First things first: answer the survey on the right please! Read the text below while you're at it just to make sure you know why you're here!
Then share the simile you wrote comparing a tree with a person (à la Seamus Heaney).
Finally, comment on at least one of your classmate's similes (why you like it, what it evokes, why it is effective...).
Due by Friday, September 18th
A plane tree like a defeated soldier
ReplyDeleteYour name?
DeleteI really like your simile beacause I can really represent myself the image of the wounded soldier, lying on the floor, maybe dying...I imagine a very noble death, and slow, because the plane tree evokes me serenity. But I think its also a "heavy" defeat, in the sense of cruel and maybe painful, in reference to the fact that the plan tree is a very imposant tree and heavy aspects with all the leaves weighing on the branches and the trunk... Finally I think there is something of very elegant in the defeat, ( after a long fight or whatever) , as elegeant and harmonious as the plane tree is... Marie M
DeleteA Birch like a livid gatekeeper
ReplyDeleteYour name?
DeleteThis simile is interesting because the adjective "livid" depicts the white color of the bark. Perhaps it can also illustrate the anger of the tree when its banches are swaying in the wind thus representing a menacing figure towering over us. This image is reinforced by the gatekeeper because the image we commonly have of gatekeepers is a threatening or intimidating one. Moreover if we look at the overrall structure of the tree we can clearly see that the trunk is rather thin compared to the branches which spread out. I believe this illustrates the broad shouldered gatekeeper.
DeleteValentine L.
I think this simile is very interesting because the comparison between the tree and the gatekeeper is accurate and we immediately get the image as we read. Gatekeepers usually stand straight and the shape of the birch really brings this idea of straightness. Moreover, the bright white color of the tree is a good comparison to the gatekeeper's paleness, and the use of adjectif "livid" gives another dimension to the simile : instead of just giving an indication of color, it gives us information on the gatekeepers' feelings ; he may has been frightened/scared by something he's seen.
Delete- Lina
Oops, I forgot to sign the simile
DeleteJeanne
A willow like a veiled bride
ReplyDeleteI like this simile because I think a veiled bride truly represents the symbolism of the willow. Indeed, we get the idea of nostalgia, of the leaves falling down on the bride's face. Moreover, with the alliteration in 'd', the feeling of heaviness is reinforced but still in contrast with the veil. Maybe also, it connotes mediation, engagement, a ceremonious place.
DeleteI like the fact that your simile associates a willow with something positive, a happy bride about to walk the aisle. It makes it very original, since willows are usually associated with anything sad (widow?).
DeleteI feel like it has a nice rythm to it, and gives a different perspective of the usually "weeping" willow.
-Garance NICPON
Who wrote this simile?
DeleteCecilia Akahoua
DeleteA willow like a long-haired girl
ReplyDeleteI think that this simile is very interesting because it highlights the appearance of the tree. Indeed, the adjective "long-haired", though a comparison with hair down, gives a great image of the long falling branches. Furthermore, hairs are numerous and so are the branches of the willow. In addition to that, the noun girl shows the fact that a willow doesn't have a big trunk. Finally, the most interesting part of this simile is the alliteration in "l"; it makes the sentence last longer and gives the impression that the tree is large and that you will never get out of its leafs.
DeleteJeanne
A larch like a newly crowned king.
ReplyDeleteI really like this simile because it is short but still manages to bring out different aspects of the tree. Firstly, the crown is used to emphasize the yellow, gold colour of a larch during autumn. Indeed, a crown is often gold. Moreover, the crown allows us to imagine the irregular disposition of the branches and the numerous needles. Finally, the use of the noun king puts forward the idea that the larch is dominant in the forest as is a king in his kingdom.
DeleteHéloïse
The comparison of a larch and a newly crowned kind is well thought out as a larch is a very imposing tree and gives this feeling of power and dominance. Its height is intimidating but not too aggressive : exactly what a newly crowned kind should be.
DeleteA laurel like a flowered girl.
ReplyDeleteAn oak like a child-like king. - Chloé
A plum tree like a wine-lipped enchantress.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting Garance! I would love to hear/read why you chose this.
DeleteAn oak like a caring/watchful grandmother.
ReplyDeleteA fir like a bristling young man. - Vivian
I really like your simile with the oak and the grandmother. I think that you can feel protected below an oak tree, and oak trees often seem like they are watching everything and everyone around them. Grandmothers are also often very wise, and I like how you compared them to an oak tree, since I feel it also symbolizes wisdom. Your simile also reminded me of Grandmother Willow in Pocahontas. Although she's a willow tree I find that your simile also translates the attention and wisdom of a grandmother. Great job!
DeleteI really appreciate your second simile about the fir. The parallelism between the prickles and the man being bristling is very visual. Moreover the fact that firs do not loose their prickles perfectly goes with youth and health.
DeleteA pine forest is beautiful especially when it is windy. I really like the landscape where this simile is taking us to.
A willow tree like a tear drenched face
ReplyDeleteHeloise
I really like your simile, Willow trees always reminded me of someone crying or of a very sad and desperate person. To me the falling branches symbolize the tears streaming down the face and it looks like someone huddled up. So the way you compared the willow tree to a tear drenched face sounds familiar to me and I like the imagery.
DeleteHer clouded mind was like a forest of lianas, impossible to get through.
ReplyDelete- Lina
I like the way you compare the mind to lianas because it reflects its complexity. Indeed, we get the image of numerous ideas which are all intermingled. Moreover I think the noun « cloud » is well chosen to describe the mind because it evokes something aerial and that you can’t seize, just like thoughts. I really like the imagery of this simile.
DeleteYou've compared a person with a tree rather than a tree with a person. It's interesting, but make sure you follow the instructions.
DeleteAn almond tree like a milked baby.
ReplyDeleteA marple tree like a sugared toddler
I love your first simile, it's very originial and imaginative yet so true. Almond tree flowers can be a milky white colour and a blooming almond tree appears so full and fresh, just like a satisfied baby that has been milked. The fact that tree and baby rhyme here makes it even better.
DeleteYou don't milk a baby, Charlotte, you milk a cow! How about a satisfied baby that has been nursed/fed?
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ReplyDeletean oak like an asleep predator/ an oak like a wise lion/ a bark like a wounded animal
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated your simile because I could picture it in my head when I was reading it. First of all the oak (as any other tree) is immobile, just as the predator, waiting for the right moment to attack his prey. Furthermore, the oak is a pretty imposing tree, high and strong. This allowed me to compare it with the strong predator, dominating its territory and its victims.
DeleteAn oak like a worn out father
ReplyDeleteDavid
I like this simile. A worn out father matches greatly with the shape and the texture of the oak with it's branches hanging in every single directions, having to handle his "children" who will fatally fall someday ...
DeleteA palm tree like a bed headed boy
ReplyDeleteYour simile is great because it perfectly represents the image of a boy with messy hair in the morning. Palm trees are also often crooked, so it gives the image of a boy, hunched because he just woke up and is probably about to go to school. Great simile! :)
DeleteRather than saying "great", Henrique, how about effective/powerful/striking?
DeleteA Sequoia like a benevolent giant
ReplyDeleteAn Almond tree like a delicate girl
- Meïssen HINDI
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ReplyDeleteA willow like a widowed woman.
ReplyDeleteAn oak like a pictured ancestor.
- Victor
For the second one, I really like the fact that you compared an oak to an ancestor since this tree symbolises wisdom, strength, which can be associated with an ancestor. I also find the adjective interesting, it makes me think of a picture of a king in a pretty big room in a castle and we can still see his power and his "immortality" exactly like the oak.
DeleteA bonsai, like the man who said he knew everything.
ReplyDelete-Daan VAN GORP
Even if you didn't associate a noun and an adjective, this simile is very interesting. We all have the image of a bonsai in mind, a miniature tree growing and developping as an oak,a plane tree or an elm... just a hundred times smaller. This conveys the idea of an arrogant little tree, pretending to be as venerable as the common trees -- in the same way the relative and/or the friend we all have (let's notice by the way the importance and relevance of "the" instead of "a" in the simile) claims to know everything, though we can only understand a tiny part of the world's truths.
DeleteA dogwood tree like an armoured princess.
ReplyDelete-Sean
What I like in your simile, is the fact that you connected "princess" with "armour(ed)" which is for me more related to battle than to a princess' role. Yet, it is true that whatever your status is in royalty, you have to be strong and have this control or power over this others. Thus, you need an armour to protect yourself and keep going. Moreover, the dogwood tree makes me think, obviously, of a dog and you having it related to an armour makes it sound agressive to me. However, the appearance of this tree isn't threatening at all, therefore I assume this princess is a fighter inside. I find the link between the insinuation of her forcefulness and her attractive aspect appealing.
Delete-Marie P-G
An oak trunk like a waffled fabric.
ReplyDeleteA plum tree like a jeweled girl.
ReplyDeleteI like your simile because it allows me think of the plum tree as person! The plums of the tree could definitely be the pearls or jewels that your "jeweled" girl is wearing. It is a really femine and elegant simile, yet easy to understand. The fact that the girl is jeweled gives an impression of heaviness and large amount of jewels and a plum tree is obviously entirely covered in plums so we have the same idea of luxuriance.
DeleteAn oak like a fast-fooded girl- Henrique
ReplyDeleteI found your simile very ironical and funny. Plus, I can understand why you compared an oak to a « fast-fooded gril » : she would be pretty imposing and oak trees are often immense ! The fact that you created your own adjective modernizes the simile, especially since you are talking about fast foods, a rather recent invention ; However, oak trees are, in my opinion, very majestic. Don't you think so ? Or do you think that a huge girl would be majestic ?
DeleteA juniper like a spiny man.
ReplyDelete- Marie P-G
I like your simile because its rather unusual to call a man 'spiny', unless you are referring to his personality, in which case I think the contrast between the physical description of the tree and the description of the man's personality is very interesting, and creates a quirky simile.
DeleteA cherry tree like a pink-haired fairy.
ReplyDelete- Axelle L
I really enjoy your simile because, personally I often picture fairies as having multicolred hair, so this image appeals very easily to my senses. Also it conveys an enchanting atmosphere on the fact that trees carry fruits, which, I believe, (it might be a little far fetched) can be associated with the renewal of life and rebirth, an event that has its spark of magic to it. Moreover, the use of the adjective "pink" recalls the colour of ripe cherries bearing the idea of abundance and freshness in the new season. Fairies are creatures often pictured having a strong link with nature, sometimes playing a key role in the renewal of "the circle of life" (regarding plants&trees) so I feel your comparison respects a certain theme and is therefore twice as effective!
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DeleteA birch like an unwilling suit man.
ReplyDelete-Armand H