Metaphors and Analogies
Written Practice:
Metaphor: A is B
Analogy: A is like B
Oral Practice (Intermediate/Upper Levels):
Why is A like B?
Part I (All levels): On board as a class, or in small groups, have students brainstorm a list of
nouns that they already know (This can include verbs used as nouns (gerunds) as seen below).
The more varied and random the lists are, the better.
A
Field
Dream
Truck
Star
Flower
Storm
Cow
Running
B
Clouds
Happiness
Falling
Electricity
Travel
Plane
Breakfast
Sky
Part II (All levels): Give students time to write down their metaphors and analogies. For
example, using the words from Boxes A and B above, a student might write:
1. A star is happiness. (metaphor)
2. The sky is a dream. (metaphor)
3. Running is like falling. (analogy)
4. A cow is like a cloud. (analogy)
Part III (Intermediate/Upper Level): Within their groups, ask students to explain why they chose
to connect certain words. What characteristics do they have in common?
1. A star is happiness because it is bright. It shines in the darkness. A light shining in the
darkness represents hope, a positive force.
2. The sky is a dream because it is vast and always changing, like a dream. The shapes and
the colors in the sky are open to interpretation. People read the sky, like they try to read
dreams.
3. Running is like falling because you have to give yourself over completely to the act. Once
you are caught up in the act of falling or running, you cannot let go. You are locked in until your
body (or gravity) sets you free.
4. A cow is like a cloud because it is a big blob that hovers over things. A cloud hovers over
the earth, just like a cow hovers over its patch of grass.
Part IV (All levels): Ask students to use one of the phrases that they wrote as a jumping off point
for a haiku.
A haiku is a form of Japanese poetry that has been adopted in English. It normally consists of
17 syllables (5-7-5, although I recommend being flexible on this point for second language
learners) and it juxtaposes two ideas.
Read more about haikus at: http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Haiku-Poem
Here are two examples of haikus:
at the ancient pond
a world of dew,
a frog plunges into
and within every dewdrop
the sound of water
a world of struggle
(Bash ō 1644 - 1694)
(Issa 1762 - 1826)
A haiku based on Boxes A and B:
the sky is a dream
from which I cannot awake
relish the slumber
-Amanda Trostle