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Poetry Features and Devices
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Poetry Features and Devices
Read each poem carefully. Identify how poets use sound, comparison and imagery, then try using the devices in your own writing.
Spot the features
1.Read the poem: “Kahu hears the ferry hum / As silver waves slide past the bow. / A gull calls sharply overhead; / The grey sea wears a cloudy brow.” Select every phrase that uses alliteration.
- ferry hum
- silver waves slide
- gull calls
- grey sea
2.In the poem about Kahu’s ferry trip, which two end words rhyme?
3.Does the poem contain a simile? Explain your answer.
Poetry devices
4.Match each poetry device to its meaning.
- Simile
- Metaphor
- Alliteration
- Onomatopoeia
- Imagery
- Repetition of initial consonant sounds
- A word that imitates a sound
- Language that appeals to the senses
- Comparison using like or as
- Direct comparison without like or as
5.Which line uses onomatopoeia?
- The deck is slick with rain.
- Clang! The anchor strikes the rail.
- The clouds are a blanket.
- The boat is like a bird.
Create with devices
6.Complete this simile with a comparison that makes sense: “The ferry’s wake curled behind it like .”
7.Complete the simile with a suitable comparison: “Talia’s laugh was as bright as .”
8.Complete the simile: “Wind tugged at Ruben’s jacket like .”
9.Complete the simile: “The harbour water was as clear as .”
10.Write three original alliterative phrases. Each phrase should have at least two words beginning with the same sound.
11.Write five different onomatopoeia words that could describe sounds heard on a ferry trip.
Write and reflect
12.Write a four-line poem about a ferry crossing. Include at least two devices from this list: simile, alliteration, onomatopoeia, imagery.
13.Name two poetry devices you used in your ferry poem and explain how each one affects the reader.
Analyse a poem
14.Read this poem: “The ferry groans beneath the sky, / Waves rise like cliffs beside the rail. / Splash! A silver sheet leaps high, / The sea lifts its hand to greet the sail.” Which senses are appealed to most clearly?
- Sight and hearing
- Taste and smell
- Touch only
- Smell and hearing
15.In the poem about the ferry, copy the simile.
16.In the poem about the ferry, identify the onomatopoeia.
17.In the poem about the ferry, copy the metaphor that gives the sea a human action.
18.Explain how the poem’s sound words and comparisons help a reader imagine the ferry crossing.
4 printable pages
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