1. Simile and Metaphor
Lesson 3

2. “Mind”
Mind in its purest play is like some bat That beats about in caverns all alone, Contriving by a kind of senseless wit Not to conclude against a wall of stone. It has no need to falter or explore; Darkly it knows what obstacles are there, And so may weave and flitter, dip and soar In perfect courses through the blackest air. And has this simile a like perfection? The mind is like a bat. Precisely. Save That in the very happiest intellection A graceful error may correct the cave. -by Richard Wilbur

3. Simile
A comparison between two things that initially seem quite different, but are shown to have a significant resemblance
Employs connective words, including like, than, as, similar to, resembles or seems
Example: Her eyes shone like the sun.

4. Metaphor
Also compares two seemingly different things. But in metaphor, the comparison is not expressed but is created when a figurative term is substituted for or identified with the literal term
Employs words such as is and are.
Example: Talent is a cistern; genius is a fountain.

5. Four Metaphor Forms
1st Form: Like simile, both the literal and figurative terms are named.
Example:
Life the hound
Equivocal
Comes at a bound
Either to rend me
Or to befriend me.
Life (literal), hound (figurative)

6. Four Metaphor Forms
2nd Form: The literal term is named and the figurative term is implied.
Example:
Where had I heard this wind before
Change like this to a deeper roar?
What would it take my standing there for,
Holding open a restive door,
Looking down hill to a frothy shore?
Summer was past and the day was past.
Somber clouds in the west were massed.
Out in the porch’s sagging floor,
Leaves got up in a coil and hissed
Blinding struck at my knee and missed…
Wind (literal), snake (figurative) implied

7. Four Metaphor Forms
3rd Form: The literal term is implied and the figurative term is named.
4th Form: Both the literal and the figurative terms are implied.

8. Example of 3rd and 4th Forms
It sifts from Leaden Sieves— It powders all the Wood. It fills with Alabaster Wool The Wrinkles of the Road— It makes an Even Face Of Mountain, and of Plain— Unbroken Forehead from the East Unto the East again— It reaches to the Fence— It wraps it Rail by Rail Till it is lost in Fleeces— It deals Celestial Veil To Stump, and Stack—and Stem– A Summer’s empty Room— Acres of Joints, where Harvests were, Recordless, but for them— It Ruffles Wrists of Posts As Ankles of a Queen— Then stills its Artisans—like Ghosts— Denying they have been--
3: “It” (snow) implied; (alabaster wool) named
4. “It” (snow) implied; (flour) implied

9. Now you try… Identify opening comparison in
“Hope’ is the thing with feathers—”
“There is no Frigate like a book”
What similarities exists between hope and something with feathers in the first poem, and between a ship and a book in the second?
What other metaphors can you find?

10. Before you try…Definitions to know
Gale, n. A very strong wind
Abash, v. Cause to feel embarrassed, disconcerted, ashamed
Frigate, n. A warship with a mixed armament, generally lighter than a destroyer
Courser, n. A swift horse
Traverse, n. A route or path to cross over
Frugal, adj. Economical; thrifty

11. “There is no Frigate like a book”
There is no frigate like a book To take us lands away, Nor any coursers like a page Of prancing poetry. This traverse may the poorest take Without oppress of toll; How frugal is the chariot That bears a human soul! By Emily Dickinson

12. “Hope’ is the thing with feathers”
Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune--without the words, And never stops at all, And sweetest in the gale is heard; And sore must be the storm That could abash the little bird That kept so many warm. I've heard it in the chillest land, And on the strangest sea; Yet, never, in extremity, It asked a crumb of me. - #254 By Emily Dickinson

13. Discuss
In the following poem, Hughes uses five strong similes in this short poem. What are they? Do they seem positive or negative to you? How do you think Hughes felt about having his dream deferred?
Even if you didn’t live through the Civil Rights struggle of the early to mid-1900s, you can probably understand how many African-Americans felt. It’s the power of Hughes’s similes that helps us feel what this experience was like. Contrast Hughes’ depiction of a dream (hope) to Dickinson’s version of hope in “Hope is the thing with feathers—“.

14. “Harlem”
What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore— And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over— like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode? By Langston Hughes

15. Writing Exercise!

16. Activity 1: The following is a list of clichés
Activity 1: The following is a list of clichés. Try rewriting each overused phrase, making it into an original simile: As hungry as a horse; Bright like the sun; As fast as lightning; As slow as a turtle; Dark like night; Quiet as a mouse; Red as a rose; and White as snow.

17. Activity 2: Taking turns, pick an emotion and an object provided by the teacher and make an unexpected metaphor. For example, if you pick “happiness” and “car,” your poem would start “Happiness is a car…” To continue the thought, use description and imagery to create an eight-line poem. Type this up and bring to class next period.

18. Homework
Circle all instances of simile and underline all instances of metaphor in your poem.
You are now ready to discuss how the author’s use of poetic techniques, like simile, metaphor, and personification, make the poem stronger. What other poetic techniques does the poet use (read the sheet in your handout)?
To turn in:
Your marked up poem highlighting simile and metaphor
Turn in a screen shot of your “Poetic Techniques” section of your Prezi
Emotion/Object Metaphor poem