Literary Devices
In the poem Little Talk, the author writes about: "…beetles, bugs, and bees." What word trick (literary device) is being used here?
Alliteration (the matching "B" starting sounds).
How many syllables must you have in the first line, second line, and third line to create a true Haiku?
5 - 7 - 5.
If a poem makes you laugh out loud and uses silly situations, what is the tone of the poem?
Playful / Humorous / Funny.
If your teacher asks you to "Paraphrase" a stanza of a poem, what exactly are you supposed to do?
Translate the poetic words into your own, everyday, normal language.
In If I Were in Charge of the World, the person talking wants to cancel oatmeal, allergy shots, and bedtimes. Based on these clues, who is the speaker of this poem?
A child (or a kid with a big imagination).
In If I Were in Charge of the World, the speaker says "A chocolate sundae with whipped cream and nuts would be a vegetable." What literary device is this, and why does the author use it?
Hyperbole (Exaggeration). The author uses it to show how much kids hate real vegetables and to make the poem sound like a funny child's daydream.
"Don't you think it's probable (A) / that beetles, bugs, and bees (B) / talk about a lot of things - (C) / you know, such things as these: (B)" Which two words create the rhyme in this stanza?
Bees and These.
"I'd cancel oatmeal, Monday mornings, Allergy shots..." Based on these lines, what is the tone of the child speaking? (e.g., Bossy, Sad, Scared, Grateful).
Bossy / Demanding / Annoyed by adult rules.
"You wouldn't have lonely. / You wouldn't have clean. / You wouldn't have bedtimes." Summarize the main idea of this kid's daydream.
They dream of a world with zero adult rules and zero sad feelings.
In Fifteen, maybe sixteen things to worry about, the speaker says, "My mother says I'm growing up." What stage of life is this speaker in, and what is their main struggle?
They are a teenager (or adolescent). They are struggling with the confusing transition between being a kid and becoming an adult.
In Little Talk, the bugs have "earthquakes in their villages / whenever people pass." We know bugs don't have literal earthquakes. What real-world action is this a metaphor for?
A human's giant footstep hitting the ground near the bugs.
"Be glad your nose is on your face, / not pasted on some other place." What is the rhyme scheme of these two lines?
AABB (or just AA, because "face" and "place" rhyme consecutively).
In Fifteen, maybe sixteen things to worry about, is the teenager's tone completely serious, or is it ironic and slightly funny? How do you know?
It is ironic/funny. Even though they say they are worrying, the things they worry about are often normal, silly teenage problems rather than actual emergencies.
"Our rears are far too big / for talk that is so small." Paraphrase this stanza. Tell us in everyday language why humans will never hear bugs talking.
Humans are just too giant, and our ears are too big to hear the tiny, quiet noises bugs make.
In Little Talk, the text says that terrible "earthquakes" happen "whenever people pass." From whose specific point of view are we seeing this earthquake?
We are seeing it from the perspective of a tiny bug living in the grass.
If Jack Prelutsky says that if your nose were on your toes, "your brain would rattle from the breeze," what word trick is he using to make his point?
Hyperbole (Exaggeration). The wind on your toes wouldn't actually shake your brain, but it paints a very funny, extreme picture.
In If I Were in Charge of the World, the title phrase is repeated at the start of almost every stanza. How does this repetition change the rhythm of the poem?
It acts like a strong musical beat or a chorus in a song, anchoring the poem before making a new list of rules.
"And a person who sometimes forgot to brush, / And sometimes forgot to flush, / Would still be allowed to be / In charge of the world." How does the tone shift (change) in the very last stanza of this poem?
It changes from bossy and demanding to vulnerable and forgiving. The child just wants it to be okay to make normal mistakes.
"The kind of weather where they live / in jungles tall with grass". Translate the poetic phrase "jungles tall with grass" into its literal, real-world location.
A normal green lawn / the grass in someone's backyard.
The speaker in Be Glad Your Nose is on Your Face talks directly to you, the reader. They list all the terrible things that would happen if your nose was on your toes or your ear. What is the speaker's main purpose for giving you this warning?
To make you laugh while reminding you to be grateful for how your body is naturally built.
Personification is when we give human traits to non-human things. Give one piece of proof from Little Talk that shows the bugs are being personified.
They "talk" to each other, they talk about the "weather," and they live in "villages."
Listen to the rhythm of this line: "Basketball baskets forty eight inches lower." Does the pacing of this line feel slow and serious, or bouncy and fast? Why?
Bouncy and fast. It mimics a child excitedly rambling off all the things they want to change.
“For if it were where it is not, / you might dislike your nose a lot.” What is the tone of Jack Prelutsky's poem, and what specific image creates that tone?
The tone is highly playful and silly. The image of a nose being pasted on an elbow or a toe is ridiculous, creating that humorous feeling.
What is the central theme (the big lesson) of the poem Be Glad Your Nose is on Your Face?
You should be grateful for the way your body is built right now, because trying to change it or put things in different places would be a total disaster!
Compare the speakers in If I Were in Charge of the World and Fifteen, maybe sixteen things to worry about. How are the specific problems they want to fix different?
The speaker in If I Were in Charge just wants to get rid of annoying everyday rules (like bedtimes and vegetables), while the speaker in Fifteen is worried about the real, heavier pressures of growing up and facing the real world.