The Figures of Speech Poetry is an art for literature that is written or can be spoken in a rhythmical way for the reader or listener(s) to experience many thoughts and emotions while reading a particular poem. However, if a reader wants to comprehend that certain poem, then, there are the elements of the poems that offer the reader a better understanding or also known as the Figures of Speech. The elements or figures of speech can include metonymy, synecdoche, paradox, puns, and in this particular passage, we will discuss personification, metaphor and simile. Of course, in order to learn more about personification, metaphor and simile precisely, we shall take a look at two poems by two poets by the name of James Joyce and Ted Kooser. Those …show more content…
First, simile is when a writer compares two things together while using the word “like” or “as” to connect the two comparisons. Example from the poem “as her rag, like a thunderhead, scudded across the yellow oak" (3-4). Implies to us that the rag is like a thunderbolt hitting the oak very rough like. Next “an elbow that creaked and popped like a branch in a storm” (8-9). This phrase tells us that the elbow of the person, being discussed in the poem, cracks and pops like a branch when in the middle of a terrible storm. These first two examples were of simile and next metaphor. Unlike simile, metaphor is comparing the two things but without using the words “like” or “as”. Here is one, “a ball of compulsion closed in her fist,” is describing the woman as having a small, roundish ball, or could be from arthritis, on her wrist (6-7). A little after that statement is “Now dust is her and dust her heart” (9-10). The phrase is depicting the woman as a very old and gives us an idea that she could be turning to dust. So when one keeps in mind about how the woman could be turned to dust, this could mean the woman being describe has already passed away and the speaker is just talking about how this woman looked when she was
Poetic testimonies emerge as metaphors defining human
There are multiple examples of visual imagery in this poem. An example of a simile is “curled like a possum within the hollow trunk”. The effect this has is the way it creates an image for the reader to see how the man is sleeping. An example of personification is, “yet both belonged to the bush, and now are one”. The result this has is how it creates an emotion for the reader to feel
...t is arguable that the birds fight is also a metaphor, implying the fight exists not only between birds but also in the father’s mind. Finally, the last part confirms the transformation of the parents, from a life-weary attitude to a “moving on” one by contrasting the gloomy and harmonious letter. In addition, readers should consider this changed attitude as a preference of the poet. Within the poem, we would be able to the repetitions of word with same notion. Take the first part of the poem as example, words like death, illness
For example, He says “The barbed wire encircled us like a wall…”(11). He is trying to compare barbed wire to a wall. He wants us to imagine it was a wall and that's what it felt like for them but he always turned it into a positive because he felt they were now part of a small Jewish republic. In addition, He also said “Monday went down like a small summer cloud, like a dream in the first hours of dawn.”(18). He trying to tell us that monday felt short by describing what it literally felt like but it wasn’t actually. Emotions can get really high in times this and things start to feel different . Similes were a way for the author to express his feelings to the
One example is when Walter Dean Myers wrote this simile, “The voice high and brittle like dry twigs being broken.” This simile helps to show the reader that the person coming up to Greg wasn’t big or strong, he is not intimidating. Another example of a simile in The Treasure of Lemon Brown is, “Father's words like the distant thunder in the streets of Harlem still rumbled in his ears.” This simile helps the reader understand Greg's father, the way his tone is described makes the reader believe Greg's dad is a big, strict parent. Furthermore this simile also helps the reader understand Greg's feelings, the “thunder still rumbling” helps the reader understand that Greg’s father's words are loud and repeating in his head. Another example of figurative language in The Story of Lemon Brown is when the author writes in personification, “Gusts of wind made bits of paper dance between the parked cars.” In this case the personification is used to help describe the setting. The fact that bits of paper were flying around the place probably means that Greg does not live in the nicest of neighborhoods. In the story The Treasure of Lemon Brown, the author uses figurative language to develop settings and characters.
Figurative Language in used throughout poems so the reader can develop a further understanding of the text. In “The Journey” the author uses rhythm and metaphors throughout the poem. “...as you left their voices behind, the stars began to burn through the sheets of the clouds..”(25-27). The author compares the star burning to finding your voice. Rhythm also develops the theme of the poem because throughout the story rhythm is presented as happy showing growing up and changing for the better is necessary and cheerful. In “The Laughing Heart” the author uses imagery and metaphors to develop the theme throughout the book. “There is a light somewhere. It may not be much light but it beats the darkness”(5-7). Always find the good out of everything, even it
Fife’s poetry uses modern language with wording clearly understood by her audience. This approach of using simple, modern language gives the interpretation that Fife is wanting to attract a youth audience, or young adults to read her poetry. Strong imagism is a concept that is used in all three of the poems. This concept of imagism is used to make the reader feel empathy towards the characters within the poem as well as give the reader a vibrant image of what is happening to said characters. In her poem “This is not a Metaphor” it is said:
8. The personification in the second stanza is also a metaphor. A metaphor compares two unlike things by saying one thing is another
In this poem called “Creatures” by the author Billy Collins there is a literary device called a metaphor when the reader is reading this poem. A metaphor is a comparison of two unlike things without using the words like or as. In lines one (1) through...
Poetry is often forgotten in our society. Poetry is mistaken for something less than its greater meaning. Four specific poets demonstrate the true meaning of poetry through their words and imagery. These poets use their own language to speak to us in poetry, by describing a major event that has happened in their life. It is truly captivating to hear these poets speak from another aspect that we are not use too.
Behind this form of allusion there is also examples of vivid image that make the poems come to live. Right away, in the first sentences I can picture the speaker performing
The Encyclopædia Britannica defines personification as “[a] figure of speech in which human characteristics are attributed to an abstract quality, animal, or inanimate object.” Ever since personification was first used in Homer’s works, several writers have used personification to help the audience to understand a character’s personality by personifying their actions and worldly possessions. However, a few atypical writers and poets, such as Arthur Rimbaud, use personification characterize previously unconventional protagonists in thematically appropriate ways. In fact, the personification in “The Drunken Boat” highlights the poem’s themes of freedom, adventure,
A simile is a figure of speech that makes a comparison, showing similarities between two different things. Here, she compares the meaning of Malala and the meaning her grandfather gave to her
Billy Collins has used a specific metaphor, simile, rhyme and personification in his poem ‘Introduction to poetry’ in order to show how one should better understand a poem. This poem focused on what the poem actually mean and how a poem should be clearly understood. Throughout the poem, Billy Collins has presented a clear way of understanding the poem by using a very interesting imagery, symbolism, metaphor and a very sensitive sound. The words used in this poem are so powerful that the readers are convinced to think about the issue presented in the poem.
T.C Boyle’s character Kyra was at rough spot in her life in The Tortilla Curtain, the author uses a simile to better interpret the situation she is in and by doing so he creates a picture rather than just having black and white text. To further understand this idea the figurative language has to be understood as to what and how it relates to the text. For this specific example he uses a simile, which is comparing two unlike things using like or as. “It was a shock, she looked awful, haggard, Frowsy, desperate, like some stressed-out Tupperware hostess or something” (74). Boyle is making it clear that Kyra is under a lot of stress up to the point that it is affecting her personal appearance. He describes her nose as being bright red which seems to “ Pull her whole face in on itself like some freaky vortex, The Amazing Lady with the Shrinking Face”(74).