What are the literary devices used in the following sentences / extracts. Indicate why you
think the lines represent a particular literary device?
i Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not soe.
ii The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold.
iii The camel is the ship of the desert.
iv O Hamlet! Thou hast cleft my heart in twain.
v Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.
Answers
i Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not soe.
The sonnet “Death be not proud” is written by John Donne which is about the death and the powerlessness it has. The literary devices used in the lines are personification and metaphor. In the above lines, death has been personified as a person who needs not to be pride over himself. The poet uses metaphor to compare death with that of a person whom he addresses like a person. The poem illustrates that death is a short sleep and life is an endless journey which is never going to stop.
ii The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold.
The above sentence is an example of Simile. A simile is a direct comparison between two things. It compares two things by using ‘as’ or ‘like.’ In the sentence, the coming of the Assyrian has been compared to the movement of a wolf.
iii The camel is the ship of the desert.
The above sentence is an example of 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. The only similarity between a camel and ship is that they both are the means of transportation but in different situations.
iv O Hamlet! Thou hast cleft my heart in twain.
The above sentence is an example of Hyperbole. Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement which is not meant to be taken literally. After Hamlet's harsh words to his mother Gertrude, she replies with the above sentence. She says that these words of Hamlet's had “cleft” her heart which means these words had divided her heart. This is an overstatement which is not to be taken literally.
v Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.
In the above sentence, the word 'head' is synecdoche and the word 'crown is metonymy. Metonymy is the figure of speech which uses one word to explain and denote about a larger concept or idea related to it. Synecdoche is a figure of speech in which a part represents the whole or a whole represent a part of it. The word head symbolizes the person who is a king and the word 'crown' symbolizes the responsibilities that the king has to perform.
Answer:
Explanation:
Mighty and dreadful