Aim: How are metaphors used by writers to send meaning to readers?
Do Now: Complete the following:
Love is______.
Class Discussions: We would discuss our answers for the sentence in the do-now
I put “complicated, yet simple” in the blank. Oscar said, “caring for others.” Bernice said “Love is blind.” Sofia Cheng said love is a strong connection. Natalie said love is a 4 letter word, and Ayad said love is an illusion. I realized all the answers people gave could be considered metaphors.
We also read and annotated the passage “Poetry For Everyday Life”, for anything that stands out. Two things I highlighted were,“The sentence is only worth quoting because in 28 words it contains four metaphors.” and “James Geary reports on linguistic research suggesting that people use a metaphor every 10 to 25 words. Metaphors are not rhetorical frills at the edge of how we think, Geary writes. They are at the very heart of it.” Both of these sections I annotated stood out to me because they both surprised me in how often metaphors are used in our writings and everyday speech.
We also talked about the poem “Hope is the Thing With Feathers” by Emily Dickinson.
It was implied that hope was like a bird, although it was never directly stated in the poem. She compares the traits of hope to that of a bird.
Group Work: We had to annotate and complete the question pertaining to the poem, “Mother to Son”, by Langston Hughes.
What extended metaphor is used in the poem?
What is Hughes expressing through the use of this metaphor? (think about what the “crystal stair” and the “tacks”/”splinters” might represent.)
Look specifically at the final stanza: what is the mother’s message to her son?
The mother’s message to the son is that life isn’t smooth and you have to persevere in the toughest situations and get through them.
Analyzed the poem and answered questions about the poem “The Rose That Grew from Concrete” by Tupac Shakur.
How does this poem utilize an extended metaphor?
The poem utilizes an extended metaphor by saying that nature’s law isn’t always right. There can be situations where it doesn’t go like it’s supposed to and there can be situations that can overcome what it is supposed to become like the rose which wasn’t supposed to live and grow up.
What does the rose represent? What about the concrete?
The rose represents hope and determination and the concrete represents the barrier that is supposed to put an end to that hope and determination. The rose can represents life while the concrete represents the path which someone is supposed to go through.
Compare the two poems.
How do both poems use an extended metaphor to express a common theme or message to the reader? (What are these extended metaphors and what is the common theme?)
Both poems utilize an extended metaphor to express a common theme that one can persevere through life and overcome the obstacles faced in their way no matter what circumstances or conflicts we come across. Even with low chances, as long as someone has faith and can persevere through, they can accomplish things that no other can.
Individual Work: The individual work would be writing the poems for our anthology project.
Notes:
-Discussed the free verse poem for our anthology project; its limits and requirements
-Metaphor:The distinct comparison where one thing or idea substitutes for another.
-It often uses the form of the verb, “To Be”. (is, am, are, was, were, will be, being, been, could, should, would, has, have, having, had, may, might, must)
-Essentially, it is a more complex simile, where “is” and “as” aren’t used.
-Comparisons are implied and indirect
-Metaphors compare two subjects as if they ARE one in the same.
-Ms. Peterson shared a song and video to help us memorize what words to look for in and define metaphors.
-Extended metaphor: a metaphor developed over several lines or throughout a poem.
-Can pertain to the entire poem, such as in the poem, “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost.
Videos, Images:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4gMKZKU3lE&ab_channel=TheRedRoomCompany
This video gave me an in-depth explanation of what a metaphor is and what it is used for, as well as different types of metaphors.
The two images provide examples of metaphors and their variety.
The Opinion Pages | OP-ED COLUMNIST--Cont’d
“Poetry for Everyday Life”
APRIL 11, 2011
By David Brooks This is an informative article given to us in class on how common metaphors are in human language, their associations with certain concepts, and how we humans use them.
Here’s a clunky but unremarkable sentence that appeared in the British press before the last national election: “Britain’s recovery from the worst recession in decades is gaining traction, but confused economic data and the high risk of hung Parliament could yet snuff out its momentum.”
The sentence is only worth quoting because in 28 words it contains four metaphors. Economies don’t really gain traction, like a tractor. Momentum doesn’t literally get snuffed out, like a cigarette. We just use those metaphors, without even thinking about it, as a way to capture what is going on.
In his fine new book, “I Is an Other,” James Geary reports on linguistic research suggesting that people use a metaphor every 10 to 25 words. Metaphors are not rhetorical frills at the edge of how we think, Geary writes. They are at the very heart of it.
George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, two of the leading researchers in this field, have pointed out that we often use food metaphors to describe the world of ideas. We devour a book, try to digest raw facts and attempt to regurgitate other people’s ideas, even though they might be half-baked.
When talking about relationships, we often use health metaphors. A friend might be involved in a sick relationship. Another might have a healthy marriage.
When talking about argument, we use war metaphors. When talking about time, we often use money metaphors. But when talking about money, we rely on liquid metaphors[We associate two things that on their own would have nothing to do with one another.]. We dip into savings, sponge off friends or skim funds off the top. Even the job title stockbroker derives from the French word “brocheur”, the tavern worker who tapped the kegs of beer to get the liquidity flowing.
The psychologist Michael Morris points out that when the stock market is going up, we tend to use agent metaphors, implying the market is a living thing with clear intentions[Things or ideas that frequently change are associated with living things.]. We say the market climbs or soars or fights its way upward. When the market goes down, on the other hand, we use object metaphors, implying it is inanimate. The market falls, plummets or slides.
Most of us, when asked to stop and think about it, are by now aware of the pervasiveness of metaphorical thinking. But in the normal rush of events, we often see straight through metaphors, unaware of how they refract perceptions. So it’s probably important to pause once a month or so to pierce the illusion that we see the world directly. It’s good to pause to appreciate how flexible and tenuous[very weak or slight.] our grip on reality actually is.
Metaphors help compensate for our natural weaknesses. Most of us are not very good at thinking about abstractions or spiritual states, so we rely on concrete or spatial metaphors to (imperfectly) do the job. A lifetime is pictured as a journey across a landscape. A person who is sad is down in the dumps, while a happy fellow is riding high.
Most of us are not good at understanding new things, so we grasp them imperfectly by relating them metaphorically to things that already exist. That’s a “desktop” on your computer screen…
Most important, being aware of metaphors reminds you of the central role that poetic skills play in our thought. If much of our thinking is shaped and driven by metaphor, then the skilled thinker will be able to recognize patterns, blend patterns, apprehend the relationships and pursue unexpected likenesses.
Even the hardest of the sciences depend on a foundation of metaphors. To be aware of metaphors is to be humbled by the complexity of the world, to realize that deep in the undercurrents of thought there are thousands of lenses popping up between us and the world, and that we’re surrounded at all times by what Steven Pinker of Harvard once called “pedestrian poetry.”
Reflection(What did I learn? Why did I learn it? How will I use what I learned?).
I learned how to identify and use metaphors in writing, especially in poetry. I also learned about extended metaphors, in which the entire poem is a metaphor. I learned this skill to better understand the ideas and meanings behind the use of metaphors. Also, I learned about different types of metaphor which can be used in poetry. This is a valuable skill when speaking to others to better convey an idea or message, as metaphors and other types of figurative speech comprise a big part of regular conversations. I can also apply this knowledge to writing poems for our poem anthology project, and writing/literature we will have to write or analyze in the future.
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