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Lesson 7
English in literature
Objectives: By the end of the lesson you will have
• read an extract from a short story
• discussed the use of metaphors and similes
• written sentences with metaphors and similes
• identified use of shortened words in poems
• completed a poem
A O'Henry was one of the most famous short story writers in America In his story , "The Last Leaf he describes pneumonia (a disease caused by catching cold) in a very interesting way. Read the description below and say who pneumonia has been compared with and what he does. "in November, a cold, silent stranger, whom the doctors call Mr Pneumonia, moved quietly about the colony, touching one here and one there with his icy fingers. Mr Pneumonia was not a polite old gentleman. Little Johnsy, her blood thinned by the warm California weather, was no match for that red-faced, short-breathed, old fellow. And so he touched Johnsy with his icy fingers, too; and she lay ill, scarcely moving on her old iron bed..."
The technique of treating non-living things as humans is called personification.
B Poets and novelists often use different means is make their writing more interesting. Read the following extracts and write what comparisons have been drawn in the descriptions.
1
Youth like summer morn,
Age like winter weather;
Youth like summer brave,
Age like winter bare.
Youth is wild and Age is tame.
(From Crabbed Age and Youth by William Shakespeare) 2
Much have I travelled in the realms of gold.
And many goodly stales and kingdoms seen:
Round many western islands have I been
Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold.
(From On First Looking into Chapman's Homer by John Keats)
3.
So now Delia's beautiful hair fell about her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters.
(From The Gift of the Magi by O'Henry)
4
The rhododendron was in bloom; a carpet of colours, across the mountainside, soft as the May winds that stirred the hemlock,
(From A Mother in Mannville by M. K. Rawlings)
C Read the following explanation. Then do the exercise that follows.
When the feature for which the comparison has been made is mentioned. It is called a simile.
Example: (1) lie was dangerous like a snake.
(2) He is as dangerous as a tiger.
What idea of danger do you get from these two sentences? Discuss in pairs and be prepared to share your ideas with the rest of the class.
When the common feature of the comparison is not mentioned, it is called a
metaphor. What doe's the following example mean?
That man is a mad near him.
D Look at the following pictures. Think of a suitable adjective for each of them. Then write a sentence about each comparing it with something else using a metaphor or a simile.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
E Now look at the structure of the following sentences in the-extract from a poem.
How are they different from a normal sentence? Rewrite them as you would say
them in everyday life.
1 Much have 1 travelled in the realms of gold. e.g. I have travelled much in the
realms of gold.
2 And many goodly states and kingdoms seen.
3 Round many western islands have been.
4 Bards (poets) in fealty to Apollo hold.
5 Youth like summer morn.
F Complete the following poem. Use your imagination and write two more lines. Don't worry about what the poet actually wrote.
The Cloud
I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers
from the seas and the streams,
Focus :
Skills.
Reading, speaking, writing.
Functions.
Comparing, appreciating literature. .Grammar/Structure.
Metaphors and similes.
Vocabulary.
hasting, realms, pneumonia, rippling, cascade.
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Lesson 7
English in literature
Objectives: By the end of the lesson you will have
• read an extract from a short story
• discussed the use of metaphors and similes
• written sentences with metaphors and similes
• identified use of shortened words in poems
• completed a poem
A O'Henry was one of the most famous short story writers in America In his story , "The Last Leaf he describes pneumonia (a disease caused by catching cold) in a very interesting way. Read the description below and say who pneumonia has been compared with and what he does. "in November, a cold, silent stranger, whom the doctors call Mr Pneumonia, moved quietly about the colony, touching one here and one there with his icy fingers. Mr Pneumonia was not a polite old gentleman. Little Johnsy, her blood thinned by the warm California weather, was no match for that red-faced, short-breathed, old fellow. And so he touched Johnsy with his icy fingers, too; and she lay ill, scarcely moving on her old iron bed..."
The technique of treating non-living things as humans is called personification.
B Poets and novelists often use different means is make their writing more interesting. Read the following extracts and write what comparisons have been drawn in the descriptions.
1
Youth like summer morn,
Age like winter weather;
Youth like summer brave,
Age like winter bare.
Youth is wild and Age is tame.
(From Crabbed Age and Youth by William Shakespeare) 2
Much have I travelled in the realms of gold.
And many goodly stales and kingdoms seen:
Round many western islands have I been
Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold.
(From On First Looking into Chapman's Homer by John Keats)
3.
So now Delia's beautiful hair fell about her rippling and shining like a cascade of brown waters.
(From The Gift of the Magi by O'Henry)
4
The rhododendron was in bloom; a carpet of colours, across the mountainside, soft as the May winds that stirred the hemlock,
(From A Mother in Mannville by M. K. Rawlings)
C Read the following explanation. Then do the exercise that follows.
When the feature for which the comparison has been made is mentioned. It is called a simile.
Example: (1) lie was dangerous like a snake.
(2) He is as dangerous as a tiger.
What idea of danger do you get from these two sentences? Discuss in pairs and be prepared to share your ideas with the rest of the class.
When the common feature of the comparison is not mentioned, it is called a
metaphor. What doe's the following example mean?
That man is a mad near him.
D Look at the following pictures. Think of a suitable adjective for each of them. Then write a sentence about each comparing it with something else using a metaphor or a simile.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
E Now look at the structure of the following sentences in the-extract from a poem.
How are they different from a normal sentence? Rewrite them as you would say
them in everyday life.
1 Much have 1 travelled in the realms of gold. e.g. I have travelled much in the
realms of gold.
2 And many goodly states and kingdoms seen.
3 Round many western islands have been.
4 Bards (poets) in fealty to Apollo hold.
5 Youth like summer morn.
F Complete the following poem. Use your imagination and write two more lines. Don't worry about what the poet actually wrote.
The Cloud
I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers
from the seas and the streams,
Focus :
Skills.
Reading, speaking, writing.
Functions.
Comparing, appreciating literature. .Grammar/Structure.
Metaphors and similes.
Vocabulary.
hasting, realms, pneumonia, rippling, cascade.