Mastering the Simile The evening is spread out

Mastering the Simile “The evening is spread out against the sky/Like a patient etherized upon a table. ” -T. S. Eliot, “The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock” Developed by Maureen A. Roe, 2003

Welcome The purpose of this program is: n To instruct you on the definition and use of the simile n To enable you to produce more effective descriptive writing n To allow you to integrate technology into your learning The learning objectives include assisting you in: n Describing a scene n Describing a musical score n Creating your own similes n Identifying similes n Evaluating the effectiveness of similes Let’s Begin…

Definition Introduction Welcome Definition Examples Practice Describe a Picture Describe a song What is a simile? A figure of speech that compares unlike things in order to describe something. Similes do not state that something is another thing. Instead, they compare using the word “like” or “as. ” Write similes Identify & Explaining Similes Analyze Similes Assessment Quiz Metacognition Let’s look at some examples…

Example 1 From Robert Burns’ “A Red, Red Rose”: “My love is like a red, red rose. ”

Example 2 From Elizabeth Bishop’s “The Fish”: “I caught a tremendous fish…/ his brown skin hung in strips/ like ancient wallpaper, / and its pattern of darker brown/ was like wallpaper: / Shapes like full-blown roses/stained and lost through age. ”

Example 3 From Christina Rossetti’s “Flint”: “An emerald is as green as grass, / A ruby red as blood; / A sapphire shines as blue as heaven; / A flint lies in the mud. ”

Example 4 From George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”: “The elephant’s blood poured out like red velvet…. ” Now it’s your turn…

Practice Exercises You will now participate in a series of exercises to practice your understanding of the simile. All of these tasks should be completed on your own paper and then turned into your instructor as a packet. Let’s get started…

Practice Exercise 1: Working with Pictures Now that you have seen some examples of effective similes, try to write some yourself. In the next few screens, you will be given a series of pictures; for each one, record a simile on separate paper. Here we go…

Picture 1 based on this picture… Create a simile

describing what you see… Create a simile Picture 2

Picture 3 A S I M IL E On to Exercise 2… C R E A T E

Practice Exercise 2: Working with Music Now that you have tried your simile skills with pictures, you are ready to describe some sounds. Listen to this portion of Richard Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries and write down three similes that come to mind. Ask yourself: What does the music sound like?

Practice 2: Ride of the Valkyries Here comes Exercise 3 When you have finished, continue to the next exercise where you will write similes of your own

Practice Exercise 3: Creating Similes In this exercise, you will be given some images with which you will create similes. Fill in the blanks with something that compares well with the image and provides the reader with a vivid picture. Record your answers on separate paper. Here we go…

Practice 3: Finish the Simile 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Going to college is like____. Marriage is like____. Pets are like ____. Religion is like ____. Death is like ____ My mother walks like ____. My father talks like ____. On we go to Exercise 4…

Practice 4: Finding & Explaining Similes For this exercise, you will be given short passages from Pulitzer Prize Winning author, Michael Cunningham’s A Home at the End of the World. Find and explain the similes in each, identifying what they mean and why they make sense. Record your answers on a separate piece of paper.

Passage 1 “He stepped off the crowded curb with the calm certainty of a general. I, however, tended to move like a long apology. ”

Passage 2 “Bobby looked too much like a man who’d been in a cartoon accident. He might have had stars and planets fluttering around his head. You got the impression that he was slightly cross-eyed. ”

Passage 3 “Bobby looked hungry as a stray dog, and just that sly and dangerous. He sat at our table, wolfing roast chicken. His hair was an electrified nest. He wore boots, and a leather jacket decorated with a human eye worked in faded cobalt thread. ” Almost done! One more Exercise…

Practice 5: Evaluating Similes For your final practice exercise, you will be given a poem with several similes. Your job is to provide at least three clear reasons why these similes improve the poem’s impact on the reader. Ask yourself these questions: • What do the similes help me visualize? • What would the poem be like without the similes? • What overall effect does the poet want the poem to have and how do the similes contribute to this effect?

Evaluating Similes Dream Deferred What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up Like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore-And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over-like a syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode? Langston Hughes (1902 -1967) Now let’s see how you did…

Assessment Now that you are almost finished with your journey through the simile, it is time to show what you know. Let’s take a quiz…

n n n n You and Your Simile Quiz 1) What word is likely to appear in a simile? One answer only. since like because is n n n n 2) What is the primary function performed by a simile? One answer only. informing persuading comparing defining n n n n 3) Which of the following is an example of a simile? One answer only. The king is a dictator. Dogs are cute and cuddly. The woman smiled from ear to ear. She looked lke a Halloween witch. n n Let’s Continue…

Simile Quiz Continued n n n n You and Your Simile 1) What other word are you likely to find in a simile? One answer only. as when until into n n n n 2) Which of the following is NOT a simile? One answer only. I am as cold as ice. The moon is a night light. Her face was white like chalk. Life is like a constant marathon. n n n n 3) What does a simile do for a passage? Record your answers on separate paper, score them, and then submit quiz to the instructor. One answer only. helps describe helps create a picture helps reader relate to the images all of the above One more thing…

Metacognition In a short paragraph, explain how and why similes are effective for you. When you are reading something with similes, how is your experience enhanced or limited. Do similes help you see and understand? Submit the paragraph to your instructor.

Summary: The Final Word