Literary Devices Literary Devices    

Lesson 32: Hyperbole: For Each Ecstatic Instant

by Emily Dickinson

Performer: Librivox - Becky Miller

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 'For Each Ecstatic Instant' uses hyperbole to express the grief of the narrator, describing 'coffers heaped with tears.' (How much would you have to cry to fill up a box?) The poem expresses that in life, we must pay in pain to purchase our joys.

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

Hyperbole is a literary device whereby an author makes a deliberate or unintentional overstatement.

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 Hyperbole in the Examples

Read aloud the examples below and identify the hyperboles.

• It's so chilly in our house, Polar Bears will want to move in.
• It's hotter than Hades in here.
• So many mosquitos bit me, I don't have a drop of blood left.
• I'm so tired I could sleep for a thousand years.

Activity 5: Identify Alliteration

Review the poem and point out any instances of alliteration.

Activity 6: Identify Hyperbole

Review the poem excerpt and identify the instance of hyperbole.

• And Coffers heaped with Tears!

Activity 7: Complete Book Activities   

• Click the crayon above, and complete pages 97-99 of 'Elementary Poetry 5: Literary Devices.'

References

'Hyperbole.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.