LIT DEVICES
This poetic device structures “My Papa’s Waltz,” contributing to its rhythm and echoing a waltz’s movement.
What is iambic trimeter (or meter/rhythm)?
Milkman in Song of Solomon matures through a journey that reflects this literary genre.
What is a bildungsroman?
“The Century Quilt” deals with this major theme often explored in poems about family.
What is generational memory or cultural legacy?
The quilt in “The Century Quilt” serves as a symbol of this across generations.
What is family or heritage?
“My Papa’s Waltz” can be read both as a nostalgic childhood memory and as a critique of this.
What is abuse or power imbalance?
In “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers,” the tigers act as a metaphor for this aspect of the speaker’s inner life.
What is her repressed strength or desire for freedom?
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The governess in The Turn of the Screw is a complex character often read as both protector and this.
What is antagonist (or delusional/self-deceiving figure)?
“We Grow Accustomed to the Dark” explores how humans adapt to this universal experience.
What is uncertainty or emotional loss?
The star in “Bright Star” symbolizes this unattainable human desire.
What is permanence or eternal love?
Argue how the tigers in “Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers” reflect internal versus external conflict.
Acceptable: Tigers symbolize inner strength; contrast with her real-life submission or fear.
Keats’ “Bright Star” uses this device to contrast the speaker’s desire for permanence with life’s inevitable change.
What is juxtaposition?
Cordelia’s refusal to flatter Lear in King Lear demonstrates this character trait, which contrasts with her sisters.
What is integrity or honesty?
A key theme in Song of Solomon is the tension between personal identity and this broader cultural idea.
What is ancestral or communal identity?
The act of waltzing in “My Papa’s Waltz” could symbolize both affection and this.
What is control, struggle, or tension in a parent-child relationship?
In The Turn of the Screw, the ambiguity of the ghosts can be read as both supernatural and this.
What is psychological projection or repression?
The recurring images of light and dark in “We Grow Accustomed to the Dark” function as this kind of figurative language.
What is symbolism (or extended metaphor)?
The Doctor’s Wife in Blindness resists moral collapse, making her a symbol of this in the novel’s chaotic world
What is ethical clarity or resilience?
King Lear presents madness not only as a mental state but as a commentary on this societal institution.
What is power or kingship?
The recurring motif of flight in Song of Solomon symbolizes both escape and this deeper theme.
What is freedom or transcendence?
Develop a nuanced claim about King Lear’s exploration of blindness—both literal and metaphorical.
Acceptable answer: Lear’s metaphorical blindness leads to tragic errors; Gloucester’s physical blindness reflects increased insight.
The unreliable narration in The Turn of the Screw is a prime example of this narrative technique.
What is ambiguity or psychological realism?
Pilate in Song of Solomon is a deeply nuanced character who challenges traditional gender roles while embodying this kind of wisdom.
What is ancestral or spiritual wisdom?
In Blindness, the absence of sight metaphorically explores this kind of social and moral breakdown.
What is the collapse of civilization or ethical blindness?
Eyes and sight in Blindness function as a motif to question this.
What is the nature of truth, awareness, or morality?
“Bright Star” explores the paradox between eternal love and mortal life. Craft a thesis that connects this tension to the poem’s structure.
Acceptable thesis: The fixed structure of the sonnet mirrors the star’s constancy, while the imagery and diction highlight human fragility.