT Explain that authors use figurative language, sounds, and graphics to help the
reader visualize and uncover the meaning of the poem.
Do-Now
1. Name the 5 senses:
• S____________________________
• S____________________________
• S____________________________
• T____________________________
• T____________________________
2. Which statement best defines imagery?
a. A genre of literature that uses the way words look and sound (also known as
rhythm) to transmit meaning to the reader
b. A group of lines in a poem, like a paragraph in a story
c. The strategy of visualization
d. Sensory details that an author uses to put a picture in the reader’s head
Class Notes:
Today we are going to learn several poetic devices that poets use to make
their poetry more vivid and interesting. Understanding and noticing these
devices also helps you understand the FIGURATIVE meaning of poetry.
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Poetic Devices (tools)
Device
Alliteration
Definition
When the __________sound
of a word is repeated
in________
line of a poem.
Example
Purpose
Dave danced during the To draw attention to
day, but didn’t dance at certain words and the
dinner.
way they sound. It
might be for humor
or to make words
“feel” a certain way.
The trees marched all
Personification A type of figurative language
To give life-like
around
the
field.
that shows an______________
qualities to objects
or _________________
When I slammed the
acting like a
door, the pictures on
_______________.
the wall danced a little
jig.
The papers whispered
as they fell on the floor.
Onomatopoeia A word that makes a
__________________ or a
__________________.
WHAM!
BOING!
Oink!
To add unusual and
eye-catching
sounds/words to a
poem
Our washing machine
went whisity whirr
Whisity whisity
whisity whirr
Hyperbole
Exaggeration
Paul Bunyan was 100
feet tall.
Yesterday, I ate a pizza
that was as big as the
White house.
To emphasize the
importance, size, or
other quality of
something
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Imagery, Figurative Language, and Graphics in Poetry
As we’ve just discusses, authors use a variety of tools (devices) as they write poetry.
They often will use imagery, figurative language, and graphics to create a certain
mood or to convey a certain meaning.
As you read poetry keep an eye out for the following devices and think about WHY
the poet may have used them in a poem. Remember that poets use these devices to
create M_______________________________
• I_________________________________ (sensory details)
o Create a specific mood or tone
o Creates a setting for the poem
o To convey meaning
• F__________________________________
o Includes: personification, similes, metaphors, etc.
o Give the poem figurative meaning (meaning beyond literal)
o Draw your attention toward certain words/phrases/lines
• G_________________________
o Includes (everything about how the poem LOOKS to you)
§ Words in BOLD, italics, or that are underlined
§ Use of line breaks
§ Words that are repeated throughout the poem
§ Punctuation used
§ The way stanzas are formatted on the page
o Draws attention or emphasis to certain phrases or lines
o Effects the pace, rhythm, and speed of the poem
o Creates a tone
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Quick Guided Review
Directions: label each of the following examples, using the word bank below:
Personification
Device
Alliteration
Onomatopoeia
Hyperbole
Simile
Metaphor
Example
Jolly jumping junipers
The chocolate pudding tasted like rich velvet in my
mouth.
The fog crept into the woods.
The yellow sun was a piercing dagger.
Boing!
Yesterday, I ate a pizza that was as big as the White
house.
Guided Practice I
Read the poem below.
And Andrew asked Allen about apples.
Can Katie come out to comb quicksand off the cat?
The thing about Thad is that his tongue is thin.
Charlie’s chocolate chunk candy isn’t sandy.
done with dishes and dances.
Circle the poetic device is used in the poem: Personification Alliteration Onomatopoeia Hyperbole
**Underline the alliterative sounds in the poem above.
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Guided Practice II
Read the poem below.
Tall City
1
4
Here houses rise so straight and tall
That I am not surprised at all
To see them simply walk away
Into the clouds—this misty day.
Susan Nichols Pulsifer
Circle the poetic device is used in the poem: Personification Alliteration Onomatopoeia Hyperbole
What is being personified in the poem above?_____________________________________
How do you know? Apply the personification test!
___________________ can’t __________________, but people
can ______________________.
Guided Practice III
Read the poem below.
Breaking Glass
I flung out my arms
Clatter
Clash
Crinkle
5
Crunch
Now a broom
Swish
Swoosh
Sweep
Swoop
-Unknown
Circle the poetic device is used in the poem: Personification Alliteration Onomatopoeia Hyperbole
**Underline the examples of Onomatopoeia in the poem above.
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Active Reading/Poetry Analysis
Directions: Listen as we read the poem below aloud.
• Find 3 excellent examples of imagery in the poem and box them.
• Find 2 examples of figurative language. Underline them.
• In the right-hand margin, answer the questions asked.
The poem below describes children ordering hot dogs after school.
Good Hot Dogs
1
Fifty cents apiece
To eat our lunch
We’d run
Straight from school
5
Instead of home
Two blocks
Then the store
That smelled like steam
You ordered because you had the money
10
15
20
25
30
What is the likely purpose of the
details in lines 1-5?
a) To create a setting for the
poem
b) To create a mood for the
poem
c) To describe the speaker of
the poem
What type of figurative language is used in
line 8?
Two hot dogs and two pops for here
Everything on the hot dogs
Except pickle lily
Dash those hot dogs
Into buns and splash on
____________________________
What is the speaker of the poem
most likely doing in the third
stanza?
All that good stuff
Yellow mustard and onions
And French fries piled on top all
Rolled up in a piece of wax
Paper for us to hold hot
In our hands
Quarters on the counter
Sit down
Good hot dogs
We’d eat
d)
Fast till there was nothing left
But salt and poppy seeds even
The little burnt tips
Of French fries
We’d eat
a)
Describing why she likes
hot dogs
b)
Placing an order for hot
dogs
c)
Eating her hot dogs
Most of the descriptions in this poem use which
of the 5 senses?
Underline 2 pieces of evidence to support your
choice.
You humming
And me swinging my legs
-Sandra Cisneros
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