Simile & Metaphor Exercise

1. Discuss with the class the concepts of simile and metaphor. You might use a Craig Raine poem like "Houses in North Oxford" as a focus for discussion.

2. Read the following example of a metaphor poem by a Year 6 class.

THE SEA

The sea is lofty, ancient and steepled,
Beautifully carved in stone.
Its bells clang and shimmer.
Its windows cast their multicoloured
Patterns on the floor.
The sea's doorways are arched,
The long wide benches are polished with use.
The space is full of echoes,
The organ shines and plays.
Hymns echo through the whole ocean.
The pulpit is solemn,
Its lectern an eagle.
The sturdy wooden cross reminds
Of crucifixion and of death.
Its floor is paved with tombstones.

4. Discuss the imagery - what is the sea being compared to, etc. - then explain that the pupils began the poem by choosing two subjects (sea and church) then brainstormed words and phrases associated with the latter. These were then used to describe the sea.

5. Brainstorm potential subjects for a poem then go through the whole process with the class. It is important that they choose two very different things (ie, not two animals, nor two vehicles, nor things that share a vocabulary, like fish and river; the more different they are, the more interesting the result). After talking them through the process, let them write their own poems individually.

This idea works with students aged between 5 and adult. Year 7/8 and younger can choose their own subjects, as long as they are supervised to avoid the pitfalls mentioned in 3. The older the student, the more likely they are to plan ahead, lose the element of surprise and pick subjects with obvious potential, eg. snake and train. For the older student, I devised a set of colour-coded cards.

	(BLUE)	(PINK)	(GREEN)	(YELLOW)	(WHITE)
	elephant	butcher	ship 	hospital	camera
	dog	dentist 	tractor	library	sea 
	leopard	mother	submarine 	museum	clock
	fish	teacher 	car	prison	garden
	spider	baby	aeroplane	forest	candle
	horse	nurse 	bus	school           river 
	lion	father	bicycle	shop	fire
	bird	old woman	motorbike	castle	tree

elephant	butcher	ship	hospital	camera
dog	dentist	tractor	library	sea
leopard	mother	submarine	museum	clock
fish	teacher	car	prison	garden
spider	baby	aeroplane	forest	candle
horse	nurse	bus	school	river
lion	father	bicycle	shop	fire
bird	old woman	motorbike	castle	tree

Each student chooses one card then brainstorms words and phrases associated with their subject before they choose the second card. This prevents them from limiting the scope of their brainstorming.

The second card (ie, the subject/title of the poem) must be a different colour and can only be swapped for another if two subjects match. For example, nurse and hospital, though in different categories, share too much vocabulary to make for an interesting metaphorical comparison.

key stage 2/3	· poetry lesson
Stephen Knight

Stephen Knight

Simile & Metaphor Exercise