English Contemporary Poetry

Alliteration
Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words

Assonance
Repetition of internal vowel sounds in words

Connotation
Feelings or ideas associated with words

Denotation
Literal definition, dictionary definition of the word

Diction
Author’s choice of words . Recognize important words.Sounds & meaning. Words, rhythm, and sounds create the experience for the reader

Analyze diction in a poem
Recognize important wordsDetermine the denotation (definition) of each wordIdentify connotations, or feelings or ideas associated with words

A word can have
A particular emotional charge: positive, negative, or neutral

A word can be
Associated with a particular feeling or idea: home, family= comfort; rose, love=romance

Sound devices
Can reinforce the meaning of a poem: Alliteration, Assonance

Alliteration
Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words: creates pleasing or interesting sounds, links important words or ideas, adds emphasis or reinforces meanings example-GRavelly GRound

Assonance
Repetition of internal vowel sounds in words: creates pleasing or interesting sounds, links important words or ideas, adds emphasis example-plAy in the rAin

Seamus Heaney
Wrote the poem “Digging”. Lived 1939-2013. Born & raised in No Ireland.

Won a scholarship to a boarding school. Began writing poetry while in college. Often wrote about Irish politics and history and about rural life in Ireland. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995.