Odes and Metaphors and "Oh Mother Earth" by Neil Young

Today in class we watched a video of Neil Young singing "Oh Mother Earth." To begin, we talked about metaphors. Metaphors are comparisons of two unlike things, but we don't use like, as, or than. These are direct comparisons. If I call my friend a dirty pig, what I'm really saying is that he is very dirty just like pigs are. Notice that I didn't say dirty LIKE a pig or dirtier THAN a pig. I said he is just, plain and simple, a dirty pig. The best example from "Oh Mother Earth" is right in the title: "Mother Earth." This common metaphor compares Earth to a mother because both are caring, loving, and giving, according to Neil Young.

Secondly, we also talked about odes. Odes are songs that are written and sung to objects that cannot respond back. For example, Neil Young sings to Mother Earth in this song. Some other famous examples are "Ode to a Grecian Urn," written about an urn seen in a museum.