Question

a thunder - storm by emily dickinson
the wind began to rock the grass
with threatening tunes and low,—
he flung a menace at the earth,
a menace at the sky.
5 the leaves unhooked themselves from trees
and started all abroad.
the dust did scoop itself like hands
and throw away the road
the wagons quickened on the streets.
10 the thunder hurried slow;
the lightning showed a yellow beak,
and then a livid¹ claw
the birds put up the bars to nests,
the cattle fled to barns;
15 there came one drop of giant rain,
and then, as if the hands
that held the dams had parted hold,
the waters wrecked the sky,
but overlooked my father’s house,
20 just quartering² a tree
i wonder how the
speaker feels about
this storm. as i read,
i’m going to underline
words with strong
connotations.
close reading
what does the speaker
compare the lightning
to? underline any lines
that make a comparison.
remember that a simile
is a comparison using
like or as. circle a simile
used in the poem.

Explanation:

For the question "What does the speaker compare the lightning to? Underline any lines that make a comparison."

To answer this, we analyze the poem's lines about lightning. The lines "The lightning showed a yellow beak, And then a livid claw" compare lightning to a bird (with beak and claw). So we identify these lines as the comparison.

Answer:

The speaker compares the lightning to a bird (specifically its beak and claw). The lines making the comparison are: "The lightning showed a yellow beak, And then a liv[SSE onError error]