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Essay on poetic literary devices
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Homework Machine is a poem written by Shel Silverstein. Shel Silverstein was one of the first poets I have read and have taken a great liking to. Homework Machine is one of the many poems that I remember as a child. Although very simple, Homework Machine is still a great example of poetry. In this analysis is will be going over the poetic diction, rhyme and meter, poetic devices, figurative language, and symbolism In the poem, Silverstein uses very descriptive words that add to the poem. For example, Silverstein uses unique adjectives and verbs to add to the machine theme of the poem. These words include contraption, snap and switch. In addition, Silverstein uses easy words which helps the target audience, which is kids, to
As depicted in the poem "Kicking the Habit", The role of the English language in the life of the writer, Lawson Fusao Inada, is heavily inherent. As articulated between the lines 4 and 9, English is not just solely a linguistic device to the author, but heightened to a point where he considers it rather as a paradigm or state of mind. To the author, English is the most commonly trodden path when it comes to being human, it represents conformity, mutual assurance and understanding within the population. Something of which he admits to doing before pulling off the highway road.
In the novel, “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, he describes parts of his war experiences through the stories told throughout the book. O’Brien discusses the gory detailed chaos of the Vietnam war and his fellow “soldiers.” As O’Brien gives detail of the his “fictional” experiences, he explains why he joined the war. He also describes a time where his “character” wanted to escape a draft to Canada.
Picture this, a society where everything is done for you by machines, and one day you sick of it and what to get rid of everything non human like. That's what happening in In the story, “ The Veldt,” by Ray Bradbury. In this story he uses a metaphors, similes, hyperboles, varied sentence lengths, and different points of views. He does this to explain the settings of the story, create suspense, set up a problem, get the reader predicting what's going to happen next, and to provide background information. He also uses symbolism of the Veldt to show characters motivation, create the setting, set up the problem, proved background information, and lastly to build suspense.
Williams’ minimalist writing style employed free verse and by maintaining simplicity allowed the wheelbarrow to be the center of attention. He accomplished this task by breaking up the poem, which consisted of one sentence, into eight lines and further divided it into couplets. The beginning line of each couplet was longer than the second line, which only had one word. This formation allowed the reader to focus on specific words before moving to the next line. This is best illustrated in the opening lines, “so much depends/upon,” (Williams 288). Already, Williams has established the importance of the object by conveying to the reader that many things are dependent on the object. It is also significant that none of the words in the poem are capitalized nor did Williams
Most all ethnicities and cultures have been prosecuted at one time or another from an oppressing source. In the case of the Native Americans, it was the English coming in and taking their land right from underneath them. As the new colonies of the cohesive United States of America expanded, they ran into the territories of the then referred to Indians. These people were settled down south on the east coast, for example Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and the Carolinas. America obtained this land through the Louisiana Purchase, where they bought it from France. The Native Americans were already there before anyone, yet the big power countries bargained with their land. The Native Americans did not live the way the American democracy did, and they
This darkly satiric poem is about cultural imperialism. Dawe uses an extended metaphor: the mother is America and the child represents a younger, developing nation, which is slowly being imbued with American value systems. The figure of a mother becomes synonymous with the United States. Even this most basic of human relationships has been perverted by the consumer culture. The poem begins with the seemingly positive statement of fact 'She loves him ...’. The punctuation however creates a feeling of unease, that all is not as it seems, that there is a subtext that qualifies this apparently natural emotional attachment. From the outset it is established that the child has no real choice, that he must accept the 'beneficence of that motherhood', that the nature of relationships will always be one where the more powerful figure exerts control over the less developed, weaker being. The verb 'beamed' suggests powerful sunlight, the emotional power of the dominant person: the mother. The stanza concludes with a rhetorical question, as if undeniably the child must accept the mother's gift of love. Dawe then moves on to examine the nature of that form of maternal love. The second stanza deals with the way that the mother comforts the child, 'Shoosh ... shoosh ... whenever a vague passing spasm of loss troubles him'. The alliterative description of her 'fat friendly features' suggests comfort and warmth. In this world pain is repressed, real emotion pacified, in order to maintain the illusion that the world is perfect. One must not question the wisdom of the omnipotent mother figure. The phrase 'She loves him...' is repeated. This action of loving is seen as protecting, insulating the child. In much the same way our consumer cultur...
The speaker of this poem is a boy and also a student who is in 6th or 7th grade apparently. The speaker is a boy because boys seem more forgetful when compared with girls. In other words, girls are thoughtful and come overly prepared most of the time. Specifically, the speaker states, “But when I reached for my pen, it just wasn’t there”, it shows the persona is negligent. Moreover, from the sentence “I really don’t care what color or style”, it can be confirmed that the speaker is a guy, because girls always have high and detailed requirements about their stuff. In addition, it shows the speaker’s tone is peremptory and impatient from the sentence “Just gimme a pen before the teacher gets here!” So it can be conclude that the persona is a boy. The speaker is also a middle school boy because in the first line of the poem, it describes that “I walked into the classroom”, and middle school students are more likely to keep and use different kinds of pens.
Selina Raymond Mrs. Hildebrand English 102 18 April 2018 Literary Analysis of Savior Machine Many people do not realize how similar poetry and music are. Both poetry and music are commonly known as an outlet for artists to express their emotions. Some similarities they both have are rhythm, expression, and emotion. Those three components make it easy for the readers to understand what message the artist is trying to portray.
Poets often use techniques such as tone, imagery, themes, and poem structure to create a more complex view of their stance on the subject. These features can make the poem more interesting to the reader and helps to develop their story. The use of imagery in a poem can take the reader on a journey filled with sensory images that help the reader to connect with the subjects of the poems. The tone of the poem determines the mood and feelings that the reader will experience. The theme of a poem holds the true meaning and point of the poem and is explained using the above literary techniques. While “Mirror” by Sylvia Plath and “Piano” by D.H. Lawrence both contain imagery and tone to convey the poets’ common theme of the longing for the past to revive itself, the poets use different poem structures that further convey their overall message.
Throughout the entire poem Shel Silverstein uses the innocence of the little girl to create a vast amount of imagery so that the reader can understand right away what kind of person is talking in the poem and what state of mind she is. Mary Keleshian from GlemMagazine stated that in imagery it is “To describe everything is to supply a photograph in words.” This would mean that the way Silverstein add all the the imagery was done precisely and effort. The readers see all the representation of imagery in their head with all the “symptoms” she describes in the poem. The imagery also gives the reader an understanding of how the innocence shows immediately from how the girl describes all sorts of conditions she has so she won't have to go to attend school. One of the many examples of Imagery shown in the poem would be when “Sad little peggy Ann” says “ I've counted sixteen chicken pox and there's one more- that's seventeen, and don't you think my face looks green?” How the little girl describes how her face looks green gives the reader an image of a sort of cartoon sick person whose face is green. Which rubs off a little innocence to even the reader because of how well done the imagery is made. Michael Smathers from WiseGeek states that “The primary function of imagery in literature is to bring a lifelike quality to scenery, people, or circumstances.” Silverstein creates the sort of lifelike
To begin, the reader may gather that the poem has a very dark and saddened tone. Due to Lowell's vivid imagery, a mental image of a dark urban setting is created. It also seems very cold, with the mentioning of wind and nighttime. Readers may be able to relate to urban places they know, adding to the reality of the poem. Connections can be made. The imagery is left in such a way that the reader can fill in the gaps with their own memories or settings. Also, since the poem uses free verse, the structure is left open to interpretation. This makes the poem more inviting and easier to interpret, rather than reading it as a riddle. However, though simple in imagery, the poem still captures the reader's interest due to the creation it sparks, yet it never strays away from the theme of bei...
Equally as important, Owen attempted to refine his language mechanics to enhance the aesthetic quality of his work. Finally, there is evidence of a concerted effort to universalize the poem for readers of diverse experience. In contrast to prose writing, diction must be sparing and more powerfully effective in poetry. Each word must serve a specific purpose beyond the creation of a basic meaning. Word connotation must remain foremost in the poet's mind.
The absence of a specific rhyme pattern also contributes chaos to the tone. The structure of the poem is abstract, much like the characters thoughts and feelings. The rhymes are all over the place and the rhythm is often broken up with words that make it unbalanced and add tension. Another technique the author uses is lots of repetition. This helps to add emphasis and give a more dramatic effect to certain phrases. “Ich, ich, ich, ich,” (932) adds emphasis to her being unable to speak. At some points the repetition sounds a bit childlike showing her inner child. This is evident when she says “and get back, back, back to you” (933). The repetition along with the abundant use of “--oo” sounds and when the author uses terms like “achoo”, “daddy”, “freakish”, “neat”, and “gobbledygoo,” seems to create a Dr. Seuss effect on the poem. It is apparent the naïve child within her is influencing her thoughts and writings. Then, when the dark metaphors and the negative connotation towards her father are added, the tone is set. The internal conflict becomes apparent between the child who loved her “daddy” and the woman who has learned to see the man for what he truly was, a monster.
The choice of words of the author also contributes to the development of the theme. For example, the use of words like "drafty," "half-heartedly," and "half-imagined" give the reader the idea of how faintly the dilemma was perceived and understood by the children, thus adding to the idea that the children cannot understand the burden the speaker has upon herself. In addition, referring to a Rembrandt as just a "picture" and to the woman as "old age," we can see that these two symbols, which are very important to the speaker and to the poem, are considered trivial by the children, thus contributing to the concept that the children cannot feel what the speaker is feeling.
Swimming through the river, like a red bolt of lightning, the salmon tries to find the place it was born at so it can spawn. It has learned this through the species’ trial and error, which is acquiring knowledge, one of the most important parts of a journey. As we’ve seen through many journeys, such as the poem by CP Cavafy “Ithaka”, and the migrations of animals like salmon, beluga whales, and horseshoe crabs, the journey is the most important thing out of an adventure. Although the destination still matters, the journey is where you gain all of your knowledge and your important items from.