Who wrote “Mother to Son”?
Langston Hughes
What is “Mother to Son” about?
In the poem the mother gives her son advice about not giving up when things get hard in life. She compares her life to a crystal staircase.
What literary devices were used in “Mother to Son”?
Extended metaphor, diction, and dialect
Simile
A comparison of two things using “like” or “as”
Metaphor
A direct comparison of two unlike things
Extended metaphor
A metaphor that goes several lines or possibly the entire length of work
Implied metaphor
The comparison is hinted at but not clearly stated
Symbolism
When a person, place, thing, or event that has meaning in itself also represents, or stands for, something else
Universal symbol
A symbol that is recognized at different times in history and across cultures as having a main meaning
Diction
How all the words in a poem sound once they are placed against one another
Who wrote “Riding Lesson”?
Henry Taylor
What is “Riding Lesson” about?
It is about fully committing to something.
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What literary devices are used in “Riding Lesson”?
Simile and alliteration
Who was Langston Hughes?
– Poet
– part of the Harlem renaissance movement
– wrote about African-American culture
Who wrote “Paul Revere’s Ride”?
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
What is “Paul Revere’s Ride” about?
The actions of patriot Paul Revere on April 18, 1775
What literary devices were used in “Paul Revere’s Ride”?
Rhythm, alliteration, symbolism, assonance, tone, consonance, inverted word order, enjambed lines, and rhyme scheme
Who was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow?
– born in Portland, Maine
– professor at Harvard
– used traditional European poets style
Denotation
The exact, literal definition of a word, the dictionary definition of the word without any emotional association
Connotation
The suggested, implied, emotional association of a word
Imagery
Language that appeals to the senses.
Most images are visual, nut they can also appeal to the senses of sound, taste, touch, or smell
Poet
The poet is the author of the poem
Speaker
The speaker of the poem is the “narrator” of the poem
Mood or tone
The speakers attitude toward the subject, revealed by the words he or she uses
Hyperbole
Exaggeration often used for emphasis
Litotes
Understatement; basically the opposite of hyperbole. Often is ironic
Who wrote “Southbound on the freeway”?
Rose Hulman
What is “Southbound on the freeway” about?
It is about an someone looking down on a freeway and into people’s cars. They realize that we don’t control the cars, all this engineering and technology is really controlling us
What literary devices does “Southbound on the freeway” use?
Personification
Who wrote “Introduction to poetry”?
Billy Collins
What is “Introduction to poetry” about?
It tells how students always over think poems and spend hours analyzing it when really it is just something that is meant to be a work of art
What literary devices are used in “Introduction to poetry”?
Imagery, simile, and personification
Who is Billy Collins?
– American poet
– poet Laureate of U.S from 2001-2003
Who wrote “Valentine for Ernest Mann”?
Naomi Shihab Nye
What is “Valentine for Ernest Mann” about?
Ernest Mann gets two skunks for his wife. When she gets offended he tells her they reminded him of her because of their beautiful eyes. This tells us that we can find beauty in odd places
What literary devices are used in “Valentine for Ernest Mann”?
Personification, alliteration, and symbolism
Who is Naomi Shihab Nye
– Poet, songwriter, novelist
– won the Jane Addams children book award in 1998
Idiom
An expression sure the literal meaning of the word is not the meaning of the expression. It means something other than what it actually says
Personification
An animal given human-like qualities or an object given life-like qualities
Allusion
Reference to something famous
Literary allusion
When one work of literature refers to to another work literature
Historical allusion
When a work of literature refers to an historical event
Biblical allusion
When a work of literature refers to a character or event from the bible
Apostrophe
An absent person or inanimate object is directly spoken to as though s/he or it is present
Synecdoche
A part stands for the whole or vice versa
Onomatopoeia
Words that imitate the sound they are naming. Or sounds that’s imitate other sounds
Who wrote “The Cremation of Sam McGee”?
Robert Service
What is “The Cremation of Sam McGee” about?
It is about a captain who cremates his soldier when he freezes to death. While the body is in the fire he wakes up and surprises the captian
What literary devices are used in “The Cremation of Sam McGee”?
Anaphora, inverted word order, internal rhyme, idiom, alliteration, assonance, personification, cacophony, tone, ballad
Who was Robert Service?
– poet and writer
– went to school at McGill university
Anaphora
The same words or phrases are repeated throughout out the poem
Alliteration
Consonant sounds repeated at the beginning of words
Consonance
Similar alliteration except:
The repeated consonant sounds can be anywhere in the words
Assonance
When the vowel sounds inside words are repeated
Cacophony
Occurs when a group of words has a harsh grating sound
Euphony
Occurs when a group of words has a pleasant sound
Who wrote “O Captain, My Captain!”?
Walt Whitman
What is “O Captain, My Captain!” about?
It is an extended metaphor about the assassination of the 16th president Abraham Lincoln.
What literary devices are used in “O Captain, My Captain!”?
Symbolism, extended metaphor, imagery, rhyme scheme, alliteration, internal rhyme, Anaphora, apostrophe
Who was Walt Whitman
– a poet who wrote out normal things (townspeople)
– smart from a young age; read classics when he was 12
Rhythm
The best created by sounds for the words from the poem
Inverted word order
The words of a poem are not in the usual grammatical construction
Meter
A pattern of stress and unstressed syllables
Poetry form
Form- the appearance of the words in a page
Line- a group of words together on one line of the poem
Stanza- a group of lines arranged together
Enjambed line
When a line of poetry runs over into the next line in the poem with punctuation
Lyrical
A short poem. Describes a scene or idea
Narrative poems
A poem that tells a story. Usually a long poem
Ballad
A narrative poem that is usually about: love, adventure, or relationships
Concrete poems
In concrete poems, the words are arranged to create a picture that relates to the content of the poem.
Who wrote “The Jabberwocky”?
Lewis Carroll
What is “The Jabberwocky” about?
A son is told by his father to kill a deadly Jabberwocky. He kills the animal with a sword.
What literary devices are used in “The Jabberwocky”?
Onomatopoeia
Who wrote “The Raven”?
Edgar Allan Poe
What is “The Raven” about?
A raven flys into a mans bedroom at night and startles him. The Raven repeats “Nevermore”
What literary devices are used in “The Raven”?
Internal rhyme, alliteration, rhyme scheme, sound devices, symbolism, literary allusion, biblical allusion
Who was Edgar Allan Poe?
– lost 3 women to TB
– all A’s but was drunk the whole time
– bad relationship with his stepfather
– married his cousin
Scansion
The process of marking the metrical pattern of a poem
Iambic (type of foot)
Unstressed, stressed
Meter cont.
Foot- unit of a meter
Foot: 2-3 syllables
Pentameter (kinds of metrical lines)
Five feet on a line
Free verse poetry
Non rhyme poetry. More modern type of poetry.
Blank verse poetry
Written in lines of iambic pentameter, but does NOT use end rhyme
Rhyme
Words that sound alike because they share the same ending vowel and consonant sounds
Types of feet
Determined by stressed and unstressed syllables