Figurative language is a tool that an author employs (or uses) to help the reader visualize (or see) what is happening in a story or poem. Some common types of figurative language are: simile, metaphor, alliteration, onomatopoeia, idiom, puns, and sensory language. Below are some ways to introduce these concepts to your class and some activities. There are also links to other sites for more help.
| 1. What is Poetry? | 2. Reading the Poem | 3. Denotation and Connotation | 4. Imagery | 5. Figurative Language 1: Metaphor, Personification, and Metonymy | 6. Figurative Language 2: Symbol and Allegory | 7. Figurative Language 3: Paradox, Overstatement, understatement, Irony and Allusion | 8. Tone and Musical Devices | 9. Rhythm and Meter | 10. Patterns of Traditional Poems | MLA Style Citation of this Web Page |
After this unit, students will have:
Explored poetry as another medium of written and spoken expression. Students will appreciate poetry as another medium for authors to express commentary on the pressing social issues of the times
Learned the following literary techniques used by poets in their writing:
metaphor
simile
symbolism
point-of-view
Interpreted meaning
Identified and examined the significance of specific themes that manifest themselves in the writings of poets from around the world
Drawn parallels between the themes addressed in selected poems and the themes addressed in the literature read in class through out the year