Snow

“Snow” makes heavy use of figurative language, specifically simile. There are three similes in the poem. The first one is, “The ice looked like a photograph of water” (Line 7). This simile is simple in its imagery and almost comedic in a wry sort of way. Ice looks like a photograph of water because ice freezes water, keeping it still. The image feels very matter of fact, which is right in line with the tone of the rest of the poem, which presents the surreal, strange scene with nonchalance.

The second simile is, “When it’s snowing, the outdoors seem like a room” (Line 12). As discussed earlier in this guide, this simile supports the poem’s theme of contrasts, comparing something that is open to something that is closed.

The final simile extends the previous one, and it is actually presented as a metaphor. Near the end of the poem, the speaker says, “A room with the walls blasted to shreds and falling” (Line 15). The image here compares the falling snow to a wall that is falling apart.