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Term 3- Course Work 2

Literary Devices in Poetry

Read the following poem and answer questions(1-10)

Operating Room
By John Reed

Sunlight floods the shiny many-windowed place,

Coldly glinting on flawless steel under glass,
And blaring imperially on the spattered gules1
1. The color red
Where kneeling men grunt as they swab the floor. 2. An hospital attendant responsible for the
nonmedical care of patients, order, and
Startled eyes of nurses swish by noiselessly, cleanliness
Orderlies2 with cropped heads swagger like murderers; 3. A gradual increase in loudness or intensity
And three surgeons, robed and masked mysteriously,
Lounge gossiping of guts, and wish it were lunch-time.

Beyond the porcelain door, screaming mounts crescendo3

—
Case 4001 coming out of the ether,
Born again half a man, to spend his life in bed.
Directions: Respond to these questions to the best of your
ability. Answer the questions completely.

1aWhat is the subject of this poem? What is this poem

about? Explain your response. (2mks)
The subject of the poem is an operating room as the poem
goes on to describe the things you may see there and the
behavior of the people in the room as surgeons talk and a
man is awakening to possibly realize he is paralyzed.

2. Identify one example of simile: explain which two things

are being compared. (2mks)
“Orderlies2 with cropped heads swagger like murderers”
In line 6 there is a simile comparison of the orderlies
which is an assistant to the surgeon as they move in a
haste pattern as compared to a murder who can give off
the same behavoir.

3a.Identify an example of personification in the poem.

(1mk)
3b.Explain what is being personified how. (2mks)
Gossiping can only take place in human form and the
word guts is a reference to a thing. Lounging references
that the action of gossiping is taking place in a break room
so the personification” lounge gossiping of guts' ' can
mean that the surgery taking place is being humanly
compared to the talk that takes place in a break
room/lounge room.

4a. Identify an example of hyperbole in the poem. (1mk)

4b. Explain how it is exaggerated. (2mks)
One example of a hyperbole is”To spend his life in bed”.
This hyperbole is exaggerated because it is referencing
that the man is possibly paralyzed and he would have to
spend his life in bed but it is an exaggeration because the
man would obviously not have to spend his life laying
down in a bed
5a. Identify an example of metaphor in the poem. (1mk)
5b. Explain which two things are being compared. (2mks)
“ Case 4001 coming out of the eter. Born again half a
man” is a metaphor as it is comparing the patient coming
out of anesthesia to a rebirth of a person after surgery.
6. Find two separate examples of alliteration. List the
alliterative words. (2mks)
An example of an alliteration would be “masked
mysteriously” and “gossiping of guts”. Both examples
repeat the constant initial sounds of ‘m’ and ‘g’.
7a. Where is repetition used in this poem? Identify an
example. (2mks)
7b. What is the effect of the use of this literary device?
(2mks)
An example of repetition used in the poem is “masked
mysteriously”. Repetition can grab the reader's attention
and create rhythm as well as a strong emphasis on a
particular part of a poem or stanza

8. How is imagery used in this poem? What is described?

(2mks)
Imagery is used in the poem as they describe the
operating room they are in as a very windowed place with
stainless steel under it that the sun reflects coldly upon.
They also provide a sense of sound when they say that the
nurses swish by noiselessly as well as screaming mounts
crescendo saying that the noise increases as they go past
the porcelain door. There is a distinct imagery of men
kneeling and surgeons wearing masks. It gives you a
picture of these things taking place as the surgeons stand
and have possible conversations about lunch.

9. What is the mood of this poem? (2mks)

The mood of the poem is sad, depressing and a bit chilling
because of the words used and the effect they have as
well as the seriousness of the environment of them being
in a hospital.
10. What does this line “Lounge gossiping of guts, and wish
it were lunch-time” reveal about the surgeons? Explain
your answer. (2mks)
The line “Lounge gossiping of guts, and wish it were lunch
time” reveals that the surgeons have a laid back sense of
humour when dealing with the seriousness of the tragic
situation. It also reveals that even in the serious
environment they still joke around and they obviously
need to eat like everyone else.