A THING OF BEAUTY- John Keats

Poetic Devices
Metaphor:
• ‘bower quiet’-refers to a quiet shady part in the garden
• ‘sweet dreams’-happy dreams
• ‘wreathing a flowery band’-connecting to nature
• `pall’-a covering like a shroud
• ‘endless fountain of immortal drink’- refers to the deeds of great
men and women that have made them a source of inspiration for
people of all times
• The list of beautiful things is metaphors and symbols of nature.
Alliteration:
• `noble natures’
• ‘cooling covert’
• ‘band to bind’
Imagery:
• ‘flowery bands’
• ‘shady boon’
• ‘clear rills’
• ‘daffodils in green world’
• ‘grandeur of dooms’
• ‘cooling covert’
• ‘endless fountain of eternal drink’
Symbol:
• ‘simple sheep’ — refers to mankind as Christ is considered the
shepherd who leads human souls out of the dark world of sins and
temptations
Transferred epithet:
• ‘gloomy days’ • ‘unhealthy and o’er darkened ways’
Oxymoron
• ‘mighty dead’
MY MOTHER AT 66
Poetic Devices
• The imagery used in the poem is suggestive of both death and youth.
The image of `young trees and merry children’ are a contrast to the
mother.
• The poetic devices used are simile, metaphor, repetition and
personification:
Simile — face ashen like a corpse, as a late winter’s moon.
Personification — trees sprinting
Repetition — smile and smile and smile
Metaphor — children spilling
Poetic Devices
Simile
1. Her face ashen like that of a corpse: poet sees mother dozing off
with her mouth open, almost like a corpse — it seems to have lost all
vitality — the grey colour of ash is usually associated with a dead
body – triggers the pain of losing her mother who is close to death.
2. Wan, pale as a lath winter moon: reinforces the idea that the
mother’s face was pale and lifeless like that of a fading winter moon.
Winter is symbolic of the last cycle of the season — hence waning
moon-mother’s frail health misted by age is indicative of imminent
death.Poet resorts to escapism to avoid the harsh realities that stare
her in the face-dispels the horrifying thoughts by diverting her
attention to the images of the young trees and merry children.
Imagery
Merry children spilling out of their homes: youthful and exuberant,
spring of life-contrast to the morbid atmosphere inside the car – the
old mother weak, frail, inactive.
Personification
Young trees sprinting – the sprinting movement of the trees rushing
past signify youth, life or passage of time. The mother – travelling in
the car-lifeless, helpless decayed by age. Her instinctive awareness
leads to the familiar ache-painful realization of helplessness (cannot
share her fears with her mother-fear stemmed out of unknown-didn’t
want to worry her)——- fear of separation-that childhood fear-
inherent in all children-of losing one’s loved ones-fear of death.
Repetition
Smile and smile and smile: emphasis on the fact that she made a
desperate effort to cover up her guilt, anxiety and agonizing thought
of her mother’s impending death by putting up a smile to bid her a
cheerful adieu.
KEEPING QUIET
The poem “Keeping Quiet” by Pablo Neruda is a unique blend of
introspection retrospection, universal fraternity and abhorrence to
war.
The poetic devices used in the poem are the following:
1. Alliteration – “we will”, “we would”, “once on”, “we would”, “his
hurt hands”
2. Antithesis – “count to twelve and we will all keep still”
3. Repetition – “without rush, without engines”
4. Imagery – “Cold Sea”

………………………………………

MY MOTHER AT SIXTYSIX
Literary Devices
1. Assonance: Here we see the use of vowel sound that is ‘o’. (To
Cochin last Friday morning)
Use of vowel sound ‘o’, ’a’, ‘e’ (doze, open-mouthed, her face ashen
like that
of a corpse)
2. Consonance: use of the sound ‘s’ and ‘t’
3. Imagery: when the poet say trees sprinting, merry children spilling
4. Repetition: Repeated use of ‘looked’ , use of ‘smile’
5. Rhyme scheme – The poem does not follow any rhyme or rhythm.
It has been written in free verse.
6. Simile: The colour of the mother’s face has been compared to that
of a corpse – ashen. use of ‘like’ (her face ashen like that of a corpse)
Mother’s face is compared to the late winter’s moon – both are dull
and lifeless. use of ‘as’ (as a late winter’s moon).
Poem 3 – Keeping Quiet Poetic Devices

KEEPING QUIET
Literary devices

1. Alliteration: the repetition of a consonant sound at the start of 2 or

more closely placed words.
‘we will’ – ‘w’ sound is repeated
we would’ – ‘w’ sound is repeated, ‘sudden strangeness’ – ‘s’ sound
is repeated, ‘his hurt hands’ – ‘h’ sound is repeated
‘wars with’ – ‘w’ sound is repeated, ‘clean clothes’ – ‘c’ sound is
repeated
we were, so single – minded
2. Anaphora: Two consecutive lines starting with the word ‘Let’s’
let’s not speak in any language,
let’s stop for one second,
3. Assonance: use of vowel ‘o’ (victory with no survivors, would put
on clean clothes and walk about with their brothers)
Use of vowel sound ‘o’ and ‘e’ (Now we will count to twelve, not
move our arms so much)
4. Enjambment: and for once could perhaps a huge silence……..of
threatening ourselves with death.
5. Repetition: use of ‘war’
6. Let’s not move our arms - Pun

Poem 4 – A Thing of Beauty Poetic Devices

Literary devices
1. Alliteration: Use of consonant sound at the start of two words
which are close in series (Sleep-Sweet)
Use of consonant sound at the start of two words which are close in
series (‘b’ in Band Bind, ‘n’ in Noble nature, ‘s’ in some shape).
Use of consonant sound at the start of two words which are close in
series (‘h’ in have heard)
Use of consonant sound at the start of two words which are close in
series (‘s’ in Sprouting Shady, Simple sheep, ‘c’ in cooling covert)
2. Anaphora: Use of same word in two consecutive lines (of noble
natures- Of all the unhealthy)
3. Antithesis: opposite words placed together (old and young)
4. Metaphor: Immortal drinks ( beautiful objects of nature are
forever like a neverending portion of a drink)
wreathing a flowery band (the beautiful things of our life bind us to
the earth)
bower Quiet (calmness of the bower is compared to the calming effect
of a beautiful thing)
5. Inversion: normal order of words is reversed ( Are we wreathing a
flowery band)
6. Imagery: Bushes full of musk roses (sprinkling of fair musk rose
blooms), books describing valor of fighters (grandeur-..mighty dead),
god providing us with best things (pouring from the heaven’s brink)
Trees giving shade (sprouting shady boon), growing process of
daffodils (daffodils with the green world they live in), Clean river
streams (Clear rills)
creating a sensory effect of beautiful things lined up in a string ( A
flowery band to bind us)
7. Rhyme scheme: aabbc (forever, never, keep, sleep, breathing)
8. Rhyme: Rhyme scheme is used in every stanza of the poem
(forever; never, keep; sleep, dead; read etc.)

Poem 5 – A Roadside Stand Poetic Devices

Literary Devices
1. Metaphor: Trusting Sorrow
2. Oxymoron & Alliteration: ‘Greedy good-doers’ and ‘beneficent
beasts’ of prey.
3. Personification: 1) A roadside stand that too pathetically pled
4. Transferred Epithet: (a) Polished traffic (b) Selfish cars

Poem 6 Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers Poetic Devices

Literary Devices
1. Alliteration: ‘f’ sound is repeated in finger fluttering
‘p’ is repeated in prancing proud
2. Anaphora: use of same word in two consecutive lines (they do not
… and they pace in…)
3. Metaphor: Use of topaz to describe the yellow color of tigers
(Bright topaz)
4. Rhyme scheme: aabb

………………………………………………………….

My Mother at Sixty – Six

1. Personification – Trees sprinting

2. Simile – Pale as a late winter’s moon

3. Imagery – young children , trees sprinting backwards

4. Metaphor – Merry children spilling out of their homes

5. Repetition – smile and smile and smile

Keeping Quiet

1. Repetition – Let’s – to create a bond between listeners

2. Simile – earth can teach us as when …

3. Symbolism – brothers (show harmony), clean clothes (no

enmity)

4. arms - Pun

A Thing of Beauty

1. Metaphor- sweet dreams, flowery band, endless fountain of

immortal drink

2. Alliteration – noble natures, cooling covert, band to bind

3. Transferred epithet – gloomy days

4. Imagery – flowery wreath, shady boon, green world, clear rills,

cooling covert, endless fountain

Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers

1. Alliteration – fingers fluttering, prancing proud

2. Irony – tigers drawn by aunt Jennifer are bold while the creator
is weak

3. Imagery – bright topaz

4. Symbolism – wedding band (oppression of marriage), tigers

(freedom), Aunt Jennifer (oppressed women), uncle (male
chauvinism)