Figurative Language in Poetry and Song

Figurative Language in Poetry and Song

Objectives

After this lesson, students will be able to:

identify some of the different types of figurative language in poetry and songs.

 

identify figurative language and analyze the purpose and effectiveness of its use

You can (and should) use your notes

Figurative Language notes

Types of Figurative Language

Let's review!

Gwendolyn Brooks

1917–2000

Gwendolyn Brooks was born in Topeka, Kansas, on June 7, 1917, and raised in Chicago. She was the author of more than twenty books of poetry,

In 1968 she was named poet laureate for the state of Illinois. In 1985, she was the first black woman appointed as consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress, a post now known as Poet Laureate. She received many awards including a Pulitzer Prize. She lived in Chicago until her death on December 3, 2000

One of her poems is called "We Real Cool"

Watch the video of her reading it on the next slide

Multiple Choice

What type of figurative language was used throughout the poem?

We real cool. We

Left school. We

Lurk late. We

Strike straight. We

Sing sin. We

Thin gin. We

Jazz June. We

Die soon.

• personification

• assonance

• pun

Poems!

What Figurative Language is being used

What type of Figurative Language?

My brother is a dragon.

My mom’s a teddy bear.

I am a shaggy sheepdog

with a ton of tangled hair.

My father is a monkey.

He likes to make us laugh,

especially my sister,

who is a tall giraffe.

We are a busy family

with many things to do.

Our home is always happy,

but sometimes it’s a zoo.

What type of Figurative Language?

My brother is a dragon.

My mom’s a teddy bear.

I am a shaggy sheepdog

with a ton of tangled hair.

My father is a monkey.

He likes to make us laugh,

especially my sister,

who is a tall giraffe.

We are a busy family

with many things to do.

Our home is always happy,

but sometimes it’s a zoo.

Metaphor

My brother is a dragon.

My mom’s a teddy bear.

I am a shaggy sheepdog

with a ton of tangled hair.

My father is a monkey.

He likes to make us laugh,

especially my sister,

who is a tall giraffe.

We are a busy family

with many things to do.

Our home is always happy,

but sometimes it’s a zoo.

Harlem 

by Langston Hughes

What happens to a dream deferred? 

Does it dry up

 like a raisin in the sun?

 Or fester like a sore—

 And then run?

Does it stink like rotten meat

Or crust and sugar over—

like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

Multiple Choice

What type of figurative language?

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun?

• simile

• metaphor

• onomatopoeia

What type of figurative language?

Perfectly imperfect

A pretty ugly zombie lost her head

Then definitely maybe

Sweet sorrow in the end

The beautiful beastly undead girl

Clearly misunderstood, did contend

That she was an evil genius and terribly good

at being an_____________ as all zombies should

What type of figurative language?

Perfectly imperfect

A pretty ugly zombie lost her head

Then definitely maybe

Sweet sorrow in the end

The beautiful beastly undead girl

Clearly misunderstood, did contend

That she was an evil genius and terribly good

at being an_____________ as all zombies should

Multiple Choice

What type of figurative language?

Perfectly imperfect

A pretty ugly zombie lost her head

• simile

• alliteration

• oxymoron

What type of figurative Language?

Multiple Choice

What type of figurative language?

Death went up the hill

Unseen by every one

• metaphor

• personification

• assonance

What type of figurative language?

Multiple Choice

What type of figurative language?

So lonely it's been 10,000 years

So lonely no one remembers be at all

So lonely my whole word is just a room

• alliteration

• hyperbole

• understatement