Saturday, February 6, 2016

How does the poem "Night of the Scorpion" by Nissim Ezekiel appeal to all the senses of the reader?

The poem "Night of the Scorpion" by Nissim Ezekiel appeals
to all the senses of the reader through the use of imagery, powerful verbs and concrete
nouns, and poetic devices such as simile and
onomatopoeia.


Throughout the poem, imagery is used to help
reader see, hear, smell, taste, or feel things. For example, the "ten hours of stead
rain" helps the reader see and hear the rain. Readers may be able to smell the rain as
well from words used.


Powerful verbs and concrete nouns
also add to the imagery created: The rain has "driven" the scorpion under a "rice sack"
(the rice sack helps me see a room that has little in it), sins are "burned away", the
flame "feeds" on the "parrafin" on the mother's toe. I can also see the "giant scorpion
shadows" being "thrown" on "mud baked walls". All of this images are developed through
very strong verbs and concrete nouns that help me see a very clear picture in my
mind.


Finally, many poetic devices are used: Onamatapoeia
helps me hear the peasants (they "buzz") and their tongues (the "click"). A simile help
me see that the peasants have come from all over "like swarms of flies". Finally, the
"fire feeds" on the speaker's mother, an example of alliteration the sounds a bit like
the fire itself.

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