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The Piper – PATRICK CHALMERS

They rise like sudden fiery flowers

That burst upon the night,

Then fall to earth in burning showers

of crimson, blue and white.

Fireworks - JAMES REEVES

Small blue busybodies

Strutting like fat gentleman

With hands clasped

Under their swallowtail coats ...

Pigeons – RICHARD KELL

Use similes to improve your descriptive writing

Write an original simile to describe each of the following:

1. Waves

2. A simile

3. Football

4. Music

5. Bikes

6. Lightning

Activity 5:

Metaphor

[lo 4.4.1]

The metaphor draws a comparison between two things, but does not use “like” or “as” as the simile does. Study these examples. They will help you with the next activity.:

The beach is a quarter of golden fruit,

a soft ripe melon

sliced to a half-moon curve

having a thick green rind

of jungle growth ...

The Beach - WILLIAM HART-SMITH

The road was a ribbon of moonlight

over the purple moor ...

The Highwayman – ALFRED NOYES

The sausage is a cunning bird

With feathers long and wavy;

It swims about the frying pan

And makes its nest in gravy.

ANON

Use metaphor to improve your creative writing

Write your own original metaphor poem on ONE of the following topics. Use the “sausage” poem as your pattern. Your poem must consist of four short lines and should not have more than 24 words.

  1. The road is _________
  2. Fire is ______________
  3. TV is ________________
  4. Bikes are ________________
  5. Friendship is _____________
  6. Homework is ___________
CHECKLIST for metaphor poem Self Educator
It sounds and looks like a poem
I have I expressed my own ideas.
The metaphor is clear.
I have managed to use rhyming words.
I have checked my spelling.

Activity 6:

The art of story-telling

[lo 1.1]

Think about these:

  • Do you have a favourite story?
  • Why do you remember it so well?
  • Did you read it on your own?
  • Who told you the story?

The ability to tell a story, which keeps an audience spellbound, is a gift. How wonderful to be able to spin a yarn which makes the audience laugh or gaze fearfully over their shoulders or weep about the fortunes and misfortunes of a storybook hero and heroine! Part of the magic of story-telling lies in the voice, in gestures and facial expression.

If you write a story, you have to rely on the power of the story line and the words you use.

Like any other successful achievement a story starts with a good idea. Then you need to think about the story line and the characters. Only then can you start working with words. Every word has to count!

“It is not just a quick and easy way to tell a tale. It must have a good beginning and an excellent end, with plenty in the middle, like a good sausage.”

- JUANITA CASEY (Author of many short stories.)

Story-telling competition : Suddenly I realized I was not alone ... Weave a story around this idea. It may be the beginning, the middle or the ending of your story. You may use music or sound effects to create the right atmosphere for your story. Give it a title .

Creative writing activity

Improve your narrative writing skills by making every word count. Write a short, short story (maximum length 100 words) to prove the truth of the proverb:

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Source:  OpenStax, English first additional language grade 8. OpenStax CNX. Sep 11, 2009 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11042/1.1
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