Are you always caught with your nose in a good book? Do you feel close enough to fictional characters that you consider them your friends? Well, chances are you’re an eager reader. We don’t blame you. Books are often how we learn new words and understand how to apply them in everyday conversations. Sometimes, we read so many new words (and don’t hear them spoken) …
Roses are red. Violets are blue. We have a poetry quiz, and we’ll share it with you! Do you consider yourself a savant in stanzas or a master of meter? Prove it by answering questions about these and other poetic words in our quiz on poetry terms! (Hint: you can brush up on some of the required terminology with our introductory poetry terms if you …
Politicians and political figures often use anaphora in speeches to emphasize their points. One of the most famous anaphora examples comes from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. King uses the anaphoral phrase, “I have a dream,” to start eight consecutive sentences: I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi … will be transformed into an oasis …
The difference between a metaphor and a simile is like the difference between precious metals and gems (both are valuable and useful, but one can take many more forms). Understanding this difference—and knowing how to use both—can be a jewel in the crown of your writing, making your descriptions and comparisons more colorful and engaging. See what we did here? That first sentence uses a simile, …
By Ashley Austrew If you’re a fan of poetry, you know how even the simplest of poems can be moving, challenging, and inspiring. It’s for these reasons that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared March 21 World Poetry Day in 1999, and it’s a holiday we’ve been celebrating since. For some, poetry is the language of love, beauty, and passion. But …
by Taneesh Khera In this column, we travel the US exploring the minority languages, dialects, and people who call it home. Then, we step back to see what effects they might have on society at large. Today, the spotlight is on slam poetry. What is slam poetry? I figured I’d go to the Starry Plough in Berkeley, California to find out. Started in 1999, they …
Dry Ink by Samantha O. from Miller Place, NYThe sun is setting. The sailboats are in clusters far out past the buoys. The beach is a picture already painted. A photograph already developed. And though I can feel the sand underneath my feet and the salt on my lips, It has already been. Wind has already brushed through my hair, The end of the …
On December 21, 1817, the poet John Keats wrote a letter to his brother in which he expressed and named a quality of human existence that’s tricky to articulate. Keats’ formulation has been adopted by philosophers, poets, and others ever since. How did Keats make up a new concept? Keats wanted to name our ability to simultaneously acknowledge the unpredictable nature of events and conduct ourselves with confidence and …