Rhyme Doctors
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
  • Fees
  • Contact
  • HOUSE CALLS Blog

POETRY PRESCRIPTION: METAPHOR

7/19/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture


​It’s time for another blog post about the use of poetic devices in picture book writing.

​“Poetic devices are tools used to create rhythm, enhance meaning, and intensify mood using a variety of writing strategies.” (Shared from Linsey Betts and Kara Wilson at Study.com) 
​Today, we’ll take a look at the poetic device: Metaphor
 
A metaphor suggests a comparison but isn’t directly stating one. (See Simile post next month, which is a direct comparison.) Instead, it describes an object as though it is something else. Its effect is to:
  • make something unfamiliar more familiar
  • help the reader create a better visual image
 
Picture

​Rhyme Doctor Patricia Toht uses metaphor to advantage in her poetry collection ALL ABOARD THE LONDON BUS (Illustrated by Sam Usher).

I admire her inventive and beautiful use of metaphor in “The London Eye” poem describing this massive observation wheel and comparing it to a glittering charm bracelet. Using a metaphor can also free up the artist, giving that individual wider latitude for the illustrations!
A bracelet that hangs off the arm of the Thames,
its pods, filled with people, all dangle like gems. . . .

Picture
In HAPPY SLOTH DAY! by the late writer and photographer April Pulley Sayre and her husband Jeff Sayre, you’ll enjoy this wonderful metaphor:
 
A mommy hammock climbs.
Furry arms hold her tight.

(photograph of a baby sloth clinging to its mother as she climbs.)
 
Here, the authors indirectly relate mommy as a cozy hammock for her baby sloth. 
The metaphors I shared are images of a glittering charm bracelet and a cozy hammock.

​Do you have an object that could be better explained using a metaphor? Do you want to convey a certain tone by comparing the object to something with a positive or negative connotation?


​Poetic devices are a great tool in your writer’s toolbox. I’ll see you back here next month.
Happy writing!
 
by Eileen Meyer, Rhyme Doctor

Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Hello from 
    ​THE RHYME DOCTORS!

    We're expert picture book authors. We love providing critiques of rhyming and lyrical picture books. In this blog, we share poetry prescriptions and mentor text referrals to help you get your manuscript in tip-top shape! 

    Categories

    All
    Mentor Text Referrals
    Poetry Prescriptions

    Archives

    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
  • Fees
  • Contact
  • HOUSE CALLS Blog