Literary Devices Literary Devices    

Lesson 20: Personification: The Railway Train

by Emily Dickinson

Performer: Librivox - Winston Tharp

Directions

Study the poem for one week.

Over the week:

• Read or listen to the poem.
• Review the synopsis.
• Read about the poet.
• Complete the enrichment activities.

Synopsis

Emily Dickinson's 'The Railway Train' personifies a train (the train superciliously peers at shanties and complains). The poem can also be seen as an extended metaphor, comparing the train to a horse or other animals. The animalistic train laps up miles, licks up valleys, feeds at fuel tanks, crawls, and neighs.

Concepts

Poets often use literary devices, defined as 'rules of thumb, convention, or structure that are employed in literature and storytelling.'

The nine literary devices we'll study include:

1. Rhyming
2. Alliteration
3. Similes
4. Metaphors
5. Personification
6. Foreshadowing
7. Allusion
8. Hyperbole
9. Onomatopoeia

Personification is a literary device in which an inanimate object or an idea is given human qualities.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Recite Poem Information

Recite the title of the poem and the name of the poet.

Activity 2: Study the Poem Picture

Study the poem picture and describe how it relates to the poem. How does the image differ from the poem?

Activity 3: Recite the Poem

Practice reciting the poem aloud.

Activity 4: Identify Personification in the Examples

Read aloud the examples below and identify the object being personified.

• The cockroach did a happy jig across the table.
• The star winked at me.
• I broke the pencil's backbone.
• The big dog laughed at the little dog.
• The llama stuck its nose in the air and sauntered off.

Activity 5: Identify Similes

• Review the poem and identify any similes.
• Name the pairs of elements that the similes compare.

Activity 6: Identify Personified Object(s)

Review the poem excerpts and identify anything personified.

• And, supercilious, peer - In shanties, by the sides of roads;
• Complaining all the while - In horrid, hooting stanza;

Activity 7: Complete Book Activities   

• Click the crayon above, and complete pages 61-63 of 'Elementary Poetry 5: Literary Devices.'

References

'Personification.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.