POETIC DEVICES IN POEMS(XII)

S.NO. POEM DEVICE LINES EXPLANATION

1. My Mother at sixty- Simile 1. Her face ashen like a corpse

six
2. As a late winter’s moon
- Kamala Das

Metaphor 1. Trees sprinting Comparison of the vivacity of youth and life

as opposed to the decay of old age and
2. Merry children spilling out of their homes death.

Personification 1. Trees sprinting

Repetition 1. Smile and smile and smile

Imagery Merry children spilling out of their homes

1.

2. Keeping Quiet Antithesis Count to twelve …. Keep still

By Pablo Neruda

Pun Arms

Anaphora Let’s not…

Let’s not…

Symbol 1. Count to twelve

2. Fishermen

3. Brothers

4. Earth

Cold sea

Transferred Cold sea Weapons, arms

epithet

Alliteration Sudden strangeness repetition to create a bond with the reader

and stress his point.

Metaphor 1. Clean clothes 1. A measure of time- markings on the

clock, twelve active working hours
5. In the shade and twelve months of a year

2. Selfish nature of humans

3. Mankind

4. Earth can teach us as when

everything (Just as earth, the
 greatest creator) in

its sleeping mode appears to be dead

on surface but is actually dormant
and carefully preserving the seeds of life,
human beings too need to keep still and
quiet to rejuvenate and awaken the life
forces within and be productive.

5. The coldness of the sea is symbolic of

the frigidity of the fishermen. They
are heartless since they exploit
marine life to fulfil their own
purposes

Euphemism I want no truck with death The word ‘cold’ is applied to the lack of
feelings of the fishermen who exploit natural
resources to earn money.

3. A Thing of Beauty is a Metaphor 1. bower quiet 1. Fresh perspective and a healthy

Joy Forever – John outlook-
Keats 2. sweet dreams
The poet says that quiet introspection will
3. wreathing a flowery band make us comprehend the destructive nature
of wars. Man
 4. pall would shed his blood soiled clothes and don
on clean clothes i.e. he would cleanse his
5. endless fountain of immortal drink soul, heart and mind, purging it of all anger
2. and

hatred.

2. Peaceful existence- just as shade

protects us from the harsh sun, we
will protect and shelter each other as
brothers, thus live in peace

Alliteration noble natures; cooling covert; band to bind He doesn’t want to associate himself with
death and stagnation.

Imagery flowery bands, shady boon, daffodils in green world,

clear rills, cooling covert, grandeur of dooms, endless
fountain of eternal

drink

Symbol simple sheep ( men are the symbols who are guided by 1. Refers to a quiet shady spot in a
beautiful things to peace and happiness away from the garden
miseries of life )
2. Peaceful sleep

3. Connecting to nature
 4. A covering like a shroud

5. Deeds by great men which act as

source of inspiration for everyone.

Transferred gloomy days;

Epithet
unhealthy and o’er darkened ways

oxymoron Mighty dead

refers to mankind as Christ is the shepherd

who guides mankind away from the path of
sins and onto the path of redemption.

4. Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers- Alliteration- Finger’s fluttering; prancing proud; chivalric certainty;
Adrienne Rich weight of wedding band
.

Visual imagery Main image: Aunt Jennifer as a fearful wife

Magnificent tigers

Figurative
language to
explain Images of precious substances throughout the poem:
something that topaz, ivory, gold of the wedding ring
creates a
mental image.
Bright topaz denizens; world of green

Fluttering fingers: image of a bird flapping its wings

Ringed with ordeals: to express the struggles of aunt

Jennifer and the oppression she suffers and feels so
burdened by her marital constraints that they seem
like an ordeal to her

Irony ● Tigers drawn by Aunt Jennifer are bold while

the creator is weak

● It is ironical that Aunt Jennifer’s creations- the

tigers will continue to pace and prance freely,
while Aunt herself will remain terrified even
after death, ringed by the ordeals she was
controlled by in her married life
 The ring should make the Aunt protected and loved but
instead it enslaves or terrifies her.

Pun 1. Ring (as an adjective) in her finger which

sits heavily on her hand indicated
entrapment. As the ring encircles the
Makes use of finger, similarly, aunt Jennifer’s husband
words that have has encircled her in his clutches. Even in
more than one her death, the ring on her finger will
meaning remain as a testament of her unhappy
marriage in which she was trapped,
encircles and surrounded.

AND Ringed (as a noun) also refers to the wedding ring

which brings husband and wife into matrimony
forever. Here ring is a symbol of the sacred bond of
That sound marriage (stands for love and protection)
similar in
meaning

Symbol 1. Wedding band

2. Ringed

Refers to the 3. Aunt Jennifer

use of an 4. Tigers
object, figure,
event, situation 5. Yellow (bright topaz).
or an idea to 6. Embroidery
represent
something else- 7. Aunt (last stanza)
typically it has a
8. Uncle
deeper meaning
that differs 9. Men beneath the tree- predators
from its factual
meaning . The 10. Bright topaz- bright- yellowish brown colour of
things used for the tiger skin
symbolism are
11. Ivory needle
called
‘symbols’. ●

Metaphor Ringed with ordeals: even death would not free her as
the wedding band, a symbol of oppression, would yet
be on her finger.

Transferred Terrified hands:

epithet

‘Pace’ and ‘prance’ are action words. The rhyme

mimics the movement of the tigers.

2.
Hyperbole Massive weight of the uncle’s wedding band 1. - symbol of oppression in an unhappy
marriage. Its weight refers to the
burden of gender expectations.

2. means encircled or trapped, losing

individuality and freedom.

3. - a typical victim of male oppression

in an unhappy marriage, who suffers
loss of individuality, dignity and
personal freedom silently. She
becomes dependent, fearful and frail
in a male- dominant society.

4. - symbolize untamed free spirit,

courage, bravery, freedom and
confidence. Here they stand in
contrast/ antithesis to their creator’s
personality. The use of colours
implies that Aunt Jennifer tigers and
their land are more vital and enjoy a
sense of freedom far greater than
her. They pace and prance freely,
proudly, fearless, confident and
majestic, fearless of men

5. connotes the sun and fierce

energy; green reminds one of spring
and vitality

6. - symbol of creative expression. The

 artwork expresses the Aunt’s
suppressed desires and becomes her
escape from the oppressive reality of
her life.

7. – as opposed to Aunt Jennifer. It

shows that she has lost her identity
completely, thus lost even her name.

8. Male chauvinistic mindset.

9. Men beneath the tree- predators

10. Bright topaz- bright- yellowish brown

colour of the tiger skin

11. Characteristic of the hunting of

elephants for ivory, typically hinting
at the oppression faced by women at
the hands of men.

Metonymy Wedding ring- male domination

When
something is
described by
using an object
closely
associated with
it.

A part standing
for an entire
concept

Enjambment Moving over from one line to another without Her hands are not terrified but her entire
terminating punctuation mark. personality is suppressed and frightened. The
atrocities of her husband and the slavery she
is subjected to have created a deep- rooted
The meaning runs over from one poetic line to the fear in her mind. Even death cannot liberate
next without any puntuation her from the miseries and chains of her
mental suppression. Humiliating slavery will
continue to haunt her.

Continuation of sentence beyond the end of a line or

stanza is used in the poem through the words
‘wool/find’..5,6, band/ … 7,8, lie/ Still, ‘made 9, 10/
will…11 , 12

1. Aunt Jennifer’s tigers fluttering through her

wool

Find even the ivory needle hard to pull

2. When aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie

Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.

The poet exaggerates the weight of the band

to make a point about the burden of the
relationship she has with her husband, how
dominating he is. The wedding band appears
to be weighing her down and it appears to be
more of a restrain than a symbol of freedom
and love.

The over-the-top description is meant to

convey the idea that the lady is subjugated
and bound by the social mores. The weight is
more mental than physical