Language and Literature (184)
Grade 10
Handout For Literary devices
DUST
OF SNOW by Robert Frost Page 14
Rhyme
Scheme
Rhyme
Scheme is the pattern of rhyming lines in a stanza or throughout the poem.
Rhyme Scheme: abab
Alliteration: Alliteration
is the repetition of same consonant sound in the nearby words
Has given my heart
And saved some
part
Inversion -
when the structure of a sentence is changed by the poet to create rhyme, this
poetic license is called inversion. In stanza 1, inversion can be seen.
Assonance -
the prominence of a vowel sound throughout a line is called assonance. In
stanza 1, line 2 - “Shook down on me” - ‘o’ sound is prominent.
Enjambment -
when the same sentence continues to the next line without the use of any
punctuation marks, it is called enjambment. It has been used throughout the
poem.
Synecdoche: The poet has mentioned that his heart was
given a change of mood but its not only his heart but his entire self who has
been given a change of mood by the dust of snow.
Symbolism: In this poem, the poet has introduced three symbols; the
hemlock tree, the crow, and snow dust. Hemlock is the name of the poison that
was used to kill Socrates. Hence, the hemlock tree is a symbol of death.
Walking by the hemlock tree could, in fact, have seemed like an ill omen to the
poet and could have upset him further on this unpleasant day. Again, the crow
is an ambiguous symbol and could stand for many things. Generally, the crow is
considered to be the ugliest among all birds. Hence, it could be another sight
to degrade the poet’s mood once again. The dust of snow is the symbol of
natural joy and energy.
The poet uses two negative symbols to represent
the negative aspects of the mind. The shower of snow created by the crow
certainly improves his mood. Perhaps the poet is saying that even something
that one usually associates with negativity can positively impact. Hence,
Frost’s use of symbols is very profound and meaningful.
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FIRE
AND ICE: page
15
Metaphor:
It is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or
action to which it is not literally applicable. e.g. fire here
depicts desire and greed and ice depicts hatred and coldness in
relations.
Symbolism:
The poem Fire and Ice is symbolic as it does not talk about the
scientific assumptions but rather psychological reasons which would lead to the
destruction of the world. Here, fire means greed which makes a man inhuman. On
the other hand, ice means hatred which makes a person enemy of the other.
Alliteration:
It is the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent
or closely connected words. e.g. “some say”, “favour fire”.
Assonance: It
is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line. “hold with those who
favour fire”,
Enjambment:
It is the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line,
couplet, or stanza. e.g. “Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in
ice.“
Anaphora:
It is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive
clauses. e.g. “Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in
ice.”
Imagery: Imagery is
used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example,
“Some say the world will end in fire” and “To say that for destruction ice, is
also great”.
Personification: Personification is
to give human qualities to inanimate objects. In this
poem, “Fire” and “Ice” are capable of destruction. Therefore, the poet
personifies fire and ice by giving them a mind which is capable of destroying
almost anything.
Enjambment: It
is defined as a thought or clause that
does not come to an end at a line break;
rather, it moves over the next line. For example, “From what I’ve tasted of
desire
I hold with those who favour fire.”
Paradox: A paradox is a statement that contradicts itself. The
paradox in Fire and Ice is "But if it had to perish twice (Frost, line
5)". It is a paradox because nothing can die twice.
Rhyme Scheme: The rhyme
scheme followed by the entire poem is ABA ABC BCB.
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TIGER
IN THE ZOO page
29
He
stalks………………..quiet rage
Rhyme
scheme: abcb (cage-rage)
Personification:
The tiger is personified because the poet refers him as ‘he’.
Metaphor:
Tiger’s paws are compared with velvet (pads of velvet)
Enjambment:
Sentence is continuing to next line without any punctuation mark.
Imagery:
poet tries to create an image about the tiger (He stalks in his vivid stripes
The few steps of his cage)
Consonance:
use of ‘s’ sound (stalks, his, stripes)
Assonance:
use of vowel sound ‘I’ (in his vivid stripes)
Oxymoron:
use of adjectives opposite in meaning (quiet rage)
He
stalks……………………quiet rage.
Rhyme:
rhyme scheme is abcb (grass-pass)
Enjambment:
Line continues to next line without punctuation marks. (Sliding through….deer
pass)
Alliteration:
use of sound ‘p’ at the start of two words (plump pass)
Imagery:
The poet has tries to create an image of tiger’s activities (lurking in
shadow).
He
should …………………….the village!
Rhyme
Scheme: abcb rhyme scheme is followed (edge, village)
Enjambment:
Line continues to next line without punctuation marks (He should be snarling
around houses At the jungle’s edge,)
Onomatopoeia:
using words which denote sound (snarling)
Assonance:
use of vowel sound ‘o’ and ‘I’ (should, around, houses), (Baring, his, white,
his)
Consonance:
use of consonant sound ‘s’ (his, fangs, his, claws)
But
…………………………Ignoring visitors.
Rhyme
Scheme: abcb rhyme scheme is followed (bars-visitors)
Personification:
The tiger is personified because the poet refers him as ‘he’.
Assonance:
use of vowel sound ‘e’ (he, locked, concrete, cell)
Consonance:
use of consonant sound ‘s’ (his, strength, bars)
Alliteration:
use of sound ‘b’ at the start of two words (behind bars)
He
hears ………………..brilliant stars.
Rhyme
Scheme: abcb rhyme scheme is followed (cars-stars)
Enjambment:
Line three continues to line four without any punctuation mark. (And stares
with his brilliant eyes At the brilliant stars.)
Alliteration:
use of sound ‘h’ in the starting of two words (he hears)
Assonance:
use
of ‘I’ sound (with, his, brilliant)
Metonymy:
Metonymy is the substitution of the name of an attribute for that of the thing
meant. In the poem, the poet calls body of the tiger as its strength
*************************************************************
HOW
TO TELL WILD ANIMALS page 43
Rhyme Scheme
The rhyme scheme of the poem is ‘a b a b c c’.
Tone
Ø
The poet
narrates the poem in a humorous tone.
Ø
Her
descriptions of how animals like tigers, lions and leopard kill are intended to
make us laugh.
Ø
Her
statement about a bear hug is also an example of a humorous tone employed in
the poem.
Imagery
Ø
The use
of descriptive language by a poet or an author helps the reader to visualise
the pictures in one’s mind.
Ø
example:
The image of the Bengal tiger is created when we read the lines ‘A noble beast
greets you, with black stripes with the yellow background.
Metaphor
Ø
This
poetic device is used when a covert comparison is made between two different
things or ideas.
Ø
Tiger’s
paws are compared with velvet (pads of velvet) since both are soft and smooth when
touched.
Alliteration
Ø
Alliteration
is repetition of the same sound that is used in the beginning of the closely
placed words.
Ø The phrases ‘lep and lep again’, ‘roaming round’, ‘very, very hard’ and
‘novice might nonplus’ are examples of alliteration in the poem.
Repetition:
Ø
Repetition
is a poetic device that is used to repeat single words, phrases or even stanzas
at intervals.
Ø He’ll only lep and lep again.
Ø Who hugs you very, very hard
Personification
Ø
This
poetic device is used to bestow human qualities on something that is not human.
Ø
The poet
refers to the tiger not as ‘it’ but as ‘he’.
Ø
In the
poem, the ‘hyena’ and ‘crocodile’ have been personified.
Ø
The human
qualities of ‘smiling’ and ‘weeping’ have been given to the hyena and crocodile
respectively.
Irony
Ø
Irony is
a poetic device that is used by poets to bring humour or satire to somebody or
something. It is done by giving two meanings to a word or a phrase, i.e.,
surface meaning and underlying meaning.
Ø A noble wild beast greets you.
Ø He’ll give you just one
more caress.
Poetic Licence
Ø
With the
use of the poetic licence, the poet not only maintains the rhyme scheme but
also creates a humorous effect in the poem.
Ø The poet has employed poetic
licence in her use of language in the poem. In some stanzas, she has shortened
words like ‘lept’, ‘lep’, and ‘dyin’.
Ø
Also,
certain sentences are framed differently in the poem like ‘novice might
nonplus’ and ‘if strolling forth, a beast you view’.
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THE
BALL POEM page
46
Rhyme Scheme: No rhyme scheme. It is written
in free verse.
Stanza
1
i. Anaphora -
It is the repetition of a word at the start of two or more consecutive lines.
(What is the boy now, who has lost his ball,
What, what is he to do? I saw it go)
(Merrily bouncing, down the street, and then
Merrily over there it is in the water!)
ii. Assonance -
Prominent sound of the vowel 'o' - "What is the boy now, who has lost his
ball."
iii. Imagery -
The poet has given the visual description - (Merrily bouncing, down the street,
and then, Merrily over there it is in the water!)
iv. Repetition
- The word "what" has been repeated.
v. Personification
- The poet has used the phrase merrily bouncing for the ball. Being happy
is a characteristic of humans.
Symbolism: It is the use of
symbols to represent ideas or qualities. In the poem, ball and balls represent
childhood, possessions and even the father of poet.
Stanza
2
i. Asyndeton -
Conjunction is missing - A dime, another ball, is worthless.
ii. Repetition -
The word "ball" has been repeated.
Stanza
3
i. Alliteration
- It is the repetition of a letter at the start of closely placed words -
repetition of letter 'b' in "buys a ball back"
ii. Assonance
- Prominent sound of the vowel 'e' - "He is learning, well behind his
desperate eyes."
iii. Repetition
- The word "ball" has been repeated.
iv. Symbolism -
Here, ball is a symbol of childhood, which if lost, cant be brought back. It
was also used as a symbol of possessions.
v. Apostrophe - It is a literary device in which a physically absent
person is addressed. The poet addresses the boy who was not physically present
with him - "Balls, balls will be lost always, little boy."
AMANDA by Robin Klein
Stanza 1
Anaphora: Repeated use of a
word at start of two or more lines (don’t bite… don’t hunch)
Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘o’ (don’t hunch your shoulders)
Rhyme
scheme: aaba ccc (Amanda, Amanda,
straight, Amanda, sea, me, blissfully)
Metaphor: use of word emerald sea for green colour of sea being
similar to the colour of emrald
Repetition: use of word ‘Amanda’
Imagery: drifting blissfully
Alliteration: ‘Stop that slouching and sit up straight’ – ‘s’ sound
is being repeated at the start of closely placed words.
Allusion: ‘mermaid’ is a well known imaginary creature.
Stanza 2
Anaphora: Repeated use of a
word at start of two or more lines (did you finish….did you tidy)
Rhyme:
Rhyme scheme is aada eee (Amanda,
Amanda, shoes, Amanda, street, feet, sweet)
Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘o’ (Thought, told, you, your,
shoes)
Repetition: use of word ‘Amanda’
Metaphor: silence is golden – silence is said to be glorious
like golden colour
freedom is sweet – freedom is said to be sweet
in taste.
Stanza 3
Allusion: use of famous fairy
tale character Rapunzel
Rhyme:
rhyme scheme aafa ggg (Amanda,
Amanda, you, Amanda, care, rare, hair)
Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘e’ and ‘o’ (Will you please look
at me when I’m speaking to you
Consonance: use of sound ‘r’ (I am Rapunzel; I have not a care
…..Bright hair)
Repetition: use of word ‘Amanda’
Stanza 4
Alliteration:
‘Stop that sulking’ – ‘s’ sound is repeated at the start of closely placed
words
Repetition: use of word ‘Amanda’
Rhyme scheme: aaha (Amanda, Amanda,
you, Amanda)
Ø
Alliteration: Stop that slouching and sit up straight, I thought I
told you to clean your shoes, Stop that sulking at once, Amanda!
Ø
Allusion: Mermaid – To be free and contained in their own.
(Taken from fairy tales) Rapunzel. Who lived happily alone on a tower for a
long time. (Part of German fairy tale)
Ø
Metaphors: Orphan – Who don’t have nagging parents above their
head as Amanda’s., Languid, emerald sea – languid and emerald type qualities
are assigned to sea. Silence is golden. Freedom is sweet
Ø
Rhyme
Scheme: aaba ccc aada
eee aafa ggg aaha
***********************************************************************
Animals page
83
Literary Devices:
Stanza
1
Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘I’ (I, think, I, live, with,
animals)
Repetition: use of the word ‘long’
Stanza
2
Anaphora: use of repeated
words at the beginning of two or more consecutive lines (use of “they do not”)
Metaphor: sweat and whine refer to the cries and
complaints of human beings
Stanza
3
Metaphor: The inner qualities
of humans are referred to as tokens
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Poem ‘THE TREES’ page
99
Rhyme scheme: "The Trees" is a free verse poem of four
stanzas, making a total of 32 lines. There is no set rhyme scheme and no regular
metric beat pattern—each line is different rhythmically—and the lines vary from
short too long.
There is no rhyme scheme in the poem.
It’s written in ‘free verse’
Imagery: The words and phrases in the poem create their
visual representations in mind. It is done through the use of figurative
language to create pictures and visuals in the mind of the readers to convey
the views and thoughts of the poet. In short, the poem floats and moves through
or imagination.
The
whole poem keeps creating visuals in our mind about the struggle of the trees
and different incidents and happenings associated with it.
See
the following examples:
·
The
trees inside are moving out into the
forest.
·
The
forest that was empty all these days
where no bird could sit …
·
Like
newly discharged patients
half-dazed, moving
to the clinic doors …..
·
The
glass is breaking
The trees are stumbling forward ….
·
Its pieces flash now in
the crown of the tallest oak.
Simile: It is used to draw a clear comparison between two or
more things or people having same qualities using words ‘like’ and ‘as’.
·
Like newly
discharged patients.
·
Still
reaches like a voice into the rooms.
·
The
moon is broken like a mirror.
Repetition: Words or lines are repeated to emphasise a
feeling or idea, create rhythm, and or develop a sense of urgency.
‘The
forest that was empty’ (in the first stanza)
Personification: A prominent figure of speech in which a thing is
given human attributes.
See
the following examples as how the trees, the sun and the winds are shown as
behaving like human beings.
·
The
trees inside are moving out into the forest.
·
No
sun bury its feet in shadow.
·
All
night the roots work.
·
Winds rush to meet
them.
Symbolism: The use of symbols to represent ideas or
qualities.
The
poet uses ‘the trees’ to connote the significance of forests and raise the
issue of ‘deforestation’
Imagery: Its pieces flash now in the crown of the tallest
oak.
Metaphor:
The
Trees is the extended metaphor – the trees are women who are seeking their new
identity from their hollow and suppressed
existence. The relation between the longing for freedom by women as
represented by freedom.
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Poem -FOG page 115
Rhyme
Scheme
The
poem does not have a rhyme scheme since it is written in free verse.
Metaphor
Sandburg
extensively uses metaphors in the poem to draw comparisons between nature and a
cat.
In
the line ‘The fog comes on little cat feet, Sandburg has indirectly compared
the fog with a cat.
He
also compares the fog settled over the city to a cat sitting on its hind legs
in the line ‘It sits looking over harbour and city on silent haunches and then
moves on.
In
the same line, the poet says that fog leaving the city is like a cat leaving a
place quietly.
Personification
The
words ‘It sits looking/over harbour and city’ are an example of personification.
The
fog, which is a thing, has been shown doing the actions of sitting and
‘looking’ here.
Imagery
Sandburg
uses simple words to create a vivid description of the fog.
The
phrases ‘the fog comes on, ‘sits looking’ and ‘moves on’ invoke imagery
of movement in the poem. They create an image of the fog entering, settling
over and, then finally moving away from the city.
The
phrases along with ‘little cat feet’ and ‘silent haunches’ come
together to compare the actions of the fog to that of a cat.
Transferred
Epithet
The
phrase ‘on silent haunches’ is an example of a transferred epithet.
Here, ‘haunches’ are not ‘silent’. Rather, the phrase refers to how a
cat silently sits on its back legs.
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THE TALE OF CUSTARD THE DRAGON BY OGDEN NASH page 129
Ø Poetic Devices
Ø Simile: Mouth like fireplace, -Belinda was as brave as a
barrel full of bears, -Snorting like an engine,
Clashed his tail like irons in a dungeon, He
went ate the pirate like a robin at the worm.
Alliteration: - and he held in his teeth, -Beard was black
Ø
Repetition: -Suddenly, suddenly they heard, -She cried Help!
Help!
Ø
Oxymoron: Use of two words with opposite meaning” pet dragon”
Ø
Poetic License: The spellings have been changed to create a musical
effect. (Realio, trulio, winda)
Ø
Onomatopoeia: Usage of sound words to create dramatic effect.
(giggled, weeck ,meowch)
Ø
Transferred epithet: When an adjective usually used to describe one thing
is transferred to another.
Ø Rhyme Scheme
Every stanza of the poem has the rhyme scheme aabb.
In stanza 13, rhyme scheme is aabbcc.
Ø
Rhyming Scheme and imagery/tone: The rhyming scheme of stanzas1-12 is aa bb and the
rhyming scheme of stanza-13 is aa bb cc. The imagery shows lots of action and
commotion. The tone is humorous and mocking.
Ø
********************************************************************
FOR ANNE GREGORY page
140
Rhyme Scheme
The rhyme scheme of the poem is a b c b d b.
Metaphor:
Definition:
A metaphor is a literary device used to represent a comparison without using
the words “like” or “as”.
Ø
In the
poem, the phrase ‘honey-coloured ramparts’ is an example of a metaphor.
Yeats, through the metaphor, compares Anne Gregory’s hair to the walls of a
fort.
Ø
‘Ramparts
at your ear’. Just like the walls of a fort hide and protect the city, the
hair hides the true self of Anne Gregory.
Apostrophe
Ø
In this
poem, Yeats is seen talking to Anne Gregory, but the readers don’t see her at
any point in the poem.
Ø
The poet
makes use of apostrophes to address the poem to Anne, an absent audience.
Alliteration
Ø Love you for yourself alone
Ø The phrase ‘your yellow hair is an
example of alliteration.
Ø Brown, or black
Repetition
Ø The phrase ‘yellow hair’ has been repeated many times. By
repeating this phrase, the poet is reinforcing the notion of external
beauty.
Ø The word ‘despair’ is also repeated in the poem. It
reflects the young men’s feelings for Anne Gregory.
Anaphora:
Definition:
repeating a word or phrase at the beginning of sentences or clauses that follow
each other, done for emphasis
In the
3rd stanza – the second and third line
That he had found a text to prove
That only God, my dear,
Enjambment:
Definition:
lines in a stanza ending going or continuing without any punctuation
In the
2nd Stanza: the 4th and the 5th Line
That young men in despair
My love me for myself alone
In the
3rd Stanza: 1st, 2nd and the 3rd Line
‘I heard an old religious man
But yesternight declare
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