Question

Identify the figures of speech in the poem 'no men are foreign'.

Answer 1

About the poet –Poet, playwright, novelist, traveller James Falconer Kirkup (23 April 1918 – 10 May 2009) started his poetic career with short verses, haikus and tankas, went to become a prolific writer in the English literature. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1962. Though less canonised in the British Isles, he has found his success in Japan where he breathed his last.

Answer 2

The figures of speech in the poem 'No Men are Foreign' are:

Apostrophe

In a sentence, when a speaker breaks off from pointing one party and instead points the third, the literary device used is said to be an Apostrophe. In this poem, the poet addresses all his advice directly to his readers which is an example of apostrophe.

Metaphor

A metaphor is a hidden comparison between two things which possess at least any one idea common to each other. The things may be completely different from each other but would have either one characteristic in common to them. In the poem, the poet compares his fellow human beings with his own brothers. In the sixth line, he compares war with the curse of winter as in both the cases the resources fall short. In the eighteenth line, he compares wars with hell.