Poetry Techniques and Lyric Lesson

Many students do not realize that their favorite song lyrics are actually poetry. From these lyrics, students can identify similes, metaphors, etc.

Instead of hearing middle school students groan about poetry, teachers see signs of eagerness when they announce that they will be studying song lyrics and the techniques that their favorite song writers use. Of course, some of their favorite song lyrics are not the highest quality poetry. However, teens love their music, and they can learn the basic poetic devices from it.

A Week Before the Lesson Talk About Their Favorite Music

To prepare for this lesson, ask students to submit lyrics from one of their favorite bands or singers a week before the lesson. This can be extra credit. Also, clarify that the music should be school appropriate. Then, take all of the lyrics and make a packet of the songs. Lyrics can be found on the CD cases or on lyric websites.

Begin Lesson By Discussing Poetry Techniques

Discuss and give examples of the basic poetry techniques that poets use. The Write Source by Great Source Education Group [1999] has a poetry section that lists these with definitions and examples.

Ten basic poetry techniques are as follows:

• Simile – a comparison of two unlike things using like or as
  • Ex. She is beautiful like the morning sun.

• Metaphor – a comparison of two unlike things without using like or as
  • Ex. Lies are a friend to some.

• Personification – an inanimate object is given human like characteristic
  • Ex. The trees danced in the wind.

• Hyperbole – a great exaggeration
  • Ex. She ate a mountain of mashed potatoes.

• Alliteration –at the beginning of words, there is a repetition of consonants
  • Ex. The swimmer's skin sizzled in the sun.

• Assonance – anywhere in the words, there is a repetition of vowels
  • Ex. Please bake me a date cake.

• Consonance – anywhere in words, there is repetition of consonant sounds
  • Ex. Write a great paper on by the due date.

• Onomatopoeia – words that sound like the name of the word
  • Ex. The cereal snapped, crackled, and popped.

• Repetition – words or phrases are repeated
  • Ex. Because there is hope, because there is love, because there is beauty, I can go on

• Rhyme – sound alike endings of words
  • End rhyme – At the end of lines, words rhyme.
    • EX. Jars and cans lined the rack; They tumbled down on my back

• Internal rhyme – Words that rhyme are int the middle of the line.
• EX. I carry a gold locket in my pocket.

Activity: Students Identify Poetic Techniques from Lines of Their Favorite Lyrics

1. After the poetic technique discussion is complete, hand out the lyric packet.

2. Tell students that they need to identify an example of each of the poetic techniques from the lyric packet.

3. Explain that they should first write the poetry technique down. Next, they should write the entire line from the lyric on notebook paper.

• EX. simile -- Her eyes were like twinkling diamonds

4. Clarify that for alliteration, assonance, consonance, rhyme and repetition that students should underline the appropriate letters or words.

5. After students have shown their proficiency with the poetic terms, assign students to write their own lyrics. The lyric should have two examples of poetic techniques in it. You may want to ask lower-level students to only write one verse and one chorus. Students may need to discuss the terms verse and chorus by using songs in the lyric packet as examples. This could be homework after the identification activity or an activity for the following day.

Other poetry lesson articles: Rhyme Poem Lesson , Syllable Count Poem Lesson , & Free Verse Poem Lesson

Poetry in Stars

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