Before Reading
Make a Chart
Review simile and metaphor in Literary Tools on page 841. Both similes and metaphors have two parts, the tenor and the vehicle. The tenor is the subject being described and the vehicle is the thing to which the subject is likened. Make a three-column chart. Label the left column Tenor, the center column Vehicle, and the right column Common Element. As you read the two poems, fill in metaphor and similes you find.
During Reading
Fill in the Chart
1. The title of "Promises Like Pie-Crust" is a simile. Break down this simile and put it into your chart. Listen as your teacher reads the first stanza of "Promises Like Pie-Crust" aloud. What metaphor do you find in this stanza? Add it to your chart.
2. Continue reading the poem on your own. Keep adding metaphors and similes to your chart. Then read "A Birthday." Add similes and metaphors from this poem to your chart, also.
Fix-Up Idea: Refocus
If you are having trouble identifying similes and metaphors, try refocusing on the emotions of the speaker. What words suggest emotions in these poems? What is the speaker saying about love in each case?
After Reading
Summarize What You Wrote
Compare your simile and metaphor chart with your partner's. What ideas about love are expressed by these similes and metaphors?