The art of the metaphor - Jane Hirshfield
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TEDEd Animation
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How do metaphors help us better understand the world? And, what makes a good metaphor? Explore these questions with writers like Langston Hughes and Carl Sandburg, who have mastered the art of bringing a scene or emotion to life.
Langston Hughes’s poem “Mother to Son” uses a house as a metaphor for a hard life. If you had to describe your own life right now with a metaphor, what object would you compare your life to? (You can use a simile if that’s easier, and write the phrase “My life feels like a _______” as a way to get started.) Once you’ve picked the object, describe the object for a few sentences. (What you’re doing here is making up and exploring a new extended metaphor of your own.)
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Meet The Creators
- Animator Ben Pearce
- Educator Jane Hirshfield
- Narrator Jane Hirshfield
