WORD PICTURES

SimilesA poet works with words, putting them together so that they call up pictures in our minds or powerfully convey feelings or ideas.

An effective device for creating a sense of what something is like is the simile. A simile asks us to picture one things as being similar to another, and often uses the word ‘like’ or the words ‘as…as…’ to link the pictures in the mind.

SpiderLegs crouched like a lunar module,He descends slowly Towards a gentle touchdown

RainFalling on meLike moist petalsOf a rose.

I FeelI feel like a squashed SaoShatteredAnd the butter and jam spread aroundI never feel like a pavlovaI never feel that good.

This MelonWeary, I tear open the shopping.From the newspaper waddlesOn the table

like an irate duckThis melon.

Complete these similes by adding words of your own.

1. He’s as hungry as …………………………………..

2. She’s as fast as …………………………………..

3. It was as heavy as …………………………………..

4. Lightning lit up the sky like …………………………………..

5. His voice sounded like …………………………………..

6. You’re as timid as …………………………………..

7. As the winning goal was scored, the crowd ……….. like a …………………………………..

8. After the storm, our street looked like …………………………………..

9. Caught in the car headlights, the possum was like …………………………………..

10. When I stepped on the nail, it felt like …………………………………..

Metaphors

Metaphor takes us one step further than the simile. Instead of asking us to picture one thing as being like another, we are asked to picture one thing as being another. For example:

The hose is like a green snake on the lawn. (simile) The hose is a green snake on the lawn. (metaphor)

SignsThe paths of my gardenHave silvery trails:The lazy graffitiOf wandering snails.

SandSand –The wind’s whip For lashing legs.

Sad I Ams I am

the ringfrom an empty Cola canthe scrapingsfrom an unwashed porridge panthe severed arm of last year’s Action Man.

I am the envelope on which the gum is gonethe Sellotapewhere you can’t find the endthe toothless stapler, springless bulldog clipthe dried-up liquid paperthat mars instead of mendsthe stamped addressed replythat you forgotto send.

I amthe battery in which no charge is leftthe starter motor which remains inertthe tyre on which the tread is wornthe sparking plug which shows no sign of sparkthe carburetor choked by bits of dirtthe chromium trim from which the shine has gone.

I ama gardenovergrown with weedsa library book that no one ever readsa straywhich no one thinks to feedthe piece of good advicewhich no one seems to need.

What is this narrator saying about themselves?Explain two things this person feels about him or herself, referring to lines in the poem to support your explanation.

Dermott

Dermott grows in the shadow of his mother –She so big that he yellows for want of sun.Fat, flaccid, flake-faced and pasty,Ovened in the warmth of her coddle and couch.Rug-wrapped and pill-protected,He ventures fearfully to school,Tearfully, fearfully – head like a bleached pie-melonOn a neck of scarves.

He, the quaking soldier of his hearth, goes forward – Mountain mother poised behind for reinforcement –Against the keen ambush of schools:Endless Mr Smarts with mouths like muzzlesLoaded to the teeth with bullet prepositions.

All day long the buffet and battle of the rough boysWhips and stirs his jelly-marrowed body;In classroom and corridor and the wild yelling yardPoor Dermott, toe-trodden and shoulder-shoved,Is whisked and beaten by the brutal boys;And Mr Smart, sleeves rolled to the elbows,Mixes savagely the mash of his mind.

All day long the pummel and pound goes on,The kneading and stirring of his pulpy thought,Till four o’clock leaves him alonePoured out shapelessly in his desk, droopingIn doughy masses over the seat and floor.

What have they done to you, Dermott, what have they done?By heaven, I’ll give Smart something to smart about!And his mum-mountain rumbles protectively,Erupting the black vapour of her thoughts.Yet Dermott remains no match for prepositions –Poor schoolyard pariah, he slinks into lifeAlone.

Go through this poem and highlight the similes in yellow and the metaphors in green.

Write a poem (about 12 lines) using similes and metaphor (as well as colourful nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs).

Possible topics: the shark, eagles, penguins, cricketers, footballers, lunchtime at the canteen, the locker-bay, rock-climbing, in the hospital, movie stars, wedding funeral, baby

Mosquitoes fill the skyLike World War One flying aces,At any moment readyTo dive in and attack.

Pompous dinner guests,They sit on a bare armFastidiously washing their handsBefore eating the host.

Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes fly better than air force jets,Like dive-bombers.Martyrs for their food, as each mouthful could be their last.Their wafer wings vibrate,And sound like nagging mothers after a dreary day.Like miniature vampires set loose on society,They seek vengeance on innocent people,Sucking life, like tax-collectors.Why should we silently suffer,While they become fat and fed?Finally, when they are satisfied, They drool in contentment,Leaving their calling card as a painful reminder of their visit.