Metaphors Worksheet for 15-Year-Olds: John Evelyn's Fumifugium, Rachel Carson's Silent Spring & Classical Rhetoric

Instructions

This worksheet explores the power of metaphor in environmental writing. A metaphor is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things without using "like" or "as." It states that one thing is another thing, transferring the qualities of one to the other to create a powerful image or idea in the reader's mind. Read the excerpts below and answer the questions to analyze how different authors use this technique to build their arguments.

Part 1: A 17th-Century View of Pollution

In 1661, the writer and scientist John Evelyn wrote "Fumifugium," a pamphlet pleading with the King to do something about London's severe air pollution, which was caused by burning sea-coal. He used vivid metaphors to describe the smog. Analyze the following excerpts.

Metaphor A: "[London's inhabitants] breathe nothing but an impure and thick Mist, accompanied with a fuliginous and filthy vapour... corrupting the Lungs, and disordering the entire habit of their Bodies; so that Catharrs, Phthisicks, Coughs and Consumptions, rage more in this one City, than in the whole Earth besides." He later refers to this smog as "this Hellish and dismall Cloud of SEA-COALE."

• 1. What two things are being directly compared in the bolded metaphor?
• 2. What qualities does "a Hellish and dismall Cloud" have? What feeling or idea is Evelyn trying to create by comparing the smog to this?

Metaphor B: Evelyn describes how the soot and smoke dirty every surface, even inside buildings of power, writing that "the very Rain, and refreshing Dews... are contaminated with the fuliginous steam... which wraps up all in its sable Mantle." (A "mantle" is a cloak, and "sable" means black.)

• 3. What two things are being compared in this metaphor?
• 4. A mantle is a piece of clothing that covers and conceals. What is the effect of describing the soot as a "sable Mantle" that "wraps up" the city?

Part 2: A 20th-Century Call to Action

In 1962, biologist Rachel Carson published "Silent Spring," a book that exposed the dangers of chemical pesticides, particularly DDT. Her work is credited with launching the modern environmental movement. Carson masterfully used metaphors related to war and poison to awaken the public to the danger.

Metaphor C: "Since the mid-1940s, over 200 basic chemicals have been created for use in killing insects, weeds, rodents, and other organisms... These sprays, dusts, and aerosols are now applied almost universally... they should not be called 'insecticides,' but 'biocides.'" She argues this is a battle we can't win, stating that "the chemical barrage has been hurled against the fabric of life."

• 5. In this metaphor, what two things are being compared? (A "barrage" is a concentrated artillery bombardment.)
• 6. By using words associated with warfare ("barrage," "hurled against"), what point is Carson making about the use of chemical pesticides? How does this metaphor frame the relationship between humans and nature?

Metaphor D: Carson describes how pesticides accumulate in the bodies of animals, passing from one to the next through the food web. She writes: "In this chain of poisoning and death, the poisoners had somehow forgotten that the birds which sang in the autumn heavens are partners in the world of nature."

• 7. Here, Carson compares the food web to a "chain of poisoning and death." What does the image of a chain suggest about this process?
• 8. How does this metaphor help the reader understand the long-term, interconnected consequences of using these chemicals?

Part 3: Synthesis & Creation

Consider the metaphors from both John Evelyn and Rachel Carson to answer the following questions.

• 9. Compare the types of metaphors used by Evelyn and Carson. Evelyn's metaphors often relate to darkness, hell, and death (a "dismall cloud," a "sable mantle"). Carson's relate to war and poison (a "barrage," a "chain of poisoning"). What does this difference tell you about the specific argument each author was trying to make?


• 10. Now it's your turn. Think of a modern environmental issue, such as plastic in the oceans, deforestation, or light pollution. Create your own original metaphor to describe it. Then, briefly explain the two things you are comparing and why your metaphor is effective.

Answer Key

Note: For analytical questions, student answers may vary. The key provides the main points to look for.

Part 1: John Evelyn

1. Things being compared: The smog from sea-coal and a cloud from Hell.
2. Effect: "Hellish" suggests something evil, demonic, and torturous. "Dismall" suggests darkness, gloom, and misery. Evelyn is trying to convey that the smog is not just an inconvenience but a profoundly evil and oppressive force causing suffering.
3. Things being compared: The layer of soot/pollution and a black cloak (sable mantle).
4. Effect: The metaphor suggests the pollution is a heavy, suffocating covering that smothers the entire city, hiding its beauty and imposing a funeral-like sadness over everything. It implies a sense of entrapment and mourning.

Part 2: Rachel Carson

5. Things being compared: The widespread application of chemicals and a military artillery barrage.
6. Effect: Carson is making the point that pesticide use is not gentle or controlled; it is a violent, indiscriminate, and destructive act of war against the natural world ("the fabric of life"). This frames the human-nature relationship as an aggressive conflict rather than one of stewardship.
7. Effect of "chain": A chain suggests a series of interconnected links where each one is bound to the next. It implies that the process is inescapable, strong, and drags everything along with it once it has started.
8. How it helps understanding: The metaphor makes it clear that poisoning one creature will inevitably lead to the poisoning of the next one in the food web. It is not an isolated event. It powerfully illustrates the concept of bioaccumulation and the domino effect of pollution.

Part 3: Synthesis & Creation

9. Comparison: Evelyn's metaphors focus on the sensory experience and moral/spiritual weight of pollution—it makes London look and feel like a hellish, funereal place. His argument is about quality of life and aesthetics. Carson's metaphors focus on the immediate, violent, and systemic danger of the pollutants. Her argument is one of urgent, life-or-death conflict and unseen danger. She frames it as a self-destructive war.
10. Create your own metaphor: (Answers will vary). A good answer will clearly identify the two things being compared and explain the connection.
    Example: "The plastic garbage swirling in the ocean is a glittering, deadly confetti."
    Explanation: This compares ocean plastic to confetti. Confetti is associated with celebration, but this "deadly" confetti represents a perverse celebration of consumerism and waste. The metaphor is effective because it creates a jarring contrast between a festive image and a lethal reality, highlighting the thoughtlessness of the pollution.