Alliteration: the repetition of initial consonant sounds. Allusion: reference to a well-known person, place, literary work or work of art.

Transcription

1 Poetry Devices

2 Alliteration: the repetition of initial consonant sounds. Example: The Cute Cuddly Kitten hid in the pantry. Allusion: reference to a well-known person, place, literary work or work of art. Example: I compared myself to Toni Braxton, thought I would never catch my breath. Figurative Language: Writing or speech not meant to be interpreted literally. Example: Donny was so angry flames of fire came out of his mouth.

3 Metaphor: Speaking of a person place or thing as if it is something or someone else. Example: Life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly. Extended Metaphor: continuing a metaphor over many lines or an entire poem or essay. Example: Paul Laurence Dunbar s poem Sympathy Onomatopoeia: Words that imitate sound. Example: The bacon sizzled in the pan.

4 Personification: Giving human characteristics to non-human things. Example: When I sat down, the chair wrapped its arms around me comfortingly. Rhyme: Repetition of sounds at the end of words or the end of a line of poetry. Example: now I lay me down to sleep. / I pray the Lord my soul to keep. Repetition: Restating a word or phrase multiple times. Example: Martin Luther King s speech I Have a Dream

5 Simile: Comparing two items using like or as. Example: Float like a butterfly sting like a bee.

6 Sympathy By Paul Laurence Dunbar

7 Previewing the poem Title: Poet: Sympathy Paul Laurence Dunbar Background information: Dunbar was the son of slaves who escaped using the Underground Railroad. He worked as a writer and published many poems and short stories. Dunbar explored the themes of slavery and life in the South.

8 Previewing the poem Subject of poem: A caged bird Repeated words and phrases: I know why; caged bird; first Structure of the poem: 3 stanzas with 7 lines in each Rhyme Scheme: abaabcc

9 After we read What I liked about the poem: It is easy to read What the poet is saying: He seems to be comparing a caged bird to a human slave The mood of the poem: Sad in some parts and angry in others Why does he repeat the phrase I know why the caged bird? He wants the reader to know that he too has felt this way

10 Thoughts and feelings I know what the caged bird feels, alas Alas makes me think that he has been a caged bird too Till its blood is red on the cruel bars Speaker seems to be getting angrier because his images are getting more violent But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings caged bird seems very desperate to fling a prayer upward

11 Connect to the poem When I read this poem, I felt: Confusion first, then sadness and then sympathy I felt this because: Once I figured out that bird was a metaphor for slaves, it was sad to think about how they wanted to get away but couldn t. How does the speaker feel about slavery: I know this because: He thinks that slavery is horrible. The slaves/birds are locked up and can t get free even though they keep trying to get away

12 Paraphrase When the first bird sings and the first bud opes Birds are singing songs of Spring and flowers are blooming

13 Paraphrase I know why the caged bird beats his wing/ Till its blood is red on the cruel bars Speaker understands the bird s frustration. Bird knows that escape is impossible but it still beats its wings against the bar, trying to get away.

14 Paraphrase It is not a carol of joy or glee./ But a prayer that he sends from his heart s deep core. The songs that the bird is singing are not happy ones; they are a sad pleading for freedom.

15 Literary Devices from poem Alliteration when the wind stirs soft through the springing grass Simile the river flows like a stream of glass Metaphor Caged bird = slaves or African Americans who are not FREE Rhyme Alas, grass and glass Imagery first bird sings (hearing) and the first bud opes (sight), and the faint perfume from (smell) Repetition I Know what the caged bird feels

16 What caged birds do you know? Continue Dunbar s metaphor and compose a paragraph describing the plight of 3 other caged birds that you know about. Give examples of people today who can be compared to the caged bird.