Skills Lesson: Figurative Language and Imagery

Read the excerpt below from the poem "I Knew a Woman" by Theodore Roethke and answer the question that follows. Let seed be grass, and grass turn into hay: I'm martyr to a motion not my own; What's freedom for? To know eternity. I swear she cast a shadow white as stone. But who would count eternity in days? These old bones live to learn her wanton ways: (I measure time by how a body sways). Source: Roethke, Theodore. "I Knew a Woman." The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke. New York: Random House Inc., 1961. Poetry Foundation. Web. 9 June 2011. Which excerpt is a simile that indicates a thoughtful mood?

"I swear she cast a shadow white as stone."

Read the poem below and answer the question that follows. "She Walks in Beauty" by Lord Byron She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that's best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes; Thus mellowed to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies. One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impaired the nameless grace Which waves in every raven tress, Or softly lightens o'er her face; Where thoughts serenely sweet express, How pure, how dear their dwelling-place. And on that cheek, and o'er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow, But tell of days in goodness spent, A mind at peace with all below, A heart whose love is innocent! Source: Byron, George Gordon. "She Walks in Beauty." Poetry.org. The Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 19 July 2011. Which excerpt best reflects Byron's appreciation of beauty?

"the nameless grace/Which waves in every raven tress"

Read the poem below and answer the question that follows. "Simile" by N. Scott Momaday What did we say to each other that now we are as the deer who walk in single file with heads high with ears forward with eyes watchful with hooves always placed on firm ground in whose limbs there is latent flight Source: Momaday, N. Scott. "Simile." The Language of Literature. New York: McDougal Littell, 2006. 265. Print. Which of the following excerpts illustrates the theme that people are cautious around those who have hurt them? I. "who walk in single file/with heads high" II. "with ears forward/with eyes watchful" III. "in whose limbs there is latent flight"

A I, II, and III

"Metonymy" is best defined as a figure of speech in which __________.

B one noun is substituted for another with which it is closely associated

Read the excerpt below from the poem "I Knew a Woman" by Theodore Roethke and answer the question that follows. She played it quick, she played it light and loose; My eyes, they dazzled at her flowing knees; Her several parts could keep a pure repose, Or one hip quiver with a mobile nose (She moved in circles, and those circles moved). Source: Roethke, Theodore. "I Knew a Woman." The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke. New York: Random House Inc., 1961. Poetry Foundation. Web. 9 June 2011. Which of the following images from the excerpt indicates an exhilarated mood? I. "She played it quick, she played it light and loose;" II. "My eyes, they dazzled at her flowing knees;" III. "(She moved in circles, and those circles moved)."

D I, II, and III

Read the poem below and answer the question that follows. "Simile" by N. Scott Momaday What did we say to each other that now we are as the deer who walk in single file with heads high with ears forward with eyes watchful with hooves always placed on firm ground in whose limbs there is latent flight Source: Momaday, N. Scott. "Simile." The Language of Literature. New York: McDougal Littell, 2006. 265. Print. Which of the following techniques does this poem use?

I and II

"Conceit" is best defined as a lengthy or extended __________.

metaphor

Read the excerpt below from the poem "There's a certain Slant of light" by Emily Dickinson and answer the question that follows. When it comes, the landscape listens, Shadows hold their breath. Source: Dickinson, Emily. "There's a certain Slant of light." The Poems of Emily Dickinson. Ed. R. W. Franklin. Harvard: Harvard University Press, 1999. Poetry Foundation. Web. 9 June. 2011. Which technique does this excerpt use?

personification

Read the excerpt below from the poem "I Knew a Woman" by Theodore Roethke and complete the sentence that follows. I knew a woman, lovely in her bones, When small birds sighed, she would sigh back at them; Ah, when she moved, she moved more ways than one: The shapes a bright container can contain! Of her choice virtues only gods should speak, Or English poets who grew up on Greek (I'd have them sing in chorus, cheek to cheek). Source: Roethke, Theodore. "I Knew a Woman." The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke. New York: Random House Inc., 1961. Poetry Foundation. Web. 9 June 2011. All of these types of figurative language appear in the excerpt above except __________.

simile

Which of the following is a key reason to include allusions in a literary work?

to broaden the context and deepen the meaning of a literary work