Similes and Metaphors
Similes and metaphors are often confused.
This work will help you to sort them out.
Simile - when something is ‘like’ or ‘as’ something.
E.g. The flower was sweet like honey. The flower was as sweet as honey.
Metaphor - when the object becomes what it is being compared to.
E.g. He was a roaring lion. (He wasn’t like a roaring lion, or roaring as loud as a lion).
His ears were cauliflowers.
Her coat was as smooth as silk.
His words were like music to my ears.
He was a sneaky snake towards his friends.
She was as cunning as a fox.
It was raining cats and dogs.
Challenge�Start with one of the examples and build a conjunction in to extend the idea. �E.g. His ears were cauliflowers left in the reduced section at Sainsbury’s.
�See if you can sort these sentences into simile (S) and metaphor (M):
Similes and Metaphors
Look at the following text and identify the similes and metaphors buried in the sentences:
The Door
Creaking like a floorboard, the door cautiously opened. Eeeeek. As it moved, its hinges were shattering glass, emitting a shrill, squeaky sound. Dust tumbled from the door frame as delicately as a floating feather. My heart raced. The air was filled with grime, dancing in the shafts of light. What lay beyond the door had been a mystery for many years. I took a deep breath. I was an archaeologist, no, an adventurer, treading in the footsteps that had been undisturbed for so long. What would I find? My eyes were darts, searching for the target. What would I spot first? My lips became trembling leaves, my fists clenched like a bunch of bananas. Then I saw it…
Similes and Metaphors
Extending ideas.
Look at these similes:
�Extend the similes by adding a conjunction e.g. which, but, so, because, although…
She cried like a baby although the sadness never disappeared.
simile conjunction extended sentence
Challenge:�Use metaphors too. Extend those ideas.
Similes and Metaphors
‘The Highwayman’ by Alfred Noyes
The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding-
Riding - riding -
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.
There are really good examples of metaphors in this poem. �Can you spot them?
Questions
Similes and Metaphors
Like dopey dormice snuffling quietly,
Like chicks chattering softly,
Like trains rumbling in the distance,
The little baby sleeps.
Like banging drums and clashing cymbals,
Like clattering dishes and nattering adults,
Like howling dogs and bouncing puppies,
The school boy returns home.
This poem is made of plenty of similes. �Similes about being loud and similes about being quiet.
�Challenge:�Add 2 lines to the first verse, before the author writes ‘…The little baby sleeps.’
Add 2 lines to the second verse, before the author writes ‘…The school boy returns home.’