You already work with theme, mood and atmosphere. Today you go one layer closer: the pictures a poem builds, the objects that carry meaning, and the comparisons that do the heavy lifting.
You will warm up the labels on a short class poem, then mark at least six places on your anchor poem (the poem from the class set you are sticking with for these lessons, or any poem your teacher names, or The Kitchen Light if you need a text today). That marked sheet is your main job: file it in your Communication Portfolio before you leave.
Keep these three categories distinct. Metaphor, simile and personification all sit under figurative language.
| Term | What it means for you | Real example |
|---|---|---|
| Imagery: detail that hits the senses | Ask: what can I see, hear, touch, smell or taste? | Cold metal of a bike lock on a winter morning |
| Symbolism: a thing standing for an idea | Ask: what bigger meaning could this object carry? | An empty chair at Sunday dinner standing for absence |
| Figurative language: metaphor, simile, personification | Ask: is something compared, or given human action? | "The kettle sulked on the hob" (personification) |
Worked line (not your poem): The bus shelter held a pool of yellow light like a small stage nobody would walk onto.
"Pool of yellow light" is imagery (sight). "Like a small stage nobody would walk onto" is a simile. The empty stage also leans toward symbolism: isolation, a place prepared for someone who never arrives. One line can carry more than one label, but name the strongest job it does.
Practice on the class poem (not your Portfolio sheet).
Read The Kitchen Light together. In the marker, label at least three places that show imagery, symbolism, or figurative language (metaphor, simile, personification). For each mark, write one line on what it does for the reader. You do not need every label; three strong marks across more than one category is enough.
When you finish, pick your strongest mark and tell the person beside you why that label fits. Your Communication Portfolio sheet comes next, on your own poem, and that is where you write and file.
Portfolio sheet on your poem. This marked sheet is the piece you file today.
Use the anchor poem you already have, or any poem your teacher names from the class set, or The Kitchen Light if you need a text today. Paste the full text into the marker.
Mark at least six places across imagery, symbolism and figurative language. For each mark, write one sentence on what it does for the reader. Metaphor, simile and personification all count as the single Figurative language tick on the sheet; still name the specific label on each mark. Aim to use all three categories.
On-screen marks do not save. Press Copy for my portfolio, paste your six quote / label / effect lines into the sheet below and save it as m4_l100_imagery_sheet_<your-initials> in your Communication Portfolio before you leave.
Talk this through with the person beside you:
Longer thinking can go in your Reflective Journal later if you want it.
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