by the students of EN212: Intro to Literary Theory (Spring 2024)
In the spring semester of 2024, the students of EN212, Introduction to Literary Analysis and Theory, worked on crafting a metaphor that represents an experience from their lives. This free verse collection of metaphors allows the students to express moments that they have lived through with figurative language.
The noise was as loud as whalesong, And the school of fish swayed to the chaotic beat. Swimming and leaping in their joy, All their ripples became one. After the fact, When the fish were all alone, The echoes of the sound in their ears, And the hoarseness of their throats, Returned them to that shared experience. — Daniella Ayala That was my calm in a raging storm of doubt. A ray of sunlight right when I thought I would lose my sail. — Isabella Silva Every year in the spring, bright green little buds would appear and stick up from the rest of the greenery, and would eventually transform itself into a bright red flower. It was a cycle, and I came to know the flowers well, anticipating their arrival every year. One year the flowers did not grow anymore, no bright green buds or vibrant flowers. There was nothing I could do about it, as something unstoppable and unchangeable had occurred. — Anonymous It was a long road trip. Four years' worth of small tasks. However, the road trip was not yet over. I chose to do four more years of nothing but responsibilities to further my worth. — Gia V Been working nonstop like an MTA train to achieve the goal of every athlete in the game of two halves. — Donte Nastasi The wide-eyed child stood on the edge further than she's supposed to go till finally she fell, tears staining her face and her childhood was finally closed with a disgrace. — Israa Alghanimi In the tales tapestry, sanctuary whispers, flight veiled from sorrow’s clasp. — Israa Alghanimi In devotion's depth, my craft navigates relentless tides, its timber whispers tales of resilience and ruin. — Israa Alghanimi an immediate rush of adrenaline over and over redoing the same skills To just get put to the test Moments from now is when I'll be able to be one step closer to independence one step closer to one of the things I’ve looked forward to most — Juliana Materia Here I stand, from another world Here I stand, unlike anything on this Earth Here I stand, making observations on human behavior Here I stand, seeing all these human rules and regulations Here I stand, an alien Here I stand, an outsider to the human mind — Anonymous To bake looks easy but is actually hard. To float the ingredients into the bowl with such ease it looks like nothing. The time and dedication to get it just right, like the others, is more than meets the eye. While to others it all looks beautiful, to us it looks like resilience. — Violet Fallon In a time of need, a pair went to a bank to retrieve their stored gold and were told they could only take it out as bills. Weeks later, the pair received an envelope full of Monopoly money. — Anonymous