Saturday, November 27, 2010

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is often used in cartoons. When one cartoon hits another, the word "pow" might be used to represent the impact of the hit. If a bell is ringing, the words "ding," "dong," or "brrring" might be used to represent the sound made by the bell. Onomatopoeia is also found in the early stages of speaking. Think about young children playing with toy cars. The "vroooom" and "beep, beep" sounds they make are onomatopoeia: sound words that represent or imitate a sound.

Sounds in the Night

Think about some of the sounds you might hear at night. What Onomatopoetic Diction might you use to represent those sounds?

Click on the link above to see how one college student answered this question.




Often times we use Onomatopoeia without even realizing it. Think about some common Onomatopoetic words you know. What are they?

Click the link above to watch a short video demonstrating how common, and often overlooked, Onomatopoeia can be.



Denotation vs Connotation

Denotation is the dictionary definition of a word. When an author uses a word for its denotative definition, he/she is using the literal definition to which most readers are likely to connect. For quick access to denotative definitions, use the following links: Dictionary.com, Merriam-Webster

Consider the following words.

home
house
dwelling
residence

While all of these words are different, they share a common denotative definition. What might that definition be?



Connotation is the definition of a word based on both the denotative definition as well as other associations that word has. This definition can vary from culture to culture and even from person to person.

Consider the following words again.

home
house
dwelling
residence

What is the connotative definition of each word? How does the connotative definition of each word help to distinguish it from the others?

Alliteration

While alliteration comes natually to some poeple, most writers find it necessary to edit and revise writing to add alliteration. When using alliteration, writers are careful to use a letter sound that also adds to the rhythm and mood of the writing.

Let's Sing a Song about J

Consider the letter J. What type of sound does a J make?

What are some words starting with J?

What mood might J suggest?

Click the link above to watch a Sesame Street video that uses the letter J. Notice the J letter words and the effect those words seem to have.



Consider the letter V. What type of sound does a V make?

What are some words starting with V?

What mood might V suggest?

Click the link above to watch a clip from V for Vendetta that uses the letter V. Notice the V letter words and the effect those words seem to have.

Rhyme Scheme



Let's start with something short.

Four

Four year olds are children of the sky:  A
Opening to mystery and light,  B
Understanding sorrow and delight,  B
Racing towards the farthest reach of why.  A


Are there rhyming couplets, is the poem written in free verse, or is there a rhyme scheme to this poem?


What types of rhyme did you find in this poem?
    End Rhyme?
    Internal Rhyme?
    Slant Rhyme?
    Exact Rhyme?


And now something a bit longer.


JABBERWOCKY

Lewis Carroll

(from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, 1872)

 
`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves  A  
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:  B
All mimsy were the borogoves,  A  
And the mome raths outgrabe.  B

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!  C  
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!  D
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun  C  
The frumious Bandersnatch!"  D

He took his vorpal sword in hand:  E  
Long time the manxome foe he sought --  F
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,  G  
And stood awhile in thought.  F

And, as in uffish thought he stood, H  
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,  I
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,  H  
And burbled as it came!  I

One, two! One, two! And through and through  J  
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! K
He left it dead, and with its head L  
He went galumphing back. K 

"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock? M  
Come to my arms, my beamish boy! N
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!' M  
He chortled in his joy. N
 
`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves  A  
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe; B
All mimsy were the borogoves, A  
And the mome raths outgrabe. B 

Are there rhyming couplets, is the poem written in free verse, or is there a rhyme scheme to this poem?

What types of rhyme did you find in this poem?
    End Rhyme?
    Internal Rhyme?
    Slant Rhyme?
    Exact Rhyme?

Imagery

Shel Silverstein
Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout
Would not take the garbage out!
She'd scour the pots and scrape the pans,
Candy the yams and spice the hams,
And though her daddy would scream and shout,
She simply would not take the garbage out.
And so it piled up to the ceilings:
Coffee grounds, potato peelings,
Brown bananas, rotten peas,
Chunks of sour cottage cheese.
It filled the can, it covered the floor,
It cracked the window and blocked the door
With bacon rinds and chicken bones,
Drippy ends of ice cream cones,
Prune pits, peach pits, orange peel,
Gloppy glumps of cold oatmeal,
Pizza crusts and withered greens,
Soggy beans and tangerines,
Crusts of black burned buttered toast,
Gristly bits of beefy roasts. . .
The garbage rolled on down the hall,
It raised the roof, it broke the wall. . .
Greasy napkins, cookie crumbs,
Globs of gooey bubble gum,
Cellophane from green baloney,
Rubbery blubbery macaroni,
Peanut butter, caked and dry,
Curdled milk and crusts of pie,
Moldy melons, dried-up mustard,
Eggshells mixed with lemon custard,
Cold french fried and rancid meat,
Yellow lumps of Cream of Wheat.
At last the garbage reached so high
That it finally touched the sky.
And all the neighbors moved away,
And none of her friends would come to play.
And finally Sarah Cynthia Stout said,
"OK, I'll take the garbage out!"
But then, of course, it was too late. . .
The garbage reached across the state,
From New York to the Golden Gate.
And there, in the garbage she did hate,
Poor Sarah met an awful fate,
That I cannot now relate
Because the hour is much too late.
But children, remember Sarah Stout
And always take the garbage out!


Below are listed each of the five senses. Reread the poem and determine what words specifically appeal to each of these senses.

Sound:

Sight:
 
Touch:
 
Taste:

Smell:


I felt a Funeral, in my Brain
by Emily Dickinson

I felt a Funeral in my Brain,
And Mourners, to and fro,
Kept treading — treading — till it seemed
That Sense was breaking through —
 
And when they all were seated,
A Service like a Drum —
Kept beating — beating — till I thought
My Mind was going numb —
 
And then I heard them lift a Box,
And creak across my Soul
With those same Boots of Lead, again.
Then Space — began to toll 
 
As all the Heavens were a Bell,
And Being but an Ear,
And I and Silence some strange Race,
Wrecked, solitary, here —
 
And then a Plank in Reason, broke,
And I dropped down, and down—
And hit a World, at every plunge,
And Finished knowing — then —
 
 

Below are listed each of the five senses. Reread the poem and determine what words specifically appeal to each of these senses.

Sound:

Sight:
 
Touch:
 
Taste:

Smell:

Hyperbole

Hyperbole is a type of figurative language that plays with the literal meaning or interpretation of a sentence. If a writer were to use only literal language in writing, some of the interest of and connection to the reader would be lost.

I'm so happy I could fly.

If hyperbole is an exaggeration of the literal meaning, what might this sentence literally be saying?

How does using a hyperbole make this sentence more interesting? In other words, what effect does it have?

Think of another hyperbole you might use in place of this one. What is it? How does using that hyperbole differ, in effect, from the one given?

It's raining cats and dogs.

If hyperbole is an exaggeration of the literal meaning, what might this sentence literally be saying?

How does using a hyperbole make this sentence more interesting? In other words, what effect does it have?

Think of another hyperbole you might use in place of this one. What is it? How does using that hyperbole differ, in effect, from the one given?


I am so angry I could explode.

If hyperbole is an exaggeration of the literal meaning, what might this sentence literally be saying?

How does using a hyperbole make this sentence more interesting? In other words, what effect does it have?

Think of another hyperbole you might use in place of this one. What is it? How does using that hyperbole differ, in effect, from the one given?

Simile

His eyes are as blue as the sky.

How do you know this is a simile and not another type of comparison?
It uses the word "as."
What two items are being compared?
Eyes and the sky.
What do these two items have in common?
They are the same color.
What is the effect of the comparison?
The reader is able to imagine the exact color of the subject's eyes. The writer is able to show the reader the color by making a connection to something common: the sky.


The children chattered like a tree full of birds.

How do you know this is a simile and not another type of comparison?
It uses the word "like."
What two items are being compared?
Children and birds.
What do these items have in common?
Both the birds and the children chatter.
What effect does the comparison have?
The reader is able to imagine that the children sound noisy and uncontrolled like a group of birds does.

The house stood as tall as a mountain.

How do you know this is a simile and not another type of comparison?
It uses the word "as."
What two items are being compared?
A house and a mountain.
What do these items have in common?
Both the house and the mountain are tall.
What effect does the comparison have?
Even if the reader has not seen a mountain in person, he or she has probably seen pitctures of mountains or knows generally that they are very tall. By saying the house is as tall as a mountain, the reader is able to imagine just how tall the house is.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Metaphor

"All the world's a stage." 
-William Shakeapeare.

What two items are being compared in this metaphor?
Being an actor on a stage and being an actor/player in the world.
What is the effect of comparing these two items? Hint: Think about more than just what is offered in Shakespeare's metaphor. Push the comparison further.
Most people play a character when they are on the stage. Often times the same thing happens in the world. People behave a certain way based on the situation and circumstances. Costumes (the clothes we wear) and masks (personalities) vary depending on the show (situation).
The river of life.

What type of metaphor is this? 
Indirect metaphor.
What two items are being compared?
Life and a river.
What is the effect of comparing these two items?
The reader can see how long, winding, and ever changing a river is and can see that life has the same characteristics.


It's all water under the bridge.

What type of metaphor is this? 
Direct metaphor.
What two items are being compared? (Try to think of specific examples.)
Water and the past. Water and an event. Water and an argument.
What is the effect of comparing these two items?
In all of these comparisons the metaphor shows the reader the connection between water (change and movement) flowing under a bridge (a constant, unmoving point).

Personification

The tree snarled.

What is the non-human object in this comparison?
A tree.
What human characteristics are being given to that object?
The tree is angry. It is snarling.
What is the effect of this use of personification?
There is more description than simply saying that the tree looks angry, or that it looks like it has a face. By saying that the tree is snarling, the reader begins to picture an angry tree. This may then attribute to the mood of the writing, casting a gloomy or scary feeling on the writing.



The idea flew from her mind.
 
What is the non-human object in this comparison?
An idea.
What human characteristics are being given to that object?
It flew. The idea was able to move.
What is the effect of this use of personification?
Giving an idea the ability to move, or fly, makes it seem like something that can't be grasped. The reader begins to see how fleeting and temporary something like an idea can be.
 
 



Time slipped away from me. 

What is the non-human object in this comparison?
Time.
What human characteristics are being given to that object?
It is able to move. It slipped.
What is the effect of this use of personification?
While time can not literally slip, most people have experienced a moment when time seemed to just get away from them. Time isn't going anywhere; however, since there is no way to hold onto the concept of time, a person may feel powerless and unable to hold onto a moment.