Similes and metaphors play an important role in the play. They bring out the playwright’s perspective on the characters, highlight the key issues of the play and help the audience to better visualize the images to be conveyed. To illustrate Girl’s struggle and devise a method of survival, Woman tells her to “weave your little web like a dream in the dark and wait…”. The web represents hope for Girl, despite all odds.

Similarly, in the ‘Forest of Stories’, Anansi tries to manipulate Rat Bat, who thinks he is smarter than Anansi, by saying he is “trying to get somebody as cool as an ice-cube to enter the Best Song Competition.” By saying Ratbat is cool as an ice-cube, Anansi is boosting his self-esteem to manipulate him to do his bidding. The playwright also uses similes and metaphors to emphasize the traits of the characters in order to set them up for a fall.

In the ‘Forest Stories’, when Mancrow realizes Soliday’s intentions for him, he says, “Trying to kill me… It’s like tying up the night with a noose of string.” Similarly, to show the cruelty of the Lady in the ‘Forest Stories’, we find her saying, “My bottomless calabash awaits your bitter tears.” The playwright also uses similes involving animals to describe the harsh treatment of the slaves. For example, Girl comments, “We were tied together like goats waiting for the knife.