Poetry and figurative language

Poetry and figurative language: I can spot similes, metaphors, personification, alliteration and onomatopoeia, find a verse's rhyme pattern and say what a line really means.

1. Poets compare things to help us picture them. Read this line: The moon was like a silver coin.

   It compares the moon to a coin, using the word like. A comparison using like or as is a simile.

   Now take away like: The moon was a silver coin. It still compares the moon to a coin.

   But it says the moon was a coin. A line that says one thing is another is a metaphor.

   Picture: The sentence "The moon was like a silver coin.", with "like" underlined and "like" crossed out.

2. Your turn: Read this line: The puppy's fur was as soft as a cloud. Is it a simile or a metaphor?

   Picture: The sentence "The puppy's fur was as soft as a cloud."

   Choose one:

   • A simile
   • A metaphor

   Answer

   The answer: A simile

   A simile. It uses as to compare the puppy's fur to a cloud.

   Picture: The sentence "The puppy's fur was as soft as a cloud.", with "as" and "as" underlined.

3. Here is something new. Read this line: The stars winked at us from the night sky.

   Can stars really wink? No. Winking is something people do.

   When a thing does something only people can do, that is personification.

   It makes the stars seem friendly and alive.

   Picture: The sentence "The stars winked at us from the night sky.", with "winked" underlined.

Words to know

simile:

A comparison that uses like or as: as soft as a cloud.

metaphor:

Saying one thing is another: the lake was a mirror.

personification:

Giving a thing an action that only people do: the stars winked.

alliteration:

Words close together that start with the same sound: lazy lions lie.