Metaphor-Free

Take a look at the following clip first...

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Now consider how books (creative or "academic") are written -- some can be densely packed with language in general, and others may use clever (or purple) phrasing to better illustrate a point. I think this video would be a good teaching point, simply because -- even though a lack of metaphors would get more directly to the point of something, is anything "lost"? Does this make the writing more "cold" or "distance" because it lacks some sort of connecting human element (e.g., the author shows some bit of pathos)?

I don't know -- I think it's a cool clip, and I think it'd be a really interesting assignment for both creative writing classes and academic classes to bring in a piece of text and have the students translate the pieces -- then, to further leverage the thought process involved in translation, have them reflect in writing or sharing in class why they made the specific choices they did.

-Gl3nn

PS, if you want me to cover a specific topic, again, let me know.