Similes are used often in literature, appearing in every genre from poetry
to prose and from epics to essays. Utilized by writers to bring their literary
imagery to life, similes are an important component of reading closely and appreciating
literature. This lesson plan can be taught in conjunction with the EDSITEment
lesson plan: Introducing
Metaphors through Poetry, which will help students recognize both metaphors
and similes, and to distinguish the elements from each other. In this lesson
students will read excerpts from the work of Robert Frost, William Wordsworth
and Toi Derricotte in order to gain an understanding of similes.
Many students begin to learn about similes well before entering high school.
This lesson assumes that students will have a basic understanding of what similes
are, however it is designed to help students review what they have learned in
earlier classes and to begin to engage with similes on a deeper and more abstract
level.
Guiding Questions
What are similes and how are they used in literature?
What makes a simile effective?
Learning Objectives
In this lesson, students will:
Define similes and identify examples
Read and analyze the similes used in poetry by Derricotte, Frost and Wordsworth
Create their own similes in order to learn how to apply this tool to their
own writing projects
Preparing to Teach this Lesson
Similes compare one thing or idea to another, utilizing as or like to set off
the comparison. For example, one might say that someone rushed across town ‘like
a speeding train.’ In this case the person’s speed of travel is
compared to a speeding train. An important aspect of this comparison is that
the two objects which are being compared are essentially dissimilar in all aspects
other than the point of comparison. In this example the person and the train
do not possess similarities but for their comparative speed.
Students often confuse similes with metaphors; however, while both use one
object or idea to enhance the literary image of another, metaphors and similes
employ different imaging strategies. If one were to use a metaphor to depict
the same situation described as ‘rushing across town like a speeding train’,
one might say that ‘he was a speeding train,’ conflating the speeding
person with the speeding train. More
information on similes is available through the EDSITEment reviewed web
resource Internet Public Library.
Review and bookmark the web pages containing the definition
for simile available through the EDSITEment reviewed web resource
Internet Public Library, as well as the poems
that will be discussed in this lesson. All of the poems discussed in this lesson
are available on the EDSITEment reviewed web site Academy
of American Poets.
This activity will introduce or remind students of the definition of a simile
while directing students to concrete examples of the same.
What is a simile? Direct students to the definition of a simile either by
providing one for the class, or by having them read the definition
available through the EDSITEment reviewed web resource Internet
Public Library.
Have students read William Wordsworth’s poem The
Daffodils. Ask
students to identify an example of a simile in this poem. They may identify
the poem’s opening lines:
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills
Ask students to complete the PDF
worksheet—or it's interactive equivalent—which includes the following questions about this simile example
from Wordsworth’s poem.
To what is this simile referring within the context of the poem?
How is this description different from saying simply that “I
wandered alone”?
How is this description different from saying that the persona was
lonely?
What makes this an effective simile and why?
Have students read Toi Derricotte’s 1989 poem The
Weakness, available on the EDSITEment reviewed web resource Academy
of American Poets. Ask students to identify a simile in the poem. Students
may point out the following lines:
Through clenched teeth, her eyes
Bright as a dog’s
Cornered in the light.
To what is this simile referring within the context of the poem?
How is this description different from saying “her eyes shined”?
How is this description different from saying that the persona’s
grandmother had a dog’s shining eyes?
What makes this an effective simile and why?
Students should begin thinking about the similes in Wordsworth’s and
Derricotte’s poems by first finding the subject that is being represented
and compared, such as the loneliness of Wordsworth’s piece. As they
begin to think about how these similes are effective and how they work they
should try to concentrate on the ideas and qualities these representations
evoke. Is Wordsworth’s lonely cloud a representation of sad or contented
‘loneliness’? What does the flash of a cornered dog’s eyes
bring to mind in Derricotte’s poem? What emotions does this image bring
to mind in the context of the poem?
Ask students to return to the Derricotte poem and to think about the theme
of the poem as they search for additional similes. After the example used
above they may come to this simile:
She had been
solid as a tree,
a fur around her neck, a
light-skinned matron whose car was parked
How does the persona’s description of her grandmother as “solid
as a tree” in these lines compare- and contrast- with the earlier
description of her eyes flashing like a cornered animal? Why do you think
that Derricotte uses the past perfect tense in this line?
Near the end of the poem they may point out the simile contained in these
lines:
When my legs gave out, my grandmother
dragged me up and held me like God
holds saints by the
roots of the hair.
What does this simile mean? How do these similes build on the theme of the poem? How do they convey the
feelings of the persona and of her grandmother? How do these similes relate
to the title of this poem: “The Weakness”?
For continued practice with identifying and examining similes have students
read Robert Frost’s poem Birches,
available on the EDSITEment reviewed web resource Academy
of American Poets. A PDF
worksheet of questions is also available for this poem. There is also an interactive equivalent available online.
If you are teaching this lesson in conjunction with the EDSITEment lesson
Introducing
Metaphors Through Poetry, you may want to have students read Frost’s
poem in search of metaphors as well as similes, which may help clarify the
differences between the two elements. You can have them answer questions
on metaphors from Frost’s poem by completing this additional PDF
worksheet, or its online interactive equivalent.
2. Writing Your Own Similes
Have students fill complete this PDF
worksheet by creating similes for each of the topics listed. The topics
may be used as the subject being represented by the simile, or as the representation
of another subject.
Ask students to present their similes to the class. Have the class discuss
the effectiveness of the similes, explaining why and how they felt each simile
was or was not successful. For larger classes it may be most effective to
divide the class into smaller groups with each group conducting a peer-review
session.
Assessment
Ask students to complete the PDF worksheets provided in Activities One and
Two, including their analysis of the similes in Wordsworth and Derricotte’s
poetry, as well as their own similes.
You may also want to ask students to keep a journal of the similes and metaphors
they find in their class readings with their explanations of how they are effective.
Students could collect these examples over the course of the semester or year
and turn their journals in at the close of the year as a way of showing their
grasp of these concepts.
Extending the Lesson
The American poet ee cummings, known for his humor, odd punctuation and absent
capital letters, wrote hundreds of intricately constructed poems over the course
of his career. Many of his works evoked vivid imagery of his experiences as
a soldier in World War I, his loves won and lost, and his family.
your slightest look will easily unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skillfully, mysteriously) her first rose
Is cummings using metaphor or simile? Ask students to ponder this poem, and
particularly this stanza, thinking of the ways in which cummings has intertwined
both simile and metaphor to convey blossoming love, beauty, and fragility.
EDSITEment
contains a variety of links to other websites and references to resources available
through government, nonprofit, and commercial entities. These links and references
are provided solely for informational purposes and the convenience of the user.
Their inclusion does not constitute an endorsement. For more information, please
click the Disclaimer icon.
