Gonna be famous 5eva - ’cause 4eva’s too short Gonna be famous 3gether - ’cause that’s one more than 2gether! (from “Girls 5eva” on Peacock) As I’ve been writing about alliteration, personification, onomatopoeia, and the like, I’ve repeatedly thought about a post committed to the use of numbers and letters as a literary device. Obviously … Continue reading Numbers & Letters As Literary Devices
Tag: ELA
The Dirty Parts
NOTE: This post is sexually explicit and full of naughty things. Feel free to skip it in favor of something more uplifting and G-rated. Seriously. If you were around in the 1980s, you probably remember this radio hit from The Cars: I know tonight, she comes - she’s taking a swipe at fun She tells … Continue reading The Dirty Parts
Could You Repeat That?
We’re taught in high school English to vary sentence length and structure so our writing doesn’t become tedious: I would like to graduate because I would like to go to college. I would like to get a good job someday because I would like to make lots of money. The reason I would like to … Continue reading Could You Repeat That?
Personification Just Wants To Help
In a perfect world, I prefer to introduce literary devices with examples from popular music. These tend to be more accessible than the “legit” stuff and have the potential to be at least mildly entertaining. When it comes to personification, however, there’s a bit of a snag. Pop music simply isn’t a genre which utilizes … Continue reading Personification Just Wants To Help
Raining in the Dark Cave of My Winter Car (Part Two)
Certain types of similes and metaphors come up over and over in literature, poetry, pop songs, and the visual arts. Most lend themselves just as easily to larger uses like symbolism theme-ish stuff. Last time, I listed some of the most common - metaphors which are probably obvious to most of us, but which nevertheless … Continue reading Raining in the Dark Cave of My Winter Car (Part Two)
Like A Metaphor
I’m about to commit the gravest of blasphemies against ELA doctrine, so I might as well get it out of the way up front. It’s silly that we have different names for “similes” and “metaphors.” They’re the SAME THING. The distinction is purely technical and largely irrelevant. Alliteration is alliteration whether it occurs in multiple … Continue reading Like A Metaphor
Recognizing Allusions
Allusions are one of the trickiest literary devices to teach young people, largely because allusions by their very nature expect the reader to already understand people and events generally considered to be “common knowledge.” You see the problem. An effective allusion draws on characters or situations from history, literature, mythology, religion, Shakespeare, or even pop … Continue reading Recognizing Allusions
Wicked Alliteration
I taught English for several years largely because I needed a change of pace - a fresh start, as it were. I’d been certified for years without actually teaching the subject, so while I was technically qualified, I didn’t actually have much idea what I was doing. As it turned out, that mattered less than … Continue reading Wicked Alliteration