First Responder- Drucilla
Similes and Metaphors
A simile is a figure of speech in which two unlike things are explicitly compared
A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance.
The poem,āThe Purse-Seineā by Robinson Jeffers, is an example of the use of similes. Jeffers compares sardines caught in a fishing net to mankind in the way that they are are trapped in the ānetā of progression.
The sonnet, āThe Silken Tentā by Robert Frost, is an example of a metaphor. Frost uses the word ātentā as a metaphor for the word āwomanā.
Analogy
-the inference that if two or more things agree with one another in some respects they will probably agree in others.
In the poem āAll But Blindā, the poet Walter De La Mare names three animals which can only see under certain conditions and are blind in others- the mole, the bat and the owl. De La Mare is saying is that although some things may be blind to us humans, to each other, they can see.
Synesthesia
-a sensation produced in one modality when a stimulus is applied to another modality, as when the hearing of a certain sound induces the visualization of a certain color.
Allusion
-an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.
Intended for Sir Isaac Newton
āNature and Natureās laws lay hid in night:
God said, Let Newton be! and all was light.ā
– Alexander Pope is alluding to the biblical belief of creation. (Genesis 1:3- And God said, Let there be light and there was light.)
Personification
-a figure of speech in which an inanimate object or abstraction is endowed with human qualities or abilities.
Karl Shapiroās āA Cut Flowerā shows the use of personification. In this poem, the poet gives a flowering plant human qualities; feelings of cold, sickness,smell, love, sight speech and death.
http://www.merriam-webster.com
http://dictionary.reference.com
*Commenter Post*
A simile is a comparison device where “like” or “as” is used to compare two unlike things. I would like to add another simile I found when reading the poem “The Purse-Siene” by Robinson Jeffers. In line 8-9 Jeffers compares the fish’s body trying to quickly swim away to freedom to a live rocket. “Metaphor” is from the Greek word for transfer … When we use metaphor, we transfer to one thing the identity of something else that we associate with it.” (page 20) In the poem “The silken tent” line 7 also shows another metaphor, the tent is used to “signify the sureness of the soul”.
Similes, Metaphors, synthesis, allusion, analogies, personification and mythologies are all literary devices that poets use to get their point across to their readers. These devices make it easier for poets to express their thoughts and for readers to understand the message that the poet is trying to convey a little better. We might not notice it but we use these literary devices in our daily language almost all the time.