Poets use special techniques to make their writing come alive. A simile compares two things using like or as: “as blue as a jay”. Personification gives an object human actions: “the sea wakes up grumbling”.
Onomatopoeia uses words that sound like their meaning, such as clatter, clack and splash. Rhyme and rhythm give a poem its beat.
When you write about a poem, name the technique, give the example and say what it makes you picture or feel.
Worked example
Read: “The wind howled like a hungry wolf.” What technique is used and what does it suggest?
- It uses like to compare, so it is a simile.
- A hungry wolf howling sounds wild and scary.
Answer:A simile; it makes the wind sound wild and frightening.
Key words
- simile
- a comparison using like or as
- personification
- giving human actions to something not human
- onomatopoeia
- a word that sounds like its meaning
Practise this
New questions every time.
Common Core-referenced: RL.3.4