Analyse Poetry with a Weather Metaphor

Reinforce poetic analysis through creative comparisons.

Teaching Context:
Great for Year 8 to Year 11 English students studying how poets use imagery and mood.

Basic AI Prompt:
Explain how emotions in a poem are like changes in weather.

Enhanced AI Prompt:
You are learning to analyse how poets use imagery and mood to express feelings. Ask AI to explain how the mood of your chosen poem could be described using weather metaphors. For example, what lines of the poem feel “stormy,” “calm,” “sunny,” or “cloudy”? Then, ask AI to rewrite a stanza of the poem using weather imagery to enhance its emotional tone. Finally, ask AI to suggest why weather metaphors are powerful tools in poetry and give two examples from other poems or song lyrics.

Spice it Up (Optional Extension):
Turn your weather metaphor into a short animated video or slideshow with music that matches the mood.

Lesson Implementation:
Begin the lesson by reading the chosen poem aloud and discussing the emotions it conveys. Model how a metaphor can link something abstract (feelings) to something concrete (weather).

Students work in pairs to break down the poem’s sections and ask AI to describe the mood of each section using weather metaphors. They can use a scaffolded table with three columns: Poem Line | Emotional Mood | Weather Analogy.

After mapping the moods, students ask AI to rewrite a stanza using weather-related imagery, then compare this to the original to discuss how word choice changes mood.

Finish with a creative task: students present their weather metaphors in a mini-presentation, a digital slideshow, or a mood-themed soundtrack playlist. This lesson boosts metaphorical thinking and deeper emotional reading of texts.

Got ideas on different ways to use this prompt? Share them with the class in the comments below!

Also, if you liked this, you'll love the thousands of subject-specific AI prompts in our books section!