Figurative Language in selected poems
Figurative language occurs whenever a poet uses words in ways that deviate from their usual meaning. Sometimes, complex examples of figurative language leaves me puzzled but if I sit down and think about what I am reading, the underlying meanings become apparent. A metaphor is a comparison between two things that are otherwise unrelated. A simile is a kind of metaphor that uses like or as in the comparison. Metonymy occurs when the name of something is replaced by the name of something closely associated with it. Hyperbole may be used to exaggerate what is being described; understatement describes something as less than it is. Personification occurs when a non-human animal, object, or abstraction is given human qualities. Onomatopoeia is used to describe a word or words that sound like the thing they describe. A paradox is a statement that simultaneously contradicts itself and makes sense. An allusion is a reference to another work or to a real or historical event or person.Speaking of allusions, W. H. Auden, used a lot of them in his poem Mussee des Beaux Arts. Mussee des Beaux Arts itself is an allusion that pays reference to a fine arts museum in Brussels, Belgium. The “old masters” as referred to by the author wer . . .
The custom use of figurative language has helped many authors place their personal stamp on the literary world by way of their works. Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, by Dylan Thomas, includes several different types of figurative language. With the use of figurative language, we as writers/students have the ability to say small but intricate things in big elaborate ways or vice versa. Alliteration works by repeating one or more letters at the beginning of a word throughout a line. Not night, go gentle good, and though there are examples of alliteration. “My soul has grown deep like the rivers” in line 3 is a simile. Compare more, winds buds, is his, fair fair, eternal shall, that ow’st, when in, men can, and lives this are good examples of consonance. Night light, day they, and right night are examples of assonance. ” There is a personification in line 3. Words like shall summers, thee to, thou temperate, art and, more more, do darling, and all a, summers short, sometimes shines, too the, hot heaven, fair from fair, summer shall and time thou are all examples of alliteration. Ancient as, human human, and I it are examples of alliteration in this poem. Like blacks, all of these rivers were a major resource to the countries and civilizations surrounding them. Antithesis is shown in line 14 when Shakespeare says ”So long lives this, and this gives life to thee. In this poem, Auden talks about the “miraculous birth” to pay reference to the birth of my lord and savior Jesus Christ. In Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18: Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer’s Day, figurative language is prevalent throughout the course of the poem.
Common topics in this essay:
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