Tuesday, August 11, 2015

What are the literary devices used in "The Slave's Dream"?

There are multiple literary devices used in Longfellow's
poem "The Slave's Dream."


In the first line, the "i" sound
in the words "beside" and "rice" are examples of assonance. Assonance is when a line of
poetry contains repetition of a vowel sound.


In the second
line, "His sickle in his hand" shows alliteration. Alliteration is the repetition of a
consonant sound in a line of poetry. Here, the "h" sound is repeated in the words "his",
"his", and "hand".


The following lines example a simile (a
comparison between two things using the words "like" or
"as").



Before
him, like a blood-red flag,
The bright flamingoes
flew;



Here, a comparison is
made between a group of flying flamingos and a blood-red flag.


"And the hyena scream" examples personification.
Personification is where a non-living, non-human thing is given human attributes. A
hyena does not actually "scream"- but, people do.

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