Washington Irving published his short story “Rip Van Winkle” in his now-classic 1819 collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. Like many of the stories in the Sketch Book, “Rip Van Winkle” takes place among the Dutch villages of the Hudson River Valley of New York. The story follows the titular Rip—an idle but affable farmer—as he wanders off into the woods, imbibes liquor with a group of carousing men, falls into a deep sleep, and awakens twenty years later, having missed the Revolutionary War. Irving brings to the story his facility for metaphor, which he uses to enrich his descriptions of the landscapes of the Hudson River and the Catskill mountains as well as the lively people who inhabit them.

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.