by Stephen Dunn
by Cathy Song
When you have.a deep love for something, you may find that ordinary speech
just Can’t explain that feeling. Instead,~ you may need to express that love by
comparing what .you love to something else.
¯
A figure of speech is based on a comparison between two unlike things; it is
not meant to be taken literally. Several figures of speec~h are central to
poetry. As you read the poems that follow, look for f.igures of speech.
Several types of figurative speech are defined below..
A ¯simile compares two unlike things .by using a word such as like or as:
"A scooter ride is like a Frisbee toss on wheels."
e A metaphor compares two unlike items without using any specific word
of comparison. Metaphors are Often direct; the two items being compared are linked by is¯ or are: "The moon is a ghostly galleon." Other
metaphors are implied; the comparison is suggested rather than stated:
"The moon sailed away on the clouds."
® Personification is a special type of metaphor in which objects, animals, or
ideas are given human qualities or abilities: "The tennis balls arranged
themselves to form a grin under the net."
Understand
figures of
speech.
¯ ©PhotoDisc, nc.!Getty Images.
The Sacred; Mooring
S
Stephen Dunn
Sacred most often means
"holy" or "used for religious
purposes." What does the
teacher probably mean by "a
sacred place" (line 2)?
After the teacher asked if anyone had
a sacred place
and the students fidgeted and shrank
in their chairs, the most serious of them all
said it was his car,
being in it alone, his tape deck playing
things he’d chosen, and otl~ers knew the truth
had been’spoken
What is the meaning of "the
car kept coming up, the car
in motion" (lines 10-11)?
"and began .speaking about their rooms,
10
their hiding places, but the car kept coming up,
the car in motion,.
music filling it, and sometimes one other person
who understood th’e bright altar of the dashboard
and how far away
.
15
Circle the implied metaphor
in line 13. Reword it as a
direct metaphor, and then
explain its meaning.
¯ a car could take him from the need
to speak,.or to answer, the key
in having a key
¯
and putting it in, and going
"The Sacred" from Between Ang’els by Stephen Dunn. Copyright © 1989 by Stephen Dunn. Rep~iinted
by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Collection 7: Poetry
Cathy Song
Who is speaki.ng in this
poem?
My daughter’s longblack
hair touches the water
where.she sits, waist de4p in the warm
¯
bath to receive her baby brother.
I cup the running water,
Pause at line 9. Paraphrase,
or restate in your own
words, what is happening in
the poem.
precious in the summer of drought,
and ent.er the cool porcelain tub,
¯
my arms weighed with the sturdy
cargo ofmy infant son.
He lies on his back
and calmly gazes int~ the faces
of those who love him.
,.
We adore him,
delight in the kerne! of toes,
.
15
like the youngest corn,
the bracelets of flesh,.
¯
the apricot glow of skin.
His sister
anointshim With the sweetest soap.
..
Re-read lines 13-16. Circle
the simile, or comparison
using like or as. Underline
the metapho.r in line 16.
"Mooring" from School Figures by Cathy Song. Copyright © 1994 by Cathy Song. Reprinted
by permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press.
The Sacred; Mooring
:0
Lines 21-25 contain an
allusion, or reference, to the
biblical story of Moses..Moses,
aHebrew baby, was hidden
by his mother in the reeds by
a river in order to save him
from Pharaoh!s decree that all
male Hebrew babies be killed.
Pharaoh’s.daughter found
Moses and raised him.
Moses’s-sister, Miriam, had
waited in. secret at the river
and offered to bring the
baby’s mother to care for the
baby. (Exodus 1:8-22; 2:1-10) Who is Moses in the poem?
Who is Miriam?
..
And love passes like this,
cloudless in the face of a thousand yearsfor the mother who parts the water
and,sends
the baby in the reeds
upstream
25
to a young girl who waits,
arms and legs
a small harbor.
Underline themetaphor in
lines 26-27. What does it
suggest about the sister?
EyeWire Collection.
Collection 7: Poetry
Figure o~ S~ee~h (h~r~ Figures of speech are comparisons between two unlike
things; figures of speech provide imaginative ways of thinking about ordinary
things. Fill in thechart below as you analyze the use of figurative speech in
these poems. The first row has been filled in as an example.¯
¯,
~
.’~the b.right altar of the
Dashboard is compared ;co
Dashboards are as
dashboard" ("The Sacred,"
an altar.
important to cars as¯ altars
line 13)
are to religious places..
,.
"the sturdy/cargo of my
infant son" ("Mooring,"
nes 8-9)
"kernel of toes"
(.Moonng, line 14)
.
,.
’:bracelets of flesh".
("Mooring;" line 16)
¯.
"to a young girl who
waits, / arms and legs./a
.
small harbor" ("Mooring,"
lines 25-27)
.
The sacred; Mooring. 209
Complete the sample.test item .below. Then, read the explanation in the right-hand
~olumn.
~
Which of the following is true of the
speaker
in "The Sacred"?
.
.
A He is a student.
B He is an outside observer.
C He has a sacred place.
,
D He just got his license.
The correct answer is B.
A is incorrect I~ecause he refers to the
class as "students," not as "we." C is
incorrect beCause the speaker never
mentions a sacred place of his own..No
one in the poem just got a license, so D
is also incorrect.
¯
DIRECTIONS: Circle the letter of each-correct response.
1. In."The Sacred," the-comparison_
between the dashboard and an¯.
altar --
3. The lines."to a young girl who
waits,
¯
/ arms and legs / a small harbor" in
"Mooring" create a --
A warnspassengers not to spill their
drinks
A simile
.. B suggests the special, sac~ed nature
of the car
~
C pun
B metaphor
D paraphrase ~
explains the importance of music
D is not a metaphor.
1
In Dunn’s poem, why is the car so"
"sacred"?
F: It was a special gift.
.¯
(3 It gives students freedom.
H It looks like an altar.
J
It had survived an accident.
Analyze figures "
of speech.
Collection 7: Poetry
The baby.in"Mooring." is compared ¯
to --F sweet soap
G his sister
H baby M6ses .
J a small .harbor