Question

Identify the poetic devices used in the poem by Sarojini Naidu

Answer 1

Answer:

Sarojini Naidu’s poem In the bazaars of Hyderabad is not very rich in poetic devices, as there is nothing metaphoric or symbolic in the theme. But still the following figures of speech are found in the poem.

Consonance

Consonance is the use of similar consonant sounds in neighbouring words.

Girdles of gold for dancers

Turbans of crimson and silver

Alliteration

Alliteration is a specific kind of consonance. It is the repetition of consonant sounds in first or stressed syllables of nearby words.

Girdles of gold for dancers

Frail as a dragon-fly’s wings

Polysyndeton

Polysyndeton is close repetition of conjunctions.

Saffron and lentil and rice

Wristlet and anklet and ring

Simile

Simile is a direct comparison between two different things by use of ‘like’ or ‘as’.

   Bells for the feet of blue pigeons

   Frail as a dragon-fly’s wing

Here the poet compares the delicate golden bells to dragon fly’s wings, as both are fragile.

Rhetorical questions

Throughout the poem, the poet has used rhetorical questions only to answer them by herself.

   What do you sell O ye merchants?

   What do you weigh, O ye vendors?

Metaphor

Yes, there is a metaphor too — an indirect comparison between two different things where there is a point of similarity.

   To perfume the sleep of the dead

The silence and senseless condition of a dead man is compared to ‘sleep’.

Inversion

Inversion is a reversal of normal word order.

   Richly your wares are displayed

Here, the normal word-order should have been “Yours wares are displayed richly”.

   Sheets of white blossoms new-garnered

The normal word order should have been “Sheets of new-garnered white blossoms”. But the poet has reversed the order to achieve the rhyme scheme and also a rhetorical effect in the poem.

Explanation: