Objectives:

Must understand the basic principles of

ballad poetry
Should be able to indentify and revise
general poetic techniques
Could be able to independently indentify the
more complex principles of ballad poetry
 Poetry Techniques
Putting pictures in our minds is one way poets
and other writers frequently get their message
across. These pictures are called images or
imagery.

The language that is used to produce these

pictures is called figurative language, because
the words do not have their everyday meaning
(literal meaning) but another meaning
(figurative meaning) which our imagination
helps to create.
 Language
Literal Figurative
(real, actual) (not real, jokes,
imagery)
 Which one is which?

A. A busy executive misses a deadline to

buy some shares. His investment advisor
says, ‘Don’t cry over spilt milk.’
B. A pre-schooler drops her carton of milk
and starts crying. The teacher says, ‘It’s
OK. Don’t cry over spilt milk.’

Which one is literal and which one is

figurative?
 Poetry Technique 1
SIMILIE
• Definition: A simile is a comparison of two
objects using the words ‘like’, ‘as’ or
‘than’.
• Examples:
A. He coughed like a sick cow.
B. Her mind was as blank as a white sheet
of paper.
C. Higher than birds, kites rose in the air.
 Are these similes?

A. I like ice-cream and topping.

B. He moved faster than a speeding bullet.
C. Deeper than the ocean, is God’s love for
us.
D. We watched TV as we ate dinner
E. My tongue was drier than a dead leaf; it
was so hot.
F. I read better now than I did last year.
G. The weather was colder than an ex-
girlfriend’s stare.
 Match them up!
• The ballerina moves • steel spike
like
• His anger was like • a wispy cloud
that of
• The snake’s skin is • a kettle drum
like
• The thunder rolled like
• roaring lion
a
• The dragon’s tooth is
like • autumn leaves
 !!!CLICHÉS!!!
 Definition: A cliché is a simile which has been used
so much that it has become boring. If clichés are used,
it gives the impression that the writer has not thought
about what s/he is saying. The reader often knows
what is coming next and loses interest. It is better not
to use similes like those:

Examples:
1. as cold as _ _ _
2. as green as grass
3. as sharp as a razor
4. as cool as a cucumber
 Setting up Similes

• as hot as a dragon’s kiss

• as cold as _________________________
• as thin as _________________________
• happiness is like ____________________
• as bright as ________________________
• hunger is like a _____________________
 Ballad Recipe
• Tells a story, usually tragic
• Quatrains (4 line stanzas), which provide short
scenes of a story
• Rhyme scheme of abcb
• Regular, strong rhythm
• Longer first and third line (6,5,6,5 or 7,6,7,6
syllables)
• May use dialogue and questions
• May end with a moral or address the reader
 HOMEWORK

The wind was a torrent of darkness among

the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed
upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the
purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding –
Riding – Riding –
The highwayman came riding, up to the old
inn-door.
 HOMEWORK
• Research: Highwaymen
• Present as a fact sheet/poster/leaflet
 What were they?
 When were they?
 Famous ones?
 Punishments?

Make sure you put things into your own

words!