Exercise #2: Simile and Metaphor

 

A poem that uses simile:

 "Harlem" by Langston Hughes (100)

 

Poems that use an extended metaphor:

"Mother to Son" by Langston Hughes (100) in The Hudson Book of Poetry

"Metaphors" by Sylvia Plath (126) in The Hudson Book of Poetry

 

The simile exercise:

 

Draw three columns on a piece of paper.  In class we will do this on the board.  In the first column list all the emotions and feelings you can think of (nouns); in the second column list forces of nature, natural geological/geographic features, vegetables, fruit, flowers, animals, and other creatures; in the third column, list verbs.  Use your list to come up with similes about the emotion.  Example: Love is like a rogue wave that ambushes you.  Then pick one you like and extend the metaphor.  Love ambushes you like a rogue wave while you aren't paying attention, gazing absent-mindedly at the shore.  etc.  Then break the lines in different ways.  Try making the poem very skinny.  Try reading the poem out loud and breaking the lines where you want the reader to pause.  Type out your favorite simile poem and bring it to class.

 

The metaphor exercise:

 

Again, draw three columns on a piece of paper.  In the first column, list concrete adjectives (colors, smells, words that evoke a specific image or sensation).  In the second column, list forces of nature, flora and fauna of land and ocean, foods, geographic features, things in the sky and galaxy, and some man-made things such as walls, bowls, tools, and utensils.

 

The subject for this exercise is "life" or "I"  (yourself).  Write some metaphors using your list.  Example:  I am a river following the same path until a sudden rainstorm overflows my banks.  Then extend the metaphor and see how far you can take it.  Experiment with the line breaks.  Try making your poem skinny.  Then try breaking lines where you might pause a tiny bit when you read it out loud.  Type out your favorite poem and bring it to class.