Exploring Poetic Imagery & Figurative Language

1. Exploring Poetic Imagery &Figurative Language Ava Askew

2. 6th grade TEKS Objectives • English Language Arts and Reading, Grade 6. (8) Reading / variety of texts. The student reads widely for different purposes in varied sources. The student is expected to : • (A) read classic and contemporary works (2-8); • (B) select varied sources such as plays, anthologies, novels, textbooks, poetry, newspapers, manuals, and electronic texts when reading for information or pleasure (6-8)

3. Stopping By Woods On A SnowyEvening • by: Robert Frost

4. Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow

5. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year.

6. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask is there some mistake. The only other sound’s the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake

7. The woods are lovely, dark, and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.

8. Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening Whose woods these are I think I know. His house is in the village though; He will not see me stopping here To watch his woods fill up with snow. My little horse must think it queer To stop without a farmhouse near Between the woods and frozen lake The darkest evening of the year. He gives his harness bells a shake To ask if there is some mistake. The only other sound’s the sweep Of easy wind and downy flake. The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.

9. Understanding Imagery & Figurative Language • Figurative Language appeals to the reader’s sense of sight, hearing, smell, taste, or touch. The phrase: “the woods are lovely dark and deep,” appeal to our sense of sight. • Figurative language communicates ideas besides the ordinary, literal meaning of the words. The word “sleep” may refer to death.

10. Interpreting Figurative Language There are 3 basic types of figurative language: * Personification: is giving human qualities to an object. Example: “the wind’s gentle cry” * Simile: is a comparison using the word like or as. Example: “hard as a rock” * Metaphor: is a direct comparison. Example: “the child is an angel” Strategies for Understanding Imagery and Figurative Language: Visualize the comparisons made by similes and metaphors. How do they affect the poem? Notice personification. How is an object or an animal given human characteristics or emotions? Notice the language and determine which of the 5 senses to which the poet is appealing. What effect does the imagery have on the reader?

11. Robert Frost the Poet • Born in San Francisco on March 26, 1874 • His father died when he was 11year old and he and his mother moved to New England. • He began writing poetry in high school and attended Harvard College. • He married and had four children. • His grandfather bought him a farm where he worked while writing poetry at night. • In 1913 his first book of poems was published. • In 1914 Frost and his family moved to New England where he continued to write poetry. • Frost became the most celebrated poet in America and won four Pulitzer Prize awards. • He lived and taught in Boston until he died on January 29, 1963

12. Sources • Google images: • http://www.google.com/ • University of Toronto: http://www.library.utoronto.ca/utel/rp/poems/frost19.html • The Academy of American Poets: http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/192 • Marcopolo lesson plans: http://www.marcopolo-education.org/ • readwritethink.org lesson plans: http://www.readwritethink.org • Salon.com Audiohttp://www.salon.com/audio/2000/10/05/frost