Writing Creatively II: Similes and Metaphors

In the earlier post, a poem was provided and you were asked to identify the similes in it. Another similar form of literary device is the metaphor. There are metaphors in the following poem too.

What are metaphors? A metaphor is an indirect comparison between two dissimilar objects. For instance,

"John is truly a lion. He stood up to the bullies without any fear," said Peter in admiration. 

Here, the speaker is obviously not referring to a lion that someone had named John! The speaker is comparing John's characteristics with those that are normally attributed to a lion; in other words, like a lion, John is fearless and bold.

Now, refer to the poem, reproduced below, and try to differentiate between the similes and the metaphors which are highlighted through the use of different colours.  The explanation and the effect of using these devices in the poem can be found in the blog page of The Pear Tree Centre for Education.

I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud 

by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they

Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;

A poet could not be but gay,

In such a jocund company!

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

The next article will be on personification, the device used to give inanimate objects, an abstract idea or animals human characteristics.