Literary Devices/Figures of Speech

Fire and Ice

1.Assonance- it is repetition of vowel sounds in same line. The repetition is at
different places in different words.
Example- The long sound of “o” in “I hold with those who favour fire”

2. Alliteration- alliteration is the repetition of a consonant sound at the start of

two or more closely placed words.
Example- The sound of “f” in “favour fire”, “w” in “world will”

3. Imagery- Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five
senses. Example- “Some say the world will end in fire”
“To say that for destruction ice Is also great”

4. Anaphora- the repetition of a word or expression at the start of two or more

consecutive lines.
Example – “Some say” is repeated at the start of lines 1 and 2.

6. Personification- Personification is to give human qualities to inanimate

objects. In this poem, “fire” and “ice” are capable of destruction. Thus, the poet
personifies fire and ice by giving them mind and power to destroy anything.

7. Enjambment- it is defined as the thought or clause that does not come to an

end at a line break, rather it moves over to the next line.
Example- “From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire”

8.Symbolism-Symbolism is a use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities by

giving them symbolic meanings different from their literal meanings. “Fire” is
the symbol of desires and “Ice” symbolizes hatred.

9.Personification-Personification is to assign human qualities to nonliving

things.
Eg. Fire and Ice capable of destruction

10.Metaphor-Fire and Ice as metaphors for the human emotions related to

desire and hatred.

11.Antithesis-Fire is the antithesis of ice. Two contrasting and directly opposite

destructive forces have been the hallmark of this poem-Fire and Ice.
 Dust of Snow

1.Alliteration – Repetition of same consonant sound in consecutive or nearby

words.
Has given my heart – ‘h’ sound has been repeated.
And saved some part –‘s’ sound has been repeated.

2.Assonance – Repetition of vowel sound in consecutive or nearby words.

Shook down on me – ‘o’ sound has been repeated.

3.Enjambment – continuation of a sentence to the next line. Here the entire

poem is a continuous line.

4.Inversion – when the structure of a sentence is changed by the poet to create

rhyme, this poetic license is called inversion. In stanza 1, inversion can be
seen.
5.Metaphor - The poet has compared the snowflakes with dust in line 3.

6.Imagery - The poet has given the visual description of the whole stanza.

7.Contrast - The poet has used two words crow and snow to show contrast. The crow
stands for something dark and doomy while the snow stands for something light and
pure.

8.Symbolism - When something has been used as a symbol. Eg-The hemlock tree is
a poisonous tree which has been used as a symbol of death by the poet and the crow
has been used as a symbol of something inauspicious or something which can
worsen a person's mood as the crow is often regarded as the ugliest of all animals.

9.Synecdoche - The poet has mentioned that his heart was given a change of mood
but it’s not only his heart but his entire self who has been given a change of mood by
the dust of snow.

A Tiger in the Zoo

Stanza-1
Personification: The tiger is personified because the poet refers him as ‘he’.
Metaphor: Tiger’s paws are compared with velvet (pads of velvet)
Imagery: poet tries to create an image about the tiger (He stalks in his vivid stripes
The few steps of his cage)
Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘I’ (in his vivid stripes)
Oxymoron: use of adjectives opposite in meaning (quiet rage)
Consonance: There is a prominent sound of the consonant ‘s’-Stalks in his vivid
stripes
Stanza-2
Alliteration: use of sound ‘p’ at the start of two words (plump pass)
Imagery: The poet has tries to create an image of tiger’s activities (lurking in
shadow).

Stanza-3
Enjambment: The sentences are being continues to the next line without any
use of punctuation marks-
Eg; He should be snarling around houses
At the jungles’s edge
Onomatopoeia: Using words which denote sound (snarling)
Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘o’ and ‘I’ (should, around, houses), (Baring, his,
white, his)
Consonance: Prominent sound of ‘s’-Baring his white fangs, his claws.

Stanza-4
Personification: The tiger is personified because the poet refers him as ‘he’.
Assonance: use of vowel sound ‘e’ (he, locked, concrete, cell)
Alliteration: use of sound ‘b’ at the start of two words (behind bars)
Metonymy: Metonymy is the substitution of the name of an attribute for that
of the thing meant. In the poem, the poet calls body of the tiger as
its strength (Stanza 4).

Stanza-5
Alliteration: use of sound ‘h’ in the starting of two words (he hears)
Assonance: use of ‘I’ sound (with, his, brilliant), repeated use of vowel ‘o’ (boy,
now, who, lost)
Repetition-The word ‘brilliant’ has been repeated.

The Ball Poem

Anaphora: use of repeated words in two or more lines (What is the boy… what,
what and merrily … merrily)

Assonance: repeated use of vowel ‘o’ (boy, now, who, lost),use of vowel sound
‘e’ (He is learning, well behind his desperate eyes)

Imagery: when poet says merrily bouncing down the street

Repetition: ‘what’ is repeated, ‘ball’ word is repeated

Alliteration: use of sound ‘b’ at the start of two consecutive words (buys a ball
back)

Personification - The poet has used the phrase merrily bouncing for the ball. Being
happy is a characteristic of humans.
Symbolism - Here, ball is a symbol of childhood, which if lost, cant be brought back.
It was also used as a symbol of possessions.

Apostrophe - It is a literary device in which a physically absent person is addressed.

The poet addresses the boy who was not physically present with him - "Balls, balls
will be lost always, little boy."

Metaphor: Word or phrase is symbolically used to convey an idea.

Eg.balls will be lost always
‘Ball’ here symbolizes possessions which we lose. It also refers to the childhood which
if lost never comes back.

Enjambment: It is the continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of

a line or stanza.
Ex:I saw it go merrily, merrily bouncing, down the street, and then
Merrily over — there it is in the water!