In “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” one of Keats’s most famous works, the speaker studies the figures and scenes painted along the sides of an ancient Greek urn. The poem becomes a meditation on the echoes of eternity which reach out to us from their distillations in works of art. The images of the past tell us what will never fade. Over the course of the poem, Keats relies on the richness and subtlety of metaphors to convey his ideas.

Skills: analysis, drawing inferences from text, close reading, identifying the relationship between words

About This Document

The Owl Eyes Analyzing Metaphor activity gives students an opportunity to practice examining and analyzing metaphors. Students will engage with specific selections of the text and work collaboratively to identify the vehicle, tenor, and implications of each metaphor. The main components include the following:

• A brief introduction to the text
• A detailed handout on metaphor types
• A step-by-step guide to activity procedure
• A detailed answer key for teachers

In completing this worksheet, students will learn to classify and analyze different kinds of metaphors in order to develop close reading skills and draw deeper inferences from the text.