Figures of Speech

This unit explains the different Figures of Speech with examples - Alliteration, Allusion, Simile, Metaphor,
Personification, Oxymoron, Onomatopoeia, Anaphora, Ellipsis, Rhyme Scheme, Repetition, Apostrophe.

A figure of speech is an expressive use of language to show a special effect by using words in
distinctive ways. The special effect may be rhyming sounds or any other. There are many
figures of speech, here are some of them.

Alliteration:
The repetition of an initial consonant sound*. It depends on the sound and not on repetition of
letters.
*The sound of English alphabets except vowels (a, e, i, o, u).
Ex: “Guinness is good for you” – It is alliterative as words Guinness and good gives similar
consonant sound.
“Climate change is observed lightly in Tamil Nadu” – Non alliterative as
words Climate and Change gives different sound.

Allusion:
A reference to a person, place or event that happened – may be real or fiction. The reference
may be to any painting, script, character etc.
Ex: “He is a real Romeo with ladies” – Here the reference is to the character “Romeo” in
Shakespeare’s plays Romeo and Juliet.

Simile:
Comparing two dissimilar things that have certain qualities in common. It is usually done
with phrase “like” or “as”.
Ex: “He is as tall as Eifel tower”

Metaphor:
An implied comparison between two unlike things that actually have something important in
common.
Ex: “The streets were a furnace, the sun an executioner.” (Cynthia Ozick, “Rosa”) – Here
the streets are compared to the furnace and the sun to the executioner. Here too the
comparison is done as like simile but it is in broader sense.
NOTE: Similes mostly uses the comparison words “like” and “as”. The other comparison can be
attributed to metaphor.

Personification:
A figure of speech in which a lifeless object or abstraction is provided with human qualities
or abilities.
Ex: “The wind stood up and gave a shout.” – Here the wind (lifeless object) is compared to a
human standing up and shouting.

Oxymoron:
A figure of speech in which contradictory terms appear side by side.
Ex: “The best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep.” – Here the insomnia (habitual
sleeplessness) is compared with sleeping – Contradictory words.

Onomatopoeia:
The use of words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to.
Ex: “Ding Dong! The door bell is ringing.”

Anaphora:
The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses.
Ex: “I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, and I needed a
home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun.” (Raymond Chandler, Farewell,
My Lovely, 1940) –
The word “needed” is repeated in the above verses.

Ellipsis:
Ellipsis is the omission of one or more words, which must be supplied by the reader.
Ex: “Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say
something.” (Plato) – Here the second sentence does not contain the word “talk”.

Rhyme Scheme:
The arrangement of Rhymes in a poem. Rhyme here stands for the similarity of sounds.

Repetition:
It is the simple repeating of a word, within a sentence or a poetical line, with no particular
placement of the words, in order to provide emphasis.
Apostrophe:
Breaking off the line to address some absent person or thing, some abstract quality, an
inanimate object, or a nonexistent character.
 A Psalm of Life
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!

And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,

Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,

And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world’s broad field of battle,

In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!

Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act, — act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us

We can make our lives sublime,
 And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,

Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,

With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

–Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Alliteration:

SENTENCE
Tell me not, in mournful numbers m
Tell me not, in mournful numbers n
For the soul is dead that slumbers s
And the grave is not its goal g
Was not spoken of the soul s
But to act, that each to-morrow t
Find us farther than to-day f
In the world’s broad field of battle b
Be not like dumb, driven cattle d
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main s
With a heart for any fate; f
Learn to labor and to wait l

Allusion:

SENTENCE
Dust thou art, to dust
Biblical
returnest
Let the dead Past bury its
Biblical
dead
Simile:

SENTENCE
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Be not like dumb, driven cattle

Metaphor

SENTENCE
Life is but an empty dream
In the bivouac of Life
Footprints on the sands of time
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main

Personification:

SENTENCE
For the soul is dead that slumbers
And our hearts, though stout and brave
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
A forlorn and ship wrecked brother

Oxymoron:

SENTENCE
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow

Anaphora:

SENTENCE
Life is real! Life is earnest
Dust thou art, to dust returnest
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow
Let the dead Past bury its dead

Repetition:

SENTENCE
Act,—act in the living Present
Still achieving, still pursuing

Rhyme Scheme: ab ab.

Rhyming words:
Numbers, Slumbers – dream, seem – earnest, returnest – goal, soul – sorrow, tomorrow –
way, today – fleeting, beating – brave, grave – battle, cattle – life, strife – pleasant, present –
dead, overhead – remind us, behind us – sublime, time – another, brother – main, again –
doing, pursuing – fate, wait.

Women’s Rights

You cannot rob us of the rights we cherish,

Nor turn our thoughts away
From the bright picture of a “Woman’s Mission”
Our hearts portray.

We claim to dwell, in quiet and seclusion,

Beneath the household roof,–
From the great world’s harsh strife, and jarring voices,
To stand aloof;–

Not in a dreamy and inane abstraction

To sleep our life away,
But, gathering up the brightness of home sunshine,
To deck our way.
As humble plants by country hedgerows growing,
That treasure up the rain,

And yield in odours, ere the day’s declining,

The gift again;

So let us, unobtrusive and unnoticed,

But happy none the less,
Be privileged to fill the air around us
With happiness;
 To live, unknown beyond the cherished circle,
Which we can bless and aid;
To die, and not a heart that does not love us
Know where we’re laid.
-Annie Louisa Walker

Alliteration:
SENTENCE
You cannot rob us of the rights we cherish r
We claim to dwell, in quiet and seclusion k
As humble plants by country hedgerows growing h
And yield in odours, ere the day’s declining d
To die, and not a heart that does not love us d
Simile:
SENTENCE
As humble plants by country hedgerows growing
Metaphor
SENTENCE
But, gathering up the brightness of home sunshine
Be privileged to fill the air around us
Personification:
SENTENCE
To sleep our life away

Rhyme Scheme: ab ab
Rhyming Words:
Away, portray – roof, aloof – away, way – rain, gain – less, happiness – aid, laid.

The Nation United

A NOISELESS, patient spider,
I mark’d where on a little promontory it stood isolated,
Mark’d how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,
It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,
Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.
And you O my soul where you stand,
Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,
 Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them,
Till the bridge you will need be form’d, till the ductile anchor hold,
Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul.

– Walt Whitman
Alliteration:
SENTENCE
Mark’d how to explore the vacant
v
vast surrounding
It launch’d forth filament,
f
filament, filament, out of itself
And you O my soul where
s
you stand
Surrounded, detached, in
s
measureless oceans of space
Ceaselessly musing, venturing,
throwing, seeking the spheres to s
connect them
Till the gossamer thread you fling
s
catch somewhere, O my soul

Metaphor
SENTENCE
Surrounded, detached, in
measureless oceans of space
Till the gossamer thread you fling catch
somewhere

Anaphora:
SENTENCE
I mark’d where on a little promontory it
stood isolated,
Mark’d how to explore the vacant vast
surrounding,
Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly
speeding them
Till the bridge you will need be form’d, till
the ductile anchor hold,
Till the gossamer thread you fling catch
somewhere, O my soul.
Repetition:
SENTENCE
It launch’d
forth filament, filament, filament, out of
itself,

English Words
Speech that came like leech-craft
And killed us almost, bleeding us white!
You bleached our souls soiled with impurities.
You bathed our hearts amid tempestuous seas
Of a purer, drearier, delight.

O tongues of fire! You came devouring

Forests of nightshade, creepers that enmesh,
Trees that never remembered to grow,
And shrubs that were but thornmills in our flesh.
You were the dawn, and sunlight filled the spaces
Where owls were hovering.

O winged seeds! You crossed the furrowed seas

To nestle in the warm and silent earth.
Like a golden swarm of fireflies you came
Pining for a new agony, a new birth.
You blossomed into a nascent loveliness.
You ripened into nectar in fruit-jars
That hung like clustered stars.

O winging words! Like homing bees you borrow

Grown murmurous, the honey of delight,
Pollened within our hearts the coming morrow,
 Sweetened within our souls for aeons bright:
You kindle in the far corners of the earth
The music of an ever-deepening chant:
The burthen of a waneless, winterless spring,
The gospel of an endless blossoming.
Fathomless words, with Indo-Aryan blood
Tingling in your veins.
The spoils of ages, global merchandise
Mingling in your strains!
You pose the cosmic riddles:

In the beginning was the Word

And the Word was God.
The Word is in the middle
And the Word is Man.
In the end will be the Word
And the Word will be God in Man.
-V. K. Gokak

Alliteration:

SENTENCE
You bleached our souls soiled with
s
impurities
Of a purer, drearier, delight d
You were the dawn,
s
and sunlightfilled the spaces
O winged seeds! You crossed the
s
furrowed seas
O winging words! Like
w, b
homing bees you borrow
Sweetened within our souls for
s
aeons bright
The burthen of
w
a waneless, winterless spring

Simile:
SENTENCE
Speech that came like leech-craft
Like a golden swarm of fireflies you came
O winging words! Like homing bees you
borrow

Metaphor:
SENTENCE
And shrubs that were but thornmills in
our flesh
You were the dawn, and sunlight filled the
spaces
O winged seeds! You crossed the furrowed
seas

Personification:
SENTENCE
And killed us almost, bleeding us white
You blossomed into a nascent loveliness
Fathomless words, with Indo–Aryan
blood

Anaphora:
SENTENCE
You bleached our souls soiled with
impurities.
You bathed our hearts amid tempestuous
seas
You blossomed into a nascent loveliness.
You ripened into nectar in fruit-jars
The music of an ever-deepening chant:
The burthen of a waneless, winterless
spring,
The gospel of an endless blossoming.

Repetition:
SENTENCE
Pining for a new agony, a new birth
In the beginning was the Word
And the Word was God.
The Word is in the middle
And the Word is Man.
In the end will be the Word
And the Word will be God in Man.

Rhyme Scheme Rhyme Words

abba Devouring, hovering ; enmesh, flesh;
abcb Earth, birth ;
Borrow, morrow ; delight, bright ;
abab
veins, strains; god, word ; man, man;

Snake
A snake came to my water-trough
On a hot, hot day, and I in pyjamas for the heat,
To drink there.

In the deep, strange-scented shade of the great dark carob-tree

I came down the steps with my pitcher
And must wait, must stand and wait; for there he was at the trough
before me.

He reached down from a fissure in the earth-wall in the gloom

And trailed his yellow-brown slackness soft-bellied down,
over the edge of the stone trough,
And rested his throat upon the stone bottom,
And where the water had dripped from the tap, in a small clearness,
He sipped with his straight mouth,
Softly drank through his straight gums, into his slack long body, Silently.
Someone was before me at my water-trough,
And I, like a second comer, waiting.

He lifted his head from his drinking, as cattle do,

And looked at me vaguely, as drinking cattle do,
And flickered his two-forked tongue from his lips, and mused a moment,
And stooped and drank a little more,
Being earth-brown, earth-golden from the burning bowels of the earth,
On the day of Sicilian July, with Etna smoking.
 The voice of my education said to me:
He must be killed,
For in Sicily the black, black snakes are innocent, the gold are venomous.

And voices in me said: If you were a man

You would take a stick and break him now, and finish him off.

But must I confess how I liked him,

How glad I was he had come like a guest in quiet, to drink at my water-trough
And depart peaceful, pacified, and thankless,
Into the burning bowels of this earth?

Was it cowardice, that I dared not kill him?

Was it perversity, that I longed to talk to him?
Was it humility, to feel so honoured?
I felt so honoured.

And yet those voices:

If you were not afraid, you would kill him.

And truly I was afraid, I was most afraid;

But even so, honoured still more
That he should seek my hospitality
From out the dark door of the secret earth.
He drank enough
And lifted his head, dreamily, as one who has drunken,
And flickered his tongue like a forked night on the air, so black,
Seeming to lick his lips,
And looked around like a god, unseeing, into the air,
And slowly turned his head,
And slowly, very slowly, as if thrice adream,
Proceeded to draw his slow length curving round
And climb again the broken bank of my wall-face.
 And as he put his head into that dreadful hole,

And as he slowly drew up, snake-easing his shoulders, and

entered farther,
A sort of horror, a sort of protest against his withdrawing
into that horrid black hole,
Deliberately going into the blackness, and slowly drawing himself after,
Overcame me now his back was turned.

I looked round, I put down my pitcher,

I picked up a clumsy log
And threw it at the water trough with a clatter.

I think it did not hit him,

But suddenly that part of him that was left behind
convulsed in undignified haste,
Writhed like lightning, and was gone
Into the black hole, the earth-lipped fissure in the wall-front,
At which, in the intense still noon, I stared with fascination.

And immediately I regretted it.

I thought how paltry, how vulgar, what a mean act!
I despised myself and the voices of my accursed human education.

And I thought of the albatross,

And I wished he would come back, my snake.

For he seemed to me again like a king,

Like a king in exile, uncrowned in the underworld,
Now due to be crowned again.

And so, I missed my chance with one of the lords Of life.

And I have something to expiate;
 A pettiness.

– D.H. Lawrence

Alliteration:
SENTENCE
In the deep, strange-scentedshade
s
of the great dark carob-tree
He reached down from a fissurein
f
the earth-wall in the gloom
And trailed his yellow-
brown slackness soft-bellied s
down
He sipped with his straightmouth s
Softly drank through
his straightgums, into s
his slack long body,
And flickered his two-
forked tongue from his lips, and t
mused a
Being earth-brown, earth-golden
b
from the burning bowels of the
On the day of Sicilian July, with
s
Etna smoking
For in Sicily the black,
black snakes are innocent, the s
gold are venomous
And voices in me said: If you
m
were a man
How glad I was he had come like
g
a guest in quiet, to drink at my
And depart peaceful, pacified,
p
and thankless,
Into the burning bowels of this
b
earth
Was it humility, to feel
h
so honoured
From out the dark door of the
d
secret earth
And lifted his head, dreamily, as
d
one who has drunken,
And flickered his tongue like
f
a forked night on the air,
Seeming to lick his lips, l
And climb again the broken
b
bankof my wall-face
And as he put his head into that h
dreadful hole
into that horrid black hole h
At which, in the intense still noon,
s
I stared with fascination
I despised myself and the voices
m
of my accursed human education
And I wished he would come
v
back, my snake
And so, I missed my chance with
m
one of the lords

Allusion:
SENTENCE REFERENCE
Samuel T Coleridge’s
‘The Rime of the
And I thought of Ancient Mariner’. The
the albatross mariner shoots the
albatross, a traditional
symbol of good luck.

Simile:
SENTENCE
And I, like a second comer, waiting
He lifted his head from his
drinking, ascattle do
And looked at me vaguely, as drinking
cattle do
How glad I was he had come like a guest in
quiet, to drink at my
And flickered his tongue like a forked
night on the air
And looked around like a god
Writhed like lightning, and was gone
For he seemed to me again like a king
Like a king in exile, uncrowned in the
underworld

Metaphor
SENTENCE
Being earth-brown, earth–golden from
the burning bowels of the
Into the burning bowels of this earth
From out the dark door of the secret
earth
into that horrid black hole
And so, I missed my chance with one of
the lords
Personification:
SENTENCE
And lifted his head, dreamily, as one who
has drunken

Anaphora:
SENTENCE
Was it cowardice, that I dared not kill him?
Was it perversity, that I longed to talk to
him?
Was it humility, to feel so honoured?
And looked around like a god, unseeing,
into the air,
And slowly turned his head,
And slowly, very slowly, as if thrice
adream,
And climb again the broken bank of my
wall-face.
And as he put his head into that dreadful
hole,
A sort of horror, a sort of protest against
his withdrawing
into that horrid black hole
I looked round, I put down my pitcher,
I picked up a clumsy log
And I thought of the albatross,
And I wished he would come back, my
snake.

Repetition:
SENTENCE
On a hot, hot day, and I in pyjamas for the
heat
And must wait, must stand and wait
He lifted his head from his drinking,
as cattle do,
And looked at me vaguely, as
drinking cattle do,
Being earth-brown, earth-golden from the
burning bowels of the earth,
For in Sicily the black, black snakes are
innocent, the gold are venomous
But must I confess how I liked him,
How glad I was he had come like a guest in
quiet, to drink at my
Rhyme
Rhyme Words
Scheme
there, pitcher ; pitcher,
abac clatter;
Withdrawing, drawing;

The Man He Killed

“Had he and I but met
By some old ancient inn,
We should have sat us down to wet
Right many a nipperkin!”

“But ranged as infantry,

And staring face to face,
I shot at him as he at me,
And killed him in his place.”

“I shot him dead because —-

Because he was my foe,
Just so: my foe of course he was;
hat’s clear enough; although.”

“He thought he’d ’list, perhaps,

Off-hand like — just as I —
Was out of work — had sold his traps —
No other reason why.”

“Yes; quaint and curious war is!

You shoot a fellow down
You’d treat if met where any bar is
 Or help to half-a-crown.”

– Thomas Hardy
Alliteration:

SOUND
SENTENCE
REPEATED
Had he and I but met h
I shot at him as he at me h
Or help to half-a-crown h

Simile:

SENTENCE
But ranged as infantry

Repetition:

SENTENCE
And staring face to face
I shot at him as he at me,
And killed him in his place

Ellipsis:

SENTENCE
I shot at him as he at me

Rhyme Scheme Rhyme Words

met, wet; inn, nipperkin; because, was;
abab foe, although; perhaps, traps; down,
crown;
abcb Face, place;

Off to Outer Space Tomorrow Morning

You can start the Count Down, you can take a last look;
You can pass me my helmet from its plastic hook;
You can cross out my name in the telephone book –
For I’m off to Outer Space tomorrow morning.
 There won’t be any calendar, there won’t be any clock;
Daylight will be on the switch and winter under lock.
I’ll doze when I’m sleepy and wake without a knock –
For I’m off to Outer Space tomorrow morning.

I’ll be writing no letters; I’ll be posting no mail.

For with nobody to visit me and not a friend in hail,
In solit’ry confinement as complete as any gaol
I’ll be off to Outer Space tomorrow morning.

When my capsule door is sealed and my space-flight has begun,

With the teacups circling round me like the planets round the sun,

I’ll be centre of my gravity, a universe of one,

Setting off to Outer Space tomorrow morning.

You can watch on television and follow from afar,

Tracking through your telescope my upward shooting star,
But you needn’t think I’ll give a damn for you or what you are
When I’m off to Outer Space tomorrow morning.

And when the rockets thrust me on my trans-galactic hop,

With twenty hundred light-years before the first stop,
Then you and every soul on earth can go and blow your top –
For I’m off to Outer Space tomorrow morning.

– Norman Nicholson
Alliteration:

SENTENCE
You can start the Count Down, you
k, l
can take a last look
You can pass me my helmet from
h
its plastic hook
There won’t be any calendar, there
k
won’t be any clock
I’ll doze when I’m sleepy
v
and wake without a knock
For with nobody to visit me
n
and not a friend in hail
In
solit’ry confinement as complete as c
any gaol
When my capsule door is sealedand
s
my space-flight has begun
With the teacups circling round me
s
like the planets round the sun
Tracking through
your telescopemy upward shooting t
star

Simile:

SENTENCE
In solit’ry
confinement as complete as any gaol
With the teacups circling round me like the
planets round the sun

Metaphor

SENTENCE
I’ll be centre of my gravity, a universe of
one

Anaphora:

SENTENCE
You can start the Count Down, you can
take a last look;
You can pass me my helmet from its
plastic hook;
You can cross out my name in the
telephone book –
There won’t be any calendar, there
won’tbe any clock
I’ll be writing no letters; I’ll be posting no
mail

Repetition:

SENTENCE
With the teacups circling round me like the planets roundthe
sun

Ellipsis:

SENTENCE
I’ll doze when I’m sleepy and wake without a knock

Rhyme Scheme Rhyme Words

look, hook, book ; clock, lock, knock ;
aaab begun, sun, one ; afar, star, are ; hop,
stop, top;
aabc Mail, hail ;

The Solitary Reaper

Behold her, single in the field,
Yon solitary Highland Lass!
Reaping and singing by herself;
Stop here, or gently pass!
Alone she cuts and binds the grain,
And sings a melancholy strain;
O listen! for the vale profound
Is overflowing with the sound.

No nightingale did ever chaunt

More welcome notes to weary bands
Of travellers in some shady haunt,
Among Arabian sands:
A voice so thrilling ne’er was heard
In spring-time from the cuckoo-bird,
Breaking the silence of the seas
Among the farthest Hebrides.

Will no one tell me what she sings?

Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow
For old, unhappy, far-off things,
 And battles long ago:
Or is it some more humble lay,
Familiar matter of to-day?
Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain,
That has been, and may be again!

What’er the theme, the maiden sang

As if her song could have no ending;
I saw her singing at her work,
And o’er the sickle bending –
I listen’d motionless and still;
And, as I mounted up the hill,
The music in my heart I bore
Long after it was heard no more.
– William Wordsworth

Alliteration:

SENTENCE
And sings a melancholy strain s
No nightingale did ever chaunt n
More welcome notes
v
to wearybands
Among Arabian sands a
Breaking the silence of the seas s
Will no one tell me what she
v
sings
Perhaps the plaintive numbers
p
flow
For old, unhappy, far-off
f
things
Some natural sorrow, loss, or
s
pain
I saw her singing at her work s
The music in my heart I bore m

Allusion:

SENTENCE REFERENCE
Yon
Fields of scotland
solitary Highland Lass
 The reference is to the
Among Arabiansands Arabian desert, where the
nightingale sings.

Metaphor

SENTENCE
Is overflowing with the sound
No nightingale did ever chaunt
In spring-time from the cuckoo–bird,
Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow

Rhyme
Rhyme Words
Scheme
abcb lass, pass; ending, bending;
Grain, strain; profound, sound;
aabb heard, bird; seas, herbides; lay,
day; pain, again;
Chaunt, haunt; bands, sands;
abab sings, things; flow, ago; still,
hill; bore, more

Be the Best
It you can’t be a pine on the top of the hill,
Be a scrub in the valley – but be
The best little scrub by the side of the rill;
Be a bush, if you can’t be a tree.
If you can’t be a bush, be a bit of the grass,
And some highway happier make;
If you can’t be a muskie, then just be a bass-
But the liveliest bass in the lake!
We can’t all be captains, we’ve got to be crew,
There’s something for all of us here.
There’s big work to do and there’s lesser to do

And the task we must do is the near.

If you can’t be a highway, then just be a trail,
If you can’t be the sun, be a star;
 It isn’t by size that you win or you fail-
Be the best of whatever you are!

– Douglas Malloch

Alliteration:
SENTENCE
Be a scrub in the valley – but be b
The best little scrub by the side of
b
the rill
Be a bush, if you can’t be a tree b
If you can’t be a bush, be a bit of the
b
grass
And some highway happier make h
If you can’t be a muskie, then
b
just bea bass
But the liveliest bass in the lake b
We can’t all be captains, we’ve got
c
to be crew
If you can’t be the sun, be a star s
Be the best of whatever you are b

Anaphora:
SENTENCE
Be a scrub in the valley – but be
The best little scrub by the side of the rill;
Be a bush, if you can’t be a tree.
There’s something for all of us here.
There’s big work to do and there’s lesser
to do
If you can’t be a highway, then just be a
trail,
If you can’t be the sun, be a star;

Repetition:
SENTENCE
There’s big work to do and there’s lesser
to do
And the task we must do is the near

Rhyme Scheme Rhyme Words

abab hill, rill; be, tree; grass,
 bass; make, lake; trail,
fail; star, are;
abcb Here, near;

O Captain! My Captain!
O Captain! My Captain! Our fearful trip is done,
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring;
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops o red!
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! My Captain! Rise up and hear the bells;

Rise up – for you the flag is flung – for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths – for you the shores crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Here, Captain! dear father!
This arm beneath your head!
It is some dream that on the deck
You’ve fallen cold and dead.
My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still,
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done,
From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won;
Exult, O shores! and ring, O bells!
But I, with mournful tread,
Walk the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.
– Walt Whitman
Alliteration:
SENTENCE
The ship has weather’d every rack,
v
the prize we sought is won
The port is near, the bells I hear,
p
the people all exulting
While follow eyes the steady keel,
v
the vessel grim and daring
Rise up – for you the flag is flung –
f
for you the bugle trills
For you they call, the swaying
t
mass, their eager faces turning
It is some dream that on the deck d
My father does not feel my arm, he
f, n
has no pulse nor will
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound,
s
its voyage closed and done
From fearful trip the victor ship
f
comes in with object won

Allusion:
SENTENCE REFERENCE
Here, Captain!
Father here refers to
dear father!
Abraham Lincoln. The
assassination of
Abraham Lincoln and
My father does
the victory of American
not feel my arm,
civil war is referred
he has no pulse
throughout the poem.
nor will

Metaphor
SENTENCE
O Captain! My Captain! Our fearful trip is
done
The ship has weather’d every rack,
the prize we sought is won
O Captain! My Captain! Rise up and hear
the bells
Here, Captain! dear father

Anaphora:
SENTENCE
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won,
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting
for you the flag is flung – for you the bugle trills,
For you bouquets and ribbon’d wreaths – for you the shores
crowding,
For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;
Exult, O shores! and ring, O bells

Repetition:
SENTENCE
O Captain! My Captain! Our fearful trip is done
But O heart! heart! heart!

Apostrophe:
SENTENCE
But O heart! heart! heart!
Rise up – for you the flag is flung – for you the bugle trills
Exult, O shores! and ring, O bells!

Rhyme Scheme Rhyme Words

done, won; exulting, daring; bells, trills;
aabb
crowding, turning; still, will; done, won;
abcb Red, dead; head, dead;
abab Bells, lies; tread, dead;

Laugh and be Merry

Laugh and be merry, remember, better the world with a song,
Better the world with a blow in the teeth of a wrong.
Laugh, for the time is brief, a thread the length of a span.
Laugh and be proud to belong to the old proud pageant of man.

Laugh and be merry: remember, in olden time.

God made Heaven and Earth for joy He took in a rhyme,
Made them, and filled them full with the strong red wine of
His mirth
The splendid joy of the stars: the joy of the earth.

So we must laugh and drink from the deep blue cup of the sky,
 Join the jubilant song of the great stars sweeping by,

Laugh, and battle, and work, and drink of the wine outpoured
In the dear green earth, the sign of the joy of the Lord.

Laugh and be merry together, like brothers akin,

Guesting awhile in the rooms of a beautiful inn,
Glad till the dancing stops, and the lilt of the music ends.
Laugh till the game is played; and be you merry, my friends.
–John Masefield

Alliteration:
SENTENCE
Laugh and be merry, remember,
w
better the world with a song
Better the world with a blow in the
w
teeth of a wrong
Laugh, for the time is brief, a
l
thread the length of a span
Laugh and be proud to belong to the
P
old proud pageant of man
Made them,
and filled them fullwith the strong f
red wine of
The splendid joy of the stars: the
s
joy of the earth
So we must laugh and drink from
d
the deep blue cup of the sky
Join the jubilant song of the
j, s
great stars sweeping by
Laugh and be merry together,
b
like brothers akin

Simile:
SENTENCE
Laugh and be merry together, like brothers
akin

Metaphor
SENTENCE
Made them, and filled them full with
the strong red wine of
So we must laugh and drink from the deep
blue cup of the sky
Join the jubilant song of the
great starssweeping by
Guesting awhile in the rooms of a
beautiful inn,
Laugh till the game is played; and be you
merry, my friends

Personification:
SENTENCE
The splendid joy of the stars: the joy of
the earth

Anaphora:
SENTENCE
Laugh, for the time is brief, a thread the
length of a span.
Laugh and be proud to belong to the old
proud pageant of man.
The splendid joy of the stars: the joy of the
earth.

Repetition:
SENTENCE
Laugh and be merry, remember, better
the world with a song,
Better the world with a blow in the teeth of
a wrong
Laugh and be proud to belong to the
old proud pageant of man
The splendid joy of the stars: the joy of the
earth

Rhyme Scheme Rhyme Words

Song, wrong; span, man; time, rhyme;
aabb mirth, earth; sky, by; outpored, lord;
akin, inn; ends, friends;

Earth
How beautiful you are, Earth, and how sublime!
How perfect your obedience to the light and how noble is your submission to the sun.

I have walked over your plains,

I have climbed your stony mountains
I have descended into your valley;
I have entered into your caves.
On the plains I have discovered your dreams,
On the mountains I have admired your splendid presence.
And in the valleys I have observed your tranquility;
In the caves I have touched your mysteries.

You are the mouth and lips of Eternity,

The strings and fingers of Time,
The mystery and solution of life.
How generous you are, Earth, and
How strong is your yearning for
Your children lost between
That which they have attained
And that which they could not obtain

We pierce your bosom with swords and spears.

And you dress our wounds with oils and balsam
We plant your fields with skulls and bones.
And from them you rear cypress and willow trees,
We empty our wastes in your bosom, and you fill
Our thrashing floors with wheat sheaves,
And our wine presses with grapes.

We extract your elements to make

Cannons and bombs but out of
Our elements you create lilies and roses
How patient you are Earth, and how merciful!
Are you an atom of dust raised by
 The feet of God when He journeyed from
The East to the West of Universe?

Who are you, Earth, and what are you?

You are “I”, Earth!
You are my sight and my discernment.
You are my knowledge and my dream
You are my hunger and my thirst.
You are my sorrow and my joy.
You are the beauty that lives in my eyes
The longing in my heart, the everlasting life in my soul!
You are “I” Earth,
Had it not been for my being,
You would not have been!

-Kalil Gibran

Alliteration:
SENTENCE
How perfect your obedience to the
light and how noble is s
your submission to the sun
On the plains I
d
have discoveredyour dreams
How strong is your yearning for y
We pierce your bosom
s
with swordsand spears
And you dress our wounds withoils
v
and balsam
We empty our wastes in your
v
bosom, and you fill
Our thrashing floors with
v
wheatsheaves
Cannons and bombs but out of b
The longing in my heart, the
l
everlasting life in my soul!
Had it not been for my being b

Personification:
SENTENCE
You are the mouth and lips of Eternity
The strings and fingers of Time

Oxymoron:
SENTENCE
The mystery and solution of life

Anaphora:
SENTENCE
I have walked over your plains,
I have climbed your stony mountains
I have descended into your valley;
I have entered into your caves.
On the plains I have discovered your
dreams,
On the mountains I have admired your
splendid presence.
The strings and fingers of Time,
The mystery and solution of life.
How generous you are, Earth, and
How strong is your yearning for
How patient you are Earth,
and howmerciful
The feet of God when He journeyed from
The East to the West of Universe
You are “I”, Earth!
You are my sight and my discernment.
You are my knowledge and my dream
You are my hunger and my thirst.
You are my sorrow and my joy.
You are the beauty that lives in my eyes
The longing in my heart, the everlasting
life in my soul

Repetition:
SENTENCE
How beautiful you are, Earth,
and howsublime!
How perfect your obedience to the light
and how noble is your submission to the sun
On the plains I have discovered your
dreams,
On the mountains I have admired your
splendid presence.
And in the valleys I have observed your
tranquility;
In the caves I have touched your mysteries.
That which they have attained
And that which they could not obtain
You are my sight and my discernment.
You are my knowledge and my dream
You are my hunger and my thirst.
You are my sorrow and my joy

Rhyme Rhyme Words

aabc Plains, mountains;

Don’t Quit
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must- but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow
You might succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint in the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are;
It might be near when it seems afar;
 So, stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.
–Edgar A.Guest

Alliteration:
SENTENCE
When things go wrong, as they
v
sometimes will
And you want to smile, but you have
s
to sigh
Life is queer with
t
its twists and turns
Don’t give up though the pace seems
S
slow
And you never can tell how closeyou
C
are
So, stick to the fight when
h
you’re hardest hit
It’s when things seem worst thatyou w,
must not quit t

Metaphor
SENTENCE
The silver tint in the clouds of doubt

Oxymoron:
SENTENCE
And you want to smile, but you have
to sigh
It might be near when it seems afar

Anaphora:
SENTENCE
When things go wrong, as they sometimes
will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all
uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are
high,

Repetition:
 SENTENCE
And you want to smile, but you have to
sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must- but don’t you quit.

Rhyme Scheme Rhyme Words

Will, uphill; high, sigh;
bit, quit; turns, learns;
aabbcc about, out; slow, blow;
out, doubt; are, afar; hit,
quit;

The Apology
Think me not unkind and rude,
That I walk alone in grove and glen;
I go to the god of the wood
To fetch his word to men.

Tax not my sloth that I

Fold my arms beside the brook;
Each cloud that floated in the sky
Writes a letter in my book.

Chide me not, laborious band,

For the idle flowers I brought;

Every aster in my hand

Goes home loaded with a thought.

There was never mystery,

But ’tis figured in the flowers,
Was never secret history
But birds tell it in the bowers.
 One harvest from thy field
Homeward brought the oxen strong;
A second crop thine acres yield,
Which I gather in a song.

–Ralph Waldo Emerson

Alliteration:

SENTENCE
That I walk alone in grove and glen g
I go to the god of the wood g
Fold my arms beside the brook b
For the idle flowers I brought f
But ’tis figured in the flowers f
But birds tell it in the bowers b
One harvest from thy field f

Personification:

SENTENCE
Each cloud that floated in the sky
Writes a letter in my book
For the idle flowers I brought
Every aster in my hand
Goes home loaded with a thought
But birds tell it in the bowers
Homeward brought the oxen strong

Rhyme
Rhyme Words
Scheme
Rood, wood; glen, men; I, sky;
brook, book; band, hand;
abab brought, thought; mystery,
history; flowers, bowers; field,
yield; strong, song;

Be Glad Your Nose Is On Your Face

Be glad your nose is on your face,
not pasted on some other place,
 for if it were where it is not,
you might dislike your nose a lot.

Imagine if your precious nose

were sandwiched in between your toes,
that clearly would not be a treat,
for you’d be forced to smell your feet.

Your nose would be a source of dread

were it attached atop your head,

it soon would drive you to despair,
forever tickled by your hair.

Within your ear, your nose would be

an absolute catastrophe,
for when you were obliged to sneeze,
your brain would rattle from the breeze.

Your nose, instead, through thick and thin,

remains between your eyes and chin,
not pasted on some other place–
be glad your nose is on your face!

– Jack Prelutsky

Alliteration:
SENTENCE
not pasted on some other place p
for if it were where it is not w
you might dislike your nose a lot y
for you’d be forced to smell your
f
feet
it soon would drive you to despair d
for when you were obliged to
w
sneeze
your brain would rattle from
b
the breeze
Your nose, instead,
t
through thickand thin

Repetition:
SENTENCE
Within your ear, your nose would be
Your nose, instead, through thick and thin,
remains between your eyes and chin

Rhyme Rhyme Words

Face, pace; not, lot; nose, toes;
treat, feet; dread, head; despair,
aabb
hair; be, catastrophe; sneez, breez;
thin, chin; place, face;

A Sonnet for My Incomparable Mother

I often contemplate my childhood, Mom.
I am a mother now, and so I know
Hard work is mixed together with the fun;
You learned that when you raised me long ago.

I think of all the things you gave to me:

Sacrifice, devotion, love and tears,
Your heart, your mind, your energy and soul-
All these you spent on me throughout the years.

You loved me with a never-failing love

You gave me strength and sweet security,

And then you did the hardest thing of all:
You let me separate and set me free.

Every day, I try my best to be

A mother like the mom you were to me.
-F. Joanna
Alliteration:

SENTENCE
I often contemplate my childhood,
C
Mom
Hard work is mixed together withthe
W
fun
You learned that when you raised
L
me long ago
I think of all the things you gave to
T
me
All these you spent on
T
me throughout the years
You loved me with a never-
L
failing love
You gave me strength and sweet
S
security
And then you did the hardest thingof
T
all:
You let me separate and set me free S
Every day, I try my best to be B
A mother like the mom you were
M
to me

Simile:

SENTENCE
A mother like the mom you were to me

Anaphora:

SENTENCE
I often contemplate my childhood, Mom.
I am a mother now, and so I know
You loved me with a never-failing love
You gave me strength and sweet security

Repetition:

SENTENCE
Your heart, your mind, your energy and
soul

Rhyme Scheme Rhyme Words

aa Be, me;
abcb Tears, years;

The Flying Wonder

Said Orville Wright to Wilbur Wright,
“These birds are very trying.
I’m sick of hearing them cheep-cheep
About the fun of flying.
A bird has feathers, it is true.
That much I freely grant.
But must that stop us, W?”
Said Wilbur Wright, “It shan’t.”
And so they built a glider, first,
And then they built another.
-There never were two brothers more
Devoted to each other.
They ran a dusty little shop
For bicycle-repairing,
And bought each other soda-pop
And praised each other’s daring.
They glided here, they glided there,
They sometimes skinned their noses.
-For learning how to rule the air
Was not a bed of roses-
But each would murmur, afterward,
While patching up his bro.
“Are we discouraged, W?”
“Of course we are not, O!”
And finally, at Kitty Hawk
In Nineteen-Three (let’s cheer it!),
The first real aeroplane really flew
With Orville there to steer it!
-And kingdoms may forget their kings
 And dogs forget their bites,
But not till Man forgets his wings
Will men forget the Wrights.

– Stephen Vincent Benet

Alliteration:
SENTENCE
Said Orville Wright to Wilbur
v
Wright
About the fun of flying f
And then they built another t
They sometimes skinned their noses s
The first real aeroplane really flew r
And kingdoms may forget
k
their kings
Will men forget the Wrights v

Anaphora:
SENTENCE
And so they built a glider, first,
And then they built another
And bought each other soda-pop
And praised each other’s daring.
They glided here, they glided there,
They sometimes skinned their noses
And kingdoms may forget their kings
And dogs forget their bites

Repetition:
SENTENCE
And kingdoms may forget their kings
And dogs forget their bites,
But not till Man forgets his wings
Will men forget the Wrights

Apostrophe:
SENTENCE
And kingdoms may forget their kings
Rhyme Rhyme Words
Trying, flying; grant, shan’t;
abcb
another, other; bro, O;
Shop, soda-pop; re-pairing,
abab daring; there, air; noses, roses;
kings, wings; bites, wrights;

To a Millionaire
The world in gloom and splendour passes by,
And thou in the midst of it with brows that gleam,
A creature of that old distorted dream
That makes the sound of life an evil cry.
Good men perform just deeds, and brave men die,
And win not honour such as gold can give,
While the vain multitudes plod on, and live,

And serve the curse that pins them down: But I

Think only of the unnumbered broken hearts,
The hunger and the mortal strife for bread,
Old age and youth alike mistaught, misfed,
By want and rags and homelessness made vile,
The griefs and hates, and all the meaner parts
That balance thy one grim misgotten pile.
-Archibald Lampman

Alliteration:

SENTENCE
And thou in the midst of it with
t
brows that gleam
A creature of that old distorted
d
dream
Good men perform just deeds, and
d
brave men die
And win not honour such
g
as gold can give
While the vain multitudes plod on, v
and live
Old age and youth
m
alike mistaught, misfed
By want and rags and homelessness
v
made vile

Personification:

SENTENCE
The world in gloom and
splendour passesby

Rhyme Scheme Rhyme Words

abbc Gleam, dream; give, life;
abcb Vile, pile

The Piano
Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me;
Taking me back down the vista of years, till I see
A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings
And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings.

In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song

Betrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belong
To the old Sunday evenings at home, with winter outside
And hymns in the cosy parlour, the tinkling piano our guide.

So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamour

With the great black piano
appassionato. The glamour
Of childish days is upon me, my manhood is cast
Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past.

– D.H.Lawrence
Alliteration:
SENTENCE
Softly, in the dusk, a woman
s
is singing to me
Taking me back down the vista of
t
years, till I see
A child sitting under the piano, in the
s
boom of the tingling strings
And pressing the small, poised feet
s
of a mother who smiles as she sings.
In spite of myself, the
m
insidious mastery of song
Betrays me back, till the heart of me
b
weeps to belong
To the old Sunday evenings at
w
home, with winter outside
So now it is vain for the singer to
s
burst into clamour
With the great black piano
g
appassionato. The glamour
Of childish days is upon me, my
m
manhood is cast

Allusion:
SENTENCE REFERENCE
A particular piece of
music considered by
With the great black
Beethoven to be his
piano appassionato
most tempestuous
piano sonata

Simile:
SENTENCE
Down in the flood of remembrance, I
weep like a child for the past

Onomatopoeia:
SENTENCE
A child sitting under the piano, in the boom
of the tingling strings
And hymns in the cosy parlour,
the tinkling piano our guide

Rhyme Scheme Rhyme Words

Me, see; strings, sings;
aabb song, belong; outside,
guide; clamour, glamour;
 cast, past;

Manliness
If you can dream and not make dreams your master;
If you can think and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster;
And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can force your heart, and nerve, and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone;
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the will which says to them, “Hold on”.

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distant run,

Yours is the earth and everything that’s in it,

And what is more, you’ll be a man, my son

-Rudyard Kipling

Alliteration:
SENTENCE

If you can dream and

m
not makedreams your master

If you can think and not

t
make thoughts your aim

And treat those two impostors just

t
the same

Except the will which says to them,

v
“Hold on”

With sixty seconds’ worth of v, s

distant run

And what is more, you’ll be

m
a man, my son

Metaphor
SENTENCE

If you can meet with triumph and disaster

Personification:
SENTENCE

And treat those two impostors just the

same

Oxymoron:
SENTENCE

If you can meet with triumph and disaster

Anaphora:
SENTENCE

If you can dream and not make dreams

your master;

If you can think and not make thoughts

your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster;

Repetition:
SENTENCE

If you can force your

heart, and nerve, andsinew

Ellipsis:
SENTENCE

If you can force your heart, and nerve,

and sinew

Rhyme Rhyme Words

Master, disaster; aim, same;

Abab
minute, it; run, son;

--

Going for Water

The well was dry beside the door,
And so we went with pail and can
Across the fields behind the house
To seek the brook if still it ran;

Not loth to have excuse to go,

Because the autumn eve was fair
(Though chill), because the fields were ours,
And by the brook our woods were there.

We ran as if to meet the moon

That slowly dawned behind the trees,
The barren boughs without the leaves,
Without the birds, without the breeze.

But once within the wood, we paused

Like gnomes that hid us from the moon,
Ready to run to hiding new
With laughter when she found us soon.

Each laid on other a staying hand

To listen ere we dared to look,
And in the hush we joined to make
We heard, we knew we heard the brook.
 A note as from a single place,
A slender tinkling fall that made
Now drops that floated on the pool
Like pearls, and now a silver blade.

– Robert Frost

Alliteration:
SENTENCE
The well was dry beside the door d
And so we went with pail and can w
To seek the brook if still it ran s
And by the brook our woods were there v
We ran as if to meet the moon m
The barren boughs without the leaves b
Without the birds, without the breeze b
But once within the wood, we paused v
Ready to run to hiding new r
With laughter when she found us soon v
A slender tinkling falll that made t

Simile:
SENTENCE
Like gnomes that hid us from the moon
Like pearls, and now a silver blade

Metaphor
SENTENCE
Like pearls, and now a silver blade

Personification:
SENTENCE
With laughter when she found us soon

Anaphora:
SENTENCE
Because the autumn eve was fair
(Though chill), because the fields were
ours
A note as from a single place,
A slender tinkling fail that made
Repetition:
SENTENCE
The barren boughs without the leaves,
Without the birds, without the breeze
We heard, we knew we heard the brook

Onomatopoeia:
SENTENCE
A slender tinkling fall that made

Rhyme Rhyme Words

Can, ran; fair, there; trees,
abcb breeze; moon, soon; look,
brook; made, blade;

The Cry Of The Children

‘For oh,’ say the children, ‘we are weary,
And we cannot run or leap—
If we cared for any meadows, it were merely
To drop down in them and sleep.
Our knees tremble sorely in the stooping–
We fall upon our faces, trying to go;
And, underneath our heavy eyelids drooping,
The reddest flower would look as pale as snow.
For, all day, we drag our burden tiring,
Through the coal-dark, underground—
Or, all day, we drive the wheels of iron
In the factories, round and round.

‘For, all day, the wheels are droning, turning,—

Their wind comes in our faces,—
Till our hearts turn,—our head, with pulses burning,
And the walls turn in their places—
 Turns the sky in the high window blank and reeling—
Turns the long light that droppeth down the wall—
Turn the black flies that crawl along the ceiling—
All are turning, all the day, and we with all,—
And, all day, the iron wheels are droning;
And sometimes we could pray,
‘O ye wheels,’ (breaking out in a mad moaning)
‘Stop! be silent for to-day!’ ‘

-Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Alliteration:

SENTENCE
‘For oh,’ say the
w
children, ‘we are weary,
If we cared for any meadows, it
m
were merely
To dropdown in them and sleep. d
Our knees tremble sorely in
s
the stooping—
We fall upon our faces, trying to go; f
Through the coal-dark, underground t
Or, all day, we drive the wheels of
d
iron
Till our hearts turn,—our head, with
h
pulses burning,
Turns the long light that droppeth
d
down the wall—
‘O ye wheels,’ (breaking out in
m
a mad moaning)
‘Stop! be silent for to-day!’ ‘ s

Simile:

SENTENCE
The reddest flower would
look as pale assnow

Personification:

SENTENCE
‘O ye wheels,’ (breaking out in a mad
moaning)
‘Stop! be silent for to-day!’

Anaphora:

SENTENCE
Turns the sky in the high window blank
and reeling—
Turns the long light that droppeth down the
wall—
Turn the black flies that crawl along the
ceiling—
And, all day, the iron wheels are droning;
And sometimes we could pray,

Repetition:

SENTENCE
In the factories, round and round.
All are turning, all the day, and we with
all,—
And, all day, the iron wheels are droning

Rhyme Rhyme Words

abcb Underground, round;
Weary, merely; leap, sleep;
stooping, drooping; go, snow;
abab turning, burning; faces, places;
reeling, ceiling; wall, all;
droning, moaning; pray, day;

Migrant bird
The globe’s my world. The cloud’s my kin
I care not where the skies begin;
I spread my wings through all the din;
Through fears and fright I fly my flight.
No walls for me, no vigil gates,
No flags, no machine guns that blast
Citizens of those border states-
Brothers of her brother’s sons.
No maps, no boundaries to block
My sojourn into unknown lands.
I spawn and splash in distant spills,
I breed my brood where’r I will.
I won’t look down. No I will not.
With speed of wings I hasten past
And close my eyes against the sun
To dream my dreams and make them last.

– Famida Y. Basheer

Alliterations:
SENTENCE
Through fears and fright I fly my flight f
No maps, no boundaries to block b
I spawn and splash in distant spills s
I breed my brood where’r I will b
I won’t look down. No I will not v
With speed of wings I hasten past v
To dream my dreams and makethem
m
last

Personification:
SENTENCE
The globe’s my world. The cloud’s my kin

Anaphora:
SENTENCE
The globe’s my world. The cloud’s my kin
I care not where the skies begin;
I spread my wings through all the din;
I spawn and splash in distant spills,
I breed my brood where’r I will.
I won’t look down. No I will not.

Repetition:
SENTENCE
No walls for me, no vigil gates,
No flags, no machine guns that blast
No maps, no boundaries to block

Rhyme Scheme Rhyme Words

aaab Kin, begin, din;
abac Gates, states;
abcb Past, last;

Shilpi
Steady throb
Then staccato rhythm
Harmonic cacophony to oblivious ears
The tempo is fickle-
Now synchronized, now not,
A mirror of his changing moods
Now sure, now steeped in thought.
Bleary eyes,
Sinews taut yet steady.
Decades of practice
Heirlooms of rich traditions
In stark evidence
The knocking softens, fades,
To a mild judicious tap.
Virgin rock takes form
Rugged lines melt.
Sharp edges merge
Into smooth well moulded curves.
He steps back, surveys with
Close scrutiny, then sharp critical glare
The days of toil.
Hammer and chisel laid aside-
Only bloodshot eyes betray
Deep pride, then reverence,
Lo! God in Man’s image!

Alliteration:
SOUND
SENTENCE
REPEATED
A mirror of his
m
changing moods
Sinews taut yet steady s
He steps back, surveyswith s
Close scrutiny,
s
then sharp critical glare
Only bloodshot eyes betray b

Metaphor

SENTENCE
Steady throb
Then staccato rhythm
The tempo is fickle-
Now synchronized, now not,

Personification:
SENTENCE
A mirror of his changing moods
Now sure, now steeped in thought

Oxymoron:
SENTENCE
Harmonic cacophony to oblivious ears

Repetition:
SENTENCE
Now synchronized, now not
Now sure, now steeped in thought

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