Poems; Similies and Metaphors

Simile, Metaphor, Personification, and

Stanza

Directed Learning Activity—Fiction, Poetry, and Drama 08

Essential Question

What do the terms listed above all mean and how do I identify them in a poem?

Purpose

Upon completion of this activity, students will be able to identify simile, metaphor, personification, and stanzas in a poem.

This DLA should take approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour to complete.

Direction

At Merriam-Webster.com, read the definitions for “simile,” “metaphor,” “personification,” and “stanza.”

Exercise

Next, read the following poem:

“Symphony in Yellow” Oscar Wilde

An omnibus across the bridge

Crawls like a yellow butterfly

And, here and there, a passer-by Shows like a little restless midge.

Big barges full of yellow hay

Are moored against the shadowy wharf, And, like a yellow silken scarf,

The thick fog hangs along the quay.

The yellow leaves begin to fade

And flutter down the Temple elms,

And at my feet the pale green Thames Lies like a rod of rippled jade. Answer the following questions:

1) What are the four similes in the poem?

2) Explain how the title is a metaphor.

3) Where does the author use personification?

4) Mark out the rhyming pattern in each stanza.

5) Why does the author use these literary devices in his poem. How do they add to the overall meaning of his poem?

Review your answers with an instructor or tutor in the Virtual Writing & Reading Center. Be sure you can answer the essential question above.