what are the literary devices in act 2 scene 9 and what do they mean?
Answers
Answer:
Some Literary Devices In Each Act
Act 1
Scene 2
Allusion: "If I live to be as old as Sibylla, I will die as chaste as Diana, unless I be obtained by the manner of my father's will..." (lines 101-103)
Portia alludes to Sibylla and Diana, a prophetess in ancient times, famous for her extreme old age, and the Roman goddess of feminine virtue and purity, respectively. Portia is saying that she will remain unmarried for the rest of her life, until a man chooses the right casket and gains the right to marry her.
Scene 3
Simile: "Mark you this, Bassanio, the devil can cite Scripture for his purpose. An evil soul producing holy witness is like a villain with a smiling cheek, A goodly apple rotten at the heart: O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath! (lines 93-98)
Antonio advises Bassanio to beware of Shylock's words by using "like" to metaphorically compare Shylock to the devil. Antonio portrays Shylock as a man who is able to the sugarcoat bad things and make them appear acceptable.
Act 2
Scene 5
Dramatic Irony: " I will go before, sir. Mistress, look out at window, for all this: There will come a Christian boy, will be worth a Jewess' eye. (lines 40-43)
The audience knows that Lorenzo will come and help Jessica with her escape from her father's house on that night itself. Shylock does not know that all this will happen under his nose while he is dining with Bassanio.
Scene 7
Metaphor: "... Never so rich a gem was set in worse than gold..." (lines 54-55)
Morocco is comparing Portia's picture to a gem. He says that Portia's picture is of so high value, like a rare gem, that it deserves to be put in nothing less valuable than a gold casket.
Scene 7
Hyperbole: "Why, that's the lady; all the world desires her;
From the four corners of the earth they come,
To kiss this shrine, this mortal-breathing saint:
The Hyrcanian deserts and the vasty wilds
Of wide Arabia are as thoroughfares now
For princes to come view fair Portia:
The watery kingdom, whose ambitious head
Spits in the face of heaven, is no bar
To stop the foreign spirits, but they come,
As o'er a brook, to see fair Portia. (lines 38-47)
Morocco uses exaggeration to say that the beauty of Portia is so great that men travel from the all over the world, crossing deserts, crossing through the oceans like they were tiny streams, to look upon her beauty and try to woo her.