Good commentary must include: - Clear organization - Understanding of literary techniques - Alliteration - Metaphors - she is snow - Onomatopoeia - words that are spelt in a similar way to the sound - Allegory - narrative using symbols - Euphemism - cold slumber (death) - Similes - white as snow ( ... Motif - an idea or a theme that recurs throughout a play, story or poem - Setting - Paradox - idea that cannot be understood but has a deeper meaning alienation Ability to explain author's use of techniques to affect reader. (Balance sharp-edged critical analysis with personal impression.) Prepar...

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• Grade Level: High School

To His Coy Mistress- by Andrew Marvell (1621-1678). Analysis of figures of Speech and Poetic Devices. To begin, the title of the poem suggests that it is written by a man to his coy (shy) mistress. The poem is a metaphysical poem expressed in a romantic form, so it could be easily categorized as a love poem. The title addresses who the poem is from and who it is being addressed to. It has connotations of lust with the word "mistress." The theme of "To His Coy Mistress" is sexual desires not shared by both individuals and the man's proposal to love. In essence, the mistress is unresponsive t...

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• Grade Level: High School

... his readers' mental, emotional, and spiritual feelings. Despite his surface simplicity, Poe's artistry can be appreciated only when a reader explores his use of literary devices. In "The Raven,"" the persona begins his tale in his home on a dark and gloomy December night in this paraphrase: Once, during ... reading "The Raven- so closely, any reader can agree that it is an incredibly eerie and especially terrifying poem. Poe masterfully combines many literary techniques to fully achieve this spooky feeling. The repetitive six line stanzas written in iambic octameter keep a strict rhyming...

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• Grade Level: High School

... can be identified within the poems introduced in the readings. Before examining specific poems that contain these three techniques, it is important to consider why a poet would choose to use these techniques when writing about work and work-related issues and how they aid in communicating theses themes. During the ... working class could afford books so poetry was a form of literature written and available only to the rich. How does this relate to the writing techniques poets use when writing about work or work-related issues? Clearly there is a reason. Since the working class would have...

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... the reading public. The Education Act of 1870 made elementary education compulsory for everyone between the ages of 5 and 13. This led to the rapid expansion of a largely unsophisticated literary public, the rise of the popular press, and the mass production of 'popular' literature for a semi-literate 'lowbrow' readership. By the time of the First ... commercial and the avant-garde, became a feature of twentieth-century literature. Isolation and alienation, together with experimental forms of expression, came to characterise serious literature, while cinematic techniques and th...

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... literary writing techniques of syntax, repetition of lines, simile, metaphor, onomatopoeia, rhyme scheme and especially personification in his poems. The themes I have found in these select six poems support those methods and techniques. I would not be surprised if I read other examples of Frost's poems I would find the same themes and uses of literary ... methods in those poems also. In the poem The Pasture, Frost uses a literary technique to emphasize the line "I shan't be gone ... "Something there that is that doesn't love a wall," (pg. 889) sounds like the words are in the wrong or...

• Word Count: 1053
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• Grade Level: High School

... , or are there visual and/or performance aspects to it? What should and shouldn't be included? A typical dictionary might define poetry as literary composition written in verse with meaning. This simple definition only characterizes poetry on the surface, but there is so much more to poetry than ... always had an important place. It has always stood apart from all other forms of literature. It is the basis of every branch of literary and artistic expression. Poetry is why paintings, films, novels, and musical compositions are poetic. Poets say that poetry is a way to ... of poetry is to...

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• Grade Level: High School

... in which poets illustrate their views of certain topics. Poems have a suggestive power due to the different literary techniques that poets tend to use. Marge Piercy had a specific idea in mind when she wrote the poem entitled, "What's That Smell in the Kitchen?" The purpose Marge Piercy had for ... writing this poem was to express her opinion about feminist rights. Marge Piercy used metaphors and symbolism to maximize the effectiveness of her work. By using these techniques in combination with each other, Piercy successfully gets her message across that women detest the idea of being op...

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• Grade Level: High School

... Analytical Perspective One of the best ways to express your thoughts and inner-most feelings is to write. Maya Angelou understands that and uses every aspect of literary language to convey her heartfelt thoughts. In her popular poem "Still I Rise", Ms Angelou speaks of the crippling affects that darker skin can have on ... is amazing, her choice of words seems so far fetched, yet borders on brilliant. Another crucial element in the effectiveness of this poem is the many literary devices used. There is one main simile that this poem is based around: " Still like dust I"ll Rise" . There ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... the styles because the aim of both poets is the same. Sasson uses clear, sometimes colloquial language whereas Owen tends to use more old-fashioned language. Owen uses many more literary techniques than Sassoon including alliteration and metaphors. Sassoon uses simpler rhyme schemes of rhyming couplets and Owen does not. There is a deliberate simplicity to Sassoon's poem to show the horrifyingly blunt ... ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... seems to have an idea of what law is, but Auden ventures out to say nobody really knows what law is. In the poem "Law Like Love," Auden uses his literary techniques differently in the two sections of his poem to show the confusion people have about law. In lines 2-34 the reader sees a variety of views explaining the law, and a single ... see that law can be fairly simple to look at, just as the rhyming couplets are simpler than the confusing patterns in the first section. Though Auden's different use of literary techniques in the two sections of the poem, the reader is able to get a bet...

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... to embrace her lover and they engage in sexual activity. The tone of the poem in comparison to the opposing content plays a very significant role in the poem. Browning uses literary devices and symbols, amongst other means, to emphasize the meaning of the poem. The tone of the poem and the contents thereof are somewhat contradictory. The tone is very calm ... and content at the end of the poem creates an almost eerie atmosphere which might lead one to believe that Porphyria's lover is most certainly mad. Browning effectively uses certain literary techniques in order to produce an intere...

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• Grade Level: High School

... ;Man Bites Dog-Days" highlights the cynical tone towards the season of summer. Despite the differences in texts, however, Nash creates humor in his mundane-themed poetry by using literary features which gives a playful aspect and entertainment for the audience. Thus, it is essential to explore how the light verse and humor in Nash's poetry reflects and contributes to the ... ; Ogden Nash have created humor in order to draw the audience's attention to the underlying theme of American daily life and domestic routines. This is done by using a variety of literary techniques including rhythm, ...

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• Grade Level: High School

... Tyger", Blake diligently explores a timely question about the creation of evil. How does William Blake increase the meaning and feeling of his poem "The Tyger"? William Blake uses a variety of literary techniques and devices to express his thoughts vividly. One technique Blake uses is rhyme scheme. In "The Tyger", he uses an A, A, B, B rhyme scheme. This type of rhyme scheme that he utilizes ... created, quite possibly suggests that a spell was used as a part of the creation of the "tyger". This is how Blake uses rhyme scheme effectively throughout the poem. Repetition is another litera...

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• Grade Level: High School

... sirens sung so beautifully that men couldn't resist them, even though their lives would be taken. Margaret Atwood lures her audience in the poem "Siren Song" by utilizing many literary devices and techniques, which ultimately trick the reader into thinking that she will reveal something beneficial and the "song that is irresistible" (2-3). The sirens sang a song to fool men, but Atwood poetically ... poem shorter sentences are incorporated. The long sentences and choice of punctuation draw the reader into the poem a lot quicker than short sentences would. This structure is one of the te...

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• Grade Level: High School

... Essay E.E. Cummings and Carl Sandburg are alike in respect to their biographies, however, very different in the writing techniques they employ. Cummings is a twentieth century poet, as is Sandburg. Both had their first books of poetry published ... Enormous Room (1922). The Enormous Room is a witty account of his experiences in a French detention camp. This book contained Cummings first attempt of literary attacks on authoritarianism. Tulips and Chimneys was Cummings first book of poetry and it was extremely popular. Cummings was a poet who showed, through his ... influences were. Gertr...

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... basic plot that does not require too much thought to figure out. However if you look at the language of the piece you can find that the writer uses many literary devices to enhance the language, and make it more interesting. One of the most obvious device used by the writer in Beowulf is alliteration. There are many examples of this ... was exactly how life was. This type of story would actually be spoken by a poet during a feast in the kings mead-hall. Which explains the use of a lot of the literary techniques. These were used so the poet, or scop, could remember the story while reciti...

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... symbolic nature of the play. We may also say this is true upon contemplating To The Lighthouse. In doing so, an audience may agree that through careful reflection, dramatic and literary devices used likewise by both playwright and author allow them further understanding of the texts. Devices such as imagery, themes and motifs and also characterisation, along with settings and the ... so without acknowledging the poetry and symbolism within, and thus the poetic and symbolic nature of the play. In order to do this audiences must then pay careful attention to literary and dramatic devices ...

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... even-tempered, but negative tone. The poem is based around the literal returning of passed soldiers in the sense that they were not appreciated. Dawe utilizes a variety of imagery and literary techniques to further emphasize the deeper significance while attempting to convey the message that war is unavailing and effectively a waste of human life. "Homecoming" makes use of enjambment throughout, more so ... an early age, leading an unfulfilling life. They are quite unlucky having never received the recognition they deserved at the end of the war. By using a great deal of poetic techniqu...

• Word Count: 951
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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Poet of Many Personas Emily Dickinson is a poet of many faces. She often writes through many different personas who are easy to relate to. One of her greatest techniques is to write about the particulars of her emotions in an adage-like tone. Dickinson uses the connotation of the sea and slant rhyme in "Wild Nights-Wild Nights" and ... pleasure. In both poems, the underlying meaning of every word is important and the true meaning may be locked away with Dickinson in her grave. She also uses many different literary techniques throughout her work which is why she is such a popular poet, and th...

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... say that Dickinson is unlike any toher poet. "Her compact, forceful language, characteried formally by long disruptive dashes, heavy iambic meters, and angular, imprecise rhymes, is one fo the singular literary achievements of of the nineteenth century. Her aphoristic style, whereby substantial meanings are compressed into very few words, can be daunting, but many of her best and most famous poems ... the topography of her own psyche; she explores her own feelings with painstaking and often painful honesty but never loses sight of their universal poetic application; one of her greatest ...

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"Slough" critical essay Some poems may be based on either an intense emotion or a forceful idea. Choose one such poem and, by close study of the poetic techniques used, show how effectively the poet has conveyed the idea or emotion. "Slough," written by John Betjeman, is a comic poem talking about a serious subject. John Betjeman conveys very strongly his ... over development. Other issues are subtly added in, such as the problem of harassment in the work place. The strong emotions and feelings, mixed with his humour, word choice and literary techniques are effective in many ways. A great de...

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... in Shakespeare's play. The two plays and the epic poem by Milton simply point out that the desire for power is the beginning of wickedness and villainess. In the three literary works, all the villains gained the power they wanted including Satan who after his rebellion gained power over his followers. Satan also reveals his evil intentions just as Richard III ... main theme of a sonnet was love. However, the sonnet evolved under the influence of different writers such as William Shakespeare, John Milton, Wyatt, Surrey, Sidney, and Spenser who used various techniques to make their works ...

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• Grade Level: Undergraduate

THE LIFE OF ROBERT BROWNING Robert Browning is an excellent example to use when one is discussing how individuals struggle to survive in the literary world. Life is full of surprises, twists, turns, and rewards that can either cause an individual to fail or succeed. Robert Browning's life showed his determination to conquer fate in ... that the ones who try with all of their might and still fail, are stronger achievers than those who reach their goals (Jones). Browning continued to write poetry using these techniques until his death in 1889 ("Robert Browning" 10). In conclusion, we can all l...

• Word Count: 1010
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

THE LIFE OF ROBERT BROWNING Robert Browning is an excellent example to use when one is discussing how individuals struggle to survive in the literary world. Life is full of surprises, twists, turns, and rewards that can either cause an individual to fail or succeed. Robert Browning's life showed his determination to conquer fate in ... that the ones who try with all of their might and still fail, are stronger achievers than those who reach their goals (Jones). Browning continued to write poetry using these techniques until his death in 1889 ("Robert Browning" 10). In conclusion, we can all l...

• Word Count: 1010
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School