Name:_____________________________________________Date:________________Block:_________

Big Ten Poetry Devices Review Alliteration: the repetition of initial consonant sounds. Example: The Cute Cuddly Kitten hid in the pantry. Activity: Describe two family members using their first name and alliteration. (Tiny Terrible Tina) 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. Activity: Describe your school using an allusion. Figurative Language: Writing or speech not meant to be interpreted literally. Example: Donny was so angry flames of fire came out of his mouth. Activity: Write two sentences about your English class using figurative language. 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. Activity: Write a metaphor for love. Extended Metaphor: continuing a metaphor over many lines or an entire poem or essay. Example: See Paul Laurence Dunbar’s poem “Sympathy,” attached. Activity: Describe your personality using an extended metaphor

Onomatopoeia: Words that imitate sound. Example: The bacon sizzled in the pan. Activity: Write two sentences that use Onomatopoeia. Personification: Giving human characteristics to non-human things. Example: When I sat down, the chair wrapped its arms around me comfortingly. Activity: Describe your house using personification. 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. Activity: Write a 3 line rhyme about your favorite restaurant. Repetition: Restating a word or phrase multiple times. Example: Martin Luther King’s speech “I Have a Dream” Activity: Use repetition to sell your favorite soft drink. Simile: Comparing two items using “like” or “as.” Example: Float like a butterfly sting like a bee. Activity: Use a simile to describe one of your parents.

Name:_____________________________________________Date:________________Block:_________ Read and annotate the poem below:

“Sympathy” Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906)

I know what the caged bird feels, alas!

When the sun is bright on the upland slopes; When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass,

And the river flows like a stream of glass; When the first bird sings and the first bud opes, And the faint perfume from its chalice steals —

I know what the caged bird feels!

I know why the caged bird beats his wing Till its blood is red on the cruel bars;

For he must fly back to his perch and cling When he fain would be on the bough a-swing;

And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars And they pulse again with a keener sting —

I know why he beats his wing!

I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,— When he beats his bars and he would be free;

It is not a carol of joy or glee, But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core,

But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings — I know why the caged bird sings!

*This poem inspired the title of Maya Angelou's autobiography, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

Answer the questions after annotating the poem.

1. What is the rhyme scheme of this piece? (Write the letter to the right of each line.)

2. Is there any alliteration? (underline it and note it on the left of each corresponding line.) Give one example:

3. Underline the simile (note it on the left of the poem). What is it?

4. What metaphors do you see (underline them and then note it on the left of each corresponding line). Give one example:

5. There are several extended metaphors. Name one:

6. There are several words that are antiquated (antiquated diction is using old words that are not common in the modern era). Name a few:

7. Underline any imagery you see (and note it on the left of the poem). Name a few of the images presented:

8. Give an example of personification in the poem (underline it and note it to the left of the line).

9. What is the poem about?

10. What do the repetition and rhyme scheme help to illustrate?