The Figure of Speech in the following poems with explanations.

The figure of speech in the following poems with explanations.

1)  My mother at sixty six

A) Her face ashen like that corpse : Simile – face compared with dead body’s ash

B) As a late winter’s moon and felt that old: Simile – pale face compared with disappearing of moon

C) All I did was smile and smile and smile…… : Repetition- smile word is repeated.

2)  An Elementary School Classroom in a slum

A) Far far from gusty waves: Repetition

B) The paper seeming boy: Metaphor – boy is compared with paper.

C) On sour cream walls: Metaphor

D) A narrow street sealed in with a lead sky : metaphor and alliteration – letter ‘S’ repeated

E)  With mended glasses , like bottle bits on stones : Simile

F)   Run naked into books the white and green leaves : Metaphor

3)  Keeping quiet

A)          Let’s not speak in any language

Let’s stop for one second: Anaphora - ‘Let’s’ words repeat at the beginning of successive clauses, phrases, or sentences.

B) Without rush, without engines: Alliteration

C)           Wars with gas, wars with fire : Repetition and alliteration

D)          If we were not so single-minded : Alliteration

4)  A Thing of Beauty

A)           A Bower quiet : Metaphor -  calmness of the bower is compared to the calming effect of a beautiful thing

B)And a sleep full of sweet dreams : Alliteration

C)          Are we wreathing : Inversion – normal order is reversed

D)          Trees old and young : Antithesis – two opposite words are used

E)Band to bind us to the earth: Alliteration

F) Of nobles natures

Of all the unhealthy: Anaphora-

G)         Sprouting a shady boon: Alliteration and Imagery

H)          Have heard or read : Alliteration – ‘H’ letter is repeated

I)   Immortal drink: Metaphor - beautiful objects of nature are forever like a never-ending portion of a drink.

J)  Musk-rose: Imagery

5)  Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers

A)          Topaz denizens of a world: Metaphor- use of Topaz to describe the yellow colour of tigers.

B)They do not fear

They pace in sleek: Anaphora

C)          Fingers fluttering: Alliteration

D)          Prancing, proud and unafraid: Alliteration

Prepared by 

Haridas Patil

(Blogger, Educator and Trainer)