Pre Spring Break Language Challenge

As we turn our public speaking focus towards word choices and language gadgets (metaphors, analogies, vivid adjectives and more) let's practice honing these skills together, virtually! Let's work with metaphors-They can be tricky but really add a level of sophistication to any speech or essay. Visit http://www.rhlschool.com/eng3n26.htm for a few tips and read our text chapter on language. Then try your own metaphoric statement. I'll go first:

"His life was that river, sort of simple and sweet, meandering on an indirect route and always dividing two rough banks but connecting them at the same time. All the while, it surged forward towards the source." Be sure to read the other selections by your classmates before posting so you don't use some one else's metaphor--there are plenty to go around! Sometimes a metaphor can be so similar to what it describes, the writer or speaker doesn't even have to state the connection, for instance, guess what I am evoking in this metaphor: "It had stopped him and he couldn't continue or even see past it. He stood there frozen, literally stopped in his tracks. The mountain was right there, literally blocking his path to the beautiful city he'd been looking for. It was steep, enormous and covered with thick underbrush. There was no way to get around it. He shook his head and sighed deeply." I could use a story and language like this without saying that an obstacle in life, such as facing addiction or taking on an enormous challenge, is that mountain in one's life. If the language is powerful enough and the imagery is clear, you can suggest the metaphoric relationship without even stating it, let the audience or the reader sense the relationship. Metaphors rule!!!