Double Take – Saturday Mix, 9 January 2021

Welcome to the Saturday Mix, 9 January 2021!
Thank you to everyone who participated in last week’s “Fan Favourites” and provided me with feedback on what challenges you enjoy most. As a result, in 2021’s Saturday Mix, we are keeping some regular challenges, seeing some old ones return. Our schedule will rotate over four weeks. Week 1 – Lucky Dip, Week 2 – Double Take, Week 3 – Opposing Forces, and Week 4 – Same, Same But Different.

The ‘Double Take’ challenge focuses on the use of homophones* to build your writing piece. You have two sets of homophones and you are challenged to use all of them in your response – which can be poetry or prose.

Our homophone sets this week are:

acts – things done
ax – chopping tool

and

complacent – self-satified
complaisant – willing to please

You may be thinking to yourself, How can I use homophones in my writing?
Luckily, Kat at Literary Devices, has some examples for you.

Example of Homophones in Literature
This poem is filled homophones (marked in bold). They create a humorous effect in the poem through having the same pronunciation but altogether different meanings.

“Sole owner am I of this sorry soul…
pour out corruption’s slag from every pore—
whole slates scrape clean! they leave no gaping hole.
Role that I’ve played, loose grip! while back I roll,
or dodge each wave, or with firm grip on oar
bore through this sea, snout down, just like the boar”

From “Where Truth’s Wind Blew” by Venicebard

Source:  LiteraryDevices Editors. “Homophones” LiteraryDevices.net. 2013. https://literarydevices.net/homophone/ (accessed January 9, 2021)

In summary, the purpose of using homophones in literature is to create humorous effects by using words that have two or more meanings. These give meaning to a literary piece of work, and reveal the ingenuity of writers and their characters through the use of homophones.

Good luck with your ‘Double Take’ – I can’t wait to see what you come up with! Don’t forget to tag ‘Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie’ and ‘Saturday Mix’, and hashtag #DoubleTake.

As always, make sure you link your fabulous creation to the helpful Mister Linky.

Happy Homophoning!

About weejars

I am a teacher with a passion for writing short stories, poems and other scribblings to provide an outlet for my more creative side. Hope you enjoy the ride!

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