What are the poetic devices of the poem Nicholas Nye?
Answers
Answer:
A lovely poem written by Walter de la Mare, it throws light on the difficulties of being undesirable and friendless, through an example of a simple hee-hawing donkey. A beautiful meadow with beautiful flowers, but the author lay there basking in the sun alone. Alone, except for an old, worn out donkey, whose companions had also left him stranded. The poem draws a fine picture of a donkey and a person, connected with the feeling of empathy, of being unloved.
Below are the poetic devices seen in the poem:
a. Alliteration
Alliteration shows a repetition of words beginning with the same letter. It grabs the attention of readers because it sounds pleasant when said.
Examples from the text:
"...Half asleep and half awake"
"...Would sometimes stoop and sigh"
"...And a clean calm light in his eye"
"...Asking not wherefore nor why"
b. Rhyming scheme
If the last word of each line in a verse forms some rhyming pattern, it is a rhyming scheme. It adds some richness to the poem. Through these examples of the rhyming scheme in this poem, you would understand better:
"Thistle and darnell and dock grew there, a
And a bush, in the corner, of may, b
On the orchard wall I used to sprawl c
In the blazing heat of the day" b
You see, the second line and the fourth line are given the same b because their last words rhyme, while the last words of the first line and the third line don't rhyme so they are given different letters. Throughout the poem, the rhyming scheme abcb is followed. Another example:
"He munched the thistles, purple and spiked, a
Would sometimes stoop and sigh, b
And turn his head, as if he’d said, c
‘Poor Nicholas Nye!" b
c. Personification
When you add a trait of a human, something only a human being can do, to a non-human object, it is called personification.
How is personification used in this poem? The poem is about a poor old donkey, who basks everyday in the meadow pitying his poor old self. The poet has put in traits of a human in the donkey throughout the whole poem. In the poem, the donkey feels. He goes through emotions like sadness and loneliness, just like us humans do. He also smiles and sighs.
Examples from the text:
"...He munched the thistles, purple and spiked,
Would sometimes stoop and sigh"
"...Seem to be smiling at me, he would,
From his bush in the corner, of may"
Apart from alliteration, rhyming scheme and personification, here are some more poetic devices that the poem uses:
Epiphora
At the end of the verses, the same words "Nicholas Nye" are used. This is an epiphora.
Assonance
It may be a new term to you, but it is a bit similar to rhyming scheme. It adds harmony to the song. For example:
"On the orchard wall I used to sprawl..."
"And nobody there my lone to share..."
Enjambment
"Something much better than words between me
And Nicholas Nye"
Here, a line breaks before the sentences ends. Therefore, the sentence is continued in the next line. This is enjambment.
And we're done :D
Explanation: