The Sound of Things

The things that make poetry are rhythm, sometimes rhyme, and the beauty of the language used. There are many figures of speech and poetic language that are used in poetry. A list, plus a brief definition and an example of different kinds of figurative language follows.

A. Imagery: sense words of taste, touch, sight, sound, and smell. Poetry must give vivid pictures of people, places, and objects in as few words as possible.

"The taste of spring breezes on my tongue. A bee buzzes by the murmuring brook. The smell of flowers, drowning in their sea of red, yellow, and green. A drop of sweat rolls down my cheek."

1. Write 2 or 3 sentences and incorporate all of your senses into these sentences.

B. Simile: A comparison of two things that are not usually considered to be similar. This comparison uses like or as. The key to this definition is we are talking about things that are not thought of as being similar. He has a lot of curiosity like me is a comparison but it is not a simile. It is not even grammatically correct. "He has lot of curiosity as I do." is grammatically correct.

Some examples of similes are these: "Dreams are like butterflies, fragile things that can be crushed or that can slip away without ever being seen."

"Child's play is like the unfettered romp of a frisky colt through a green field."

"Life is like a journey in which you never know where you're going until you get there."