home learning lesson 1

Bear In There by Shel Silverstein
There's a Polar Bear

In our Frigidaire--

He likes it 'cause it's cold in there.

With his seat in the meat

And his face in the fish

And his big hairy paws

In the buttery dish,

He's nibbling the noodles,

He's munching the rice,

He's slurping the soda,

He's licking the ice.

And he lets out a roar

If you open the door.

And it gives me a scare

To know he's in there--

That Polary Bear

In our Fridgitydaire.

Hyperbole:

A polar bear cannot roar obviously; only lions do. It is just to exaggerate how the polar bear gave the writer a scare.

Personification:

The writer describes the polar bear as though he is eating like a human. Only licking the ice seems relevant to what a polar bear does. Please correct me if polar bears do not lick ice. The message the writer wants to convey is that the polar bear kind of 'invaded' his refrigerator.

Metaphor and Simile:

I don't think I can find any metaphors and similes in this poem. Please tell me if there is.

Symbolism:

In my opinion, the refrigerator is the symbol of the hunger of the polar bear as this poem is about a polar bear eating in the fridge, scaring the writer in the end.

Why I like this poem:

I like this poem as it is quite humorous. It is easy to read and not complicated and long like some other poems. I think it is children-oriented as Mr Shel uses animals children are fascinated with like in this poem, the polar bear. He makes things exaggerated, thus making the poem funny. It is also filled with personification, which makes the reader feel that the polar bear is a human, scaring the writer when he opens the door. It also portrays the polar bear as being cute, seeing a polar bear licking ice, munching noodles would be amusing to most.