Poetic Devices and Figurative Language Activity
Due Tuesday, February 14, 2012

1.  Hyperbole
A hyperbole is a type of figurative language. It is often confused with a simile or a metaphor because it often compares two objects. The difference is a hyperbole is an exaggeration. For example: His feet were as big as a barge. It looks like a simile. It is comparing foot size to the size of a barge. Everyone knows that a barge is approximately 700 feet long. Imagine getting a pair of shoes that big!

Definition:
Hyperbole is a figure of speech which is an exaggeration. Persons often use expressions such as "I nearly died laughing," "I was hopping mad," and "I tried a thousand times." Such statements are not literally true, but people make them to sound impressive or to emphasize something, such as a feeling, effort, or reaction.

2.  Pun
A pun is a play on words. A pun is defined by Webster as "the humorous use of a word, or of words which are formed or sounded alike but have different meanings, in such a way as to play on two or more of the possible applications; a play on words."  There are different types of puns.

Some examples of puns are: 

I work as a baker because I knead dough.

The cosmetic student was sick on the day of the final exam. Now she has to take a make up exam.

3.  Idioms

An idiom is an expression that has a meaning apart from the meanings of its individual words.

For example: It’s raining cats and dogs. Its literal meaning suggests that cats and dogs are falling from the sky. We interpret it to mean that it is raining hard.

Unlike proverbs and similes, idioms have no fixed form and come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. American English abounds with colorful idioms. New ones are added each day. An idiom usually originates with a specific group - television, sailors, housewives, teachers, poets, or politicians - then spreads to more general use by others.

4.  Alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of the initial consonant. There should be at least two repetitions in a row.

For example: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. The first letter, p, is a consonant. It is repeated many times. (If you use a syllable rather than a consonant, it is assonance.)

5.  Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is the imitation of natural sounds in word form. These words help us form mental pictures about the things, people, or places that are described. Sometimes the word names a thing or action by copying the sound like Bong! Hiss! Buzz!

For example:  A pesky mosquito buzzed around my head.

6.  Imagery

Imagery involves one or more of your five senses (hearing, taste, touch, smell, sight). An author uses a word or phrase to stimulate your memory of those senses. These memories can be positive or negative which will contribute to the mood of a poem.  Imagery is the use of vivid description, usually rich in sensory words, to create pictures, or images, in the reader's mind.

7.  Personification

Personification is a figure of speech in which objects are given human qualities.

For example:  The sun played peek-a-boo with the clouds.

8.  Metaphor

A metaphor is a figure of speech in which things are compared by stating that one thing is another.

For example:  The clouds are cotton balls in the sky.

9.  Simile

A simile is a figure of speech in which things are compared using the words “like” or “as”.

For example:  The surface of the water looked as smooth as glass.

Activity:  Divide a large sheet of construction paper into nine equal squares.  Label each square with the following poetic devices or types of figurative language.   In each square, write one example (your own or one you find--you may not use my examples).  Draw a picture to represent your example.  Fill each square completely, use colored pencils or crayons only, and write labels and examples neatly in black or blue pen.