Monday, February 18, 2013

Test prep 2

A type of figure of speech is called personification.

Personification is a type of metaphor in which human characteristics are given to something inanimate, animal, or abstract.

An example of personification is "The sun kissed the flowers." The sun is given the human characteristic of kissing.

Here is an example of personification in a poem:

The Railway Train

I like to see it lap the miles,
And lick the valleys up,
And stop to feed itself at tanks;
And then, prodigious, step

Around a pile of mountains,
And, supercilious, peer
In shanties by the sides of roads;
And then a quarry pare

To fit its sides, and crawl between,
Complaining all the while
In horrid, hooting stanza;
Then chase itself down the hill

And neigh like Boanerges;
Then, punctual as a star,
Stop - docile and omnipotent -
At its own stable door.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Test Prep

The term is Paraphrase. The definition the book has is "to render freely, or amplify, a passage, or express its sense in other words."
True or False: Paraphrasing means to "refer indirectly to something presumably known to the listener or reader.
True or False: Paraphrasing in poetry is usually set off with quotations.

An example of a paraphrased poem:

Sonnet 18



Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?: Shall I compare you to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate: You are more lovely and more constant:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May: stormy winds shake May flower
And summer's lease hath all too short a date: And summer is far too short:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines: At times the sun is too hot,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd: Or often goes behind the clouds;
And every fair from fair sometime declines: And everything beautiful sometime will lose its beauty,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd: By misfortune or by nature's planned out course.
But thy eternal summer shall not fade: But your youth shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest: even death will not take you away from beauty,
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade: Nor will death claim you for his own,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest: Because in my eternal verse you will live forever.
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see: So long as there are people on this earth,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee: So long will this poem live on, making you immortal

Monday, February 11, 2013

Howl Imitation

I see the minds of my generation full of narcissism and materialism

Those who are obsessed with good looks and making first impressions

Who believe that giving a certain image about themselves is most important.

A group of people that check their Facebook and Twitter every ten minutes to make sure they aren't missing anything that their fake friends have posted.

I see the minds of my generation that have to have the latest technology to make themselves feel happier and gain self esteem when someone "likes" their photoshopped pictures of themselves.

Who claim that quantity is better than quality and that vulgarity is better than sincerity.

I see the minds of my generation slowly becoming somebody that they really aren't and not even realizing it.

Those minds are slowly becoming more materialistic the greater technology gets and they are not getting the face-to-face communication that everyone needs.

I see the minds of my generation thinking only about themselves and not thinking about the past generations or the future generations.

I want to see my generation care about others, to fully love people and have people love them back without the thought of fake images and material things.

Because truly, honestly, sincerely, loving people is most important.

 


Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Imagist Poem

Baskin Robins
Rows and columns of sugary goodness
Like a blizzard dancing on my tongue

Monday, February 4, 2013

Sestina


The long days of summer
are for relaxing in the water
and napping on the beach.
The cold winter breeze is now warm
from the radiating rays of sunshine
and the massage on your feet from the sand.

Footprints in the sand
are only seen by summer
lovers that are entranced by sunshine.
There is something to be said about the warm,
crystal-clear reflections of the water,
and long walks on the beach.

The beautiful views of a beach,
including the soft pebbles of sand
and people that are friendly and warm
are only a few highlights of summer.
Imagine yourself floating on brisk water
with a gentle touch of sunshine.

People are happy when there is sunshine
gleaming down on them at the beach.
Even the fish in the water
and the crabs in the sand,
enjoy the precious months of summer
knowing that they will be warm.

Who doesn’t want to be warm
and see the sky full of sunshine
during the playful times of summer?
Volleyball on the beach,
magnificent castles made of sand,
and kids splashing in the water.

We wouldn’t survive without water,
people who are lovely/warm,
mother nature’s simplicity of sand,
the early mornings of sunshine,
activities on the beach,
and the stress-less days of summer.

Without the flowing water, there wouldn’t be sand.
Without the sunshine, you couldn’t get warm.
And without the beach, it would be a depressing summer.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Ode to my Dog

Driving into the driveway,

Dreary night, tired eyes,

A fur of black

At the fence

Comes to greet me

With excitement.

As I walk to the front door he

lets out a whine.

It is a sigh of relief,

He is happy,

Overjoyed even,

To see me,

To love me.

All he wants is to play with me,

Enjoy my company,

And snuggle next to me while I watch T.V.

He has no idea

How terribly cruel

The world can be.

He is at home,

He wouldn't know.

But his innocence

Is what keeps

Home a place of peace.

The sun rises,

Time to wake up,

Time to get ready

For the long day.

He already knows

that I am about to leave him again.

There is sadness in his eyes.

I give him food,

I give him water,

And I give him hugs to

know that he'll be fine.

Before I leave,

I look in his sweet eyes.

I then say softly,

"Don't worry,

I'll be back."

Friday, January 25, 2013

Litany Imitation

This is written for my boyfriend. I have added a lot of inside jokes so I apologize if some of it doesn't make sense:

You are the blueberry and the muffin,
The trailerhome and the gnome.
You are the creamer in my coffee
and the spirit of a buffalo.
You are the Celine Dion of music,
and the Burt's Bees to my chapped lips.

However, you are not the furby in my closet,
the sandy bellybutton,
or the evil Ice King.
And you are certainly not the Lewiston-scented air.
There is just no way that you are the Lewiston-scented air.

It is possible that you are the knit to my scarf,
maybe even the cinnamon roll at the Polar Bear,
but you are not even close
to being the dirty laundry in the corner.

And a quick look in the mirror will show
that you are neither the hat brim with the sticker
nor the melted twix in my pocket.

It might interest you to know,
speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world,
that I am the other half of your blueberry muffin.

I also happen to be the delicious cream in eggnog,
the Bisquick in pancakes,
and the Lady Rainicorn to Jake the dog.

I am also the Tim to your Eric
and the grandpa to your grandma.
But don't worry, I'm not the blueberry and the muffin.
You are still the blueberry and the muffin.
You will always be the blueberry and the muffin,
not to mention the trailerhome and--somehow-- the gnome.