Theseus: Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour Draws on space four happy days bring in Another moon. But O, me thinks how slow This old moon wanes, she lingers my desires, Like to a step-dame or a dowager Long withering out a young man’s revenue. The literary devices used in this excerpt are
The moon is personified as lingering, and the simile 'like to a step-dame or a dowager' compares the moon’s slow waning to an aging figure delaying a young man’s inheritance.
you are the silent code of pleasure locked in wordless wonder. You are the hive of honeyed secrets dragon can plunder Gbemisola Adeoti: Dream Code. This excerpt achieves its rhetorical effect through the use of
Metaphors like 'silent code' and 'hive of honeyed secrets' create vivid imagery, and the rhyme between 'wonder' and 'plunder' enhances the rhetorical effect.
It was not yet closing time, but already most staff were trooping out of their offices. The lift was working now and he squeezed himself into it, breathing with difficulty the body odour emitted by one of the passengers. He sighed with relief when they got to the ground floor and tumbled out of the lift. The subject’s experience in the lift is
The subject’s experience is described as unpleasant due to the difficulty breathing and the presence of body odour in the crowded lift.
Do not thank me, instead, let me ask you one question, Now you have all come here sprawling vomiting, rubbing tears on one another begging me to do my duty and help you. But what about you yourselves? What have you done to help yourselves? Answer? Or is the land at peace? Are not people ailing and dying? In this excerpt, the land is
The speaker highlights the land’s condition with people 'ailing and dying,' indicating sickness and death as the primary issues.
In those days, When civilization kicked us in the face, when holy water slapped brows. The vultures built in the shadow of their talons. The dominant literary device used in these lines is
Civilization and holy water are personified by giving them human actions like 'kicking' and 'slapping,' emphasizing their harsh impact.
I am not afraid of anything, he told them. I have done almost everything in this world. I have committed all crimes you can think of and been jailed for most of them. I have been in prison more hours than I have been out of it within the last five years. In recounting his criminal life, the speaker’s tone is
The speaker’s tone is boastful, proudly detailing his criminal exploits and prison time without showing remorse.
I have said too much unto a heart of stone, And laid my honour too unchary on it, There’s something in me that reproves my fault. But such a headstrong potent fault it is That it but mocks reproof. 'A heart of stone' in these lines is an example of
'A heart of stone' is a metaphor, comparing an unfeeling heart to stone to convey emotional hardness.
Blood was prove no solace to the king. The rejection he had suffered at Idama’s hands pushed his spirit into a comfortless hole in which, alone with himself, he searched in vain for ways to run from his inner emptiness. The narrator’s attitude to the king is one of
The narrator expresses sympathy for the king, describing his emotional pain and 'inner emptiness' with a compassionate tone.
I hope Peregede the triumphant mother of morning radiant In Chameleon’s velvet. Let today’s dawn bring on its rails trains of good tidings. This excerpt is an example of
The excerpt is an invocation, calling upon Peregede and expressing a hope for blessings, typical of invoking a deity or spirit.
The wood decay, the woods decay and fall, The vapour weep their burthen to the ground, Man comes and tills the field and lies beneath, And after many a summer dies the swan. The subject matter of these lines is
The lines focus on decay, weeping vapours, and death (man 'lies beneath,' swan dies), highlighting mortality as the central theme.
The wind howls through the empty streets, whispering secrets to the shuttered windows. The dominant literary device in this excerpt is
The wind is personified as howling and whispering secrets, attributing human actions to it.
He stood at the edge of the cliff, his heart a drumbeat echoing in the silence of the night. The literary device used in describing the heart is
The heart is metaphorically described as a 'drumbeat,' directly comparing it to the sound without using 'like' or 'as.'
The actor’s final words lingered in the air, heavy with unspoken regret. The mood created by this excerpt is
The lingering words and 'unspoken regret' create a melancholic mood, evoking sadness and reflection.
O night, cloak my fears in your velvet darkness, and let the stars be my only witnesses! The speaker’s tone in this excerpt is
The speaker pleads with the night to hide fears and let stars witness, indicating a desperate, pleading tone.
The river laughed and danced in the sunlight, its ripples mocking the stillness of the stones. The literary devices used in this excerpt are
The river is personified as laughing and dancing, and 'ripples mocking' is a metaphor for their playful movement.
Her smile was a sunrise, breaking through the clouds of his despair. The literary device used in this excerpt is
The smile is metaphorically described as a sunrise, directly comparing it to light breaking through despair.
The old house groaned under the weight of its memories, each creak a tale of forgotten years. The dominant literary device in this excerpt is
The house is personified as groaning and bearing memories, giving it human-like qualities.
He spoke with a tongue of fire, his words burning through the crowd’s indifference. The literary device used to describe the speaker’s words is
'Tongue of fire' and 'words burning' are metaphors, comparing speech to fire for its intensity.
The stage was silent, but the actor’s eyes screamed a thousand untold stories. The literary device used in this excerpt is
The eyes 'screaming' stories is a metaphor, vividly implying they express untold narratives.
The dawn broke with a sigh, as if reluctant to disturb the slumbering earth. The literary device used in this excerpt is
The dawn is personified as sighing and reluctant, attributing human emotions to it.
Her laughter was a melody, weaving joy into the fabric of the room. The literary devices used in this excerpt are
Laughter is metaphorically a melody, and 'weaving joy' personifies it as actively creating an effect.
The city never sleeps; its lights pulse like a restless heart through the night. The literary devices used in this excerpt are
The city is personified as never sleeping, and lights pulsing 'like a restless heart' is a simile.
His promises were castles in the air, grand but destined to crumble. The literary device used in this excerpt is
Promises are metaphorically described as 'castles in the air,' implying they are grand but unattainable.
The poet’s words danced on the page, each syllable a step in a timeless waltz. The literary devices used in this excerpt are
Words are metaphorically dancing, and 'syllable a step' uses alliteration with 's' sounds.
The storm raged outside, but in her heart, a deeper tempest brewed. The literary device used in this excerpt is
The emotional turmoil in her heart is metaphorically described as a 'tempest,' comparing it to a storm.
The clock ticked relentlessly, each second a hammer striking the anvil of his guilt. The literary devices used in this excerpt are
The clock is personified as ticking relentlessly, and each second is metaphorically a hammer striking guilt.
Her voice was a lighthouse, guiding the lost through the fog of despair. The literary device used in this excerpt is
The voice is metaphorically a lighthouse, directly compared to a guiding light.
The forest whispered its ancient tales, each leaf a page in a book of time. The literary devices used in this excerpt are
The forest is personified as whispering, and leaves are metaphorically pages in a book.
He wore his pride like a crown, but it weighed heavy on his weary head. The literary devices used in this excerpt are
Pride is compared to a crown using a simile ('like'), and it is personified as weighing heavily on his head.
The silence in the room was a living thing, pressing against their ears with unspoken truths. The literary device used in this excerpt is
Silence is personified as a living thing that presses against ears, giving it human-like qualities.
Her dreams were fragile wings, too delicate to soar in the storm of reality. The literary device used in this excerpt is
Dreams are metaphorically described as fragile wings, implying their delicate and vulnerable nature.
The poet’s pen carved rivers of ink, flooding the page with torrents of emotion. The literary devices used in this excerpt are
The pen carving rivers is a metaphor, and 'flooding' with 'torrents' exaggerates the emotional output, making it hyperbolic.
The old man’s eyes held the weight of a thousand winters, each wrinkle a story untold. The literary devices used in this excerpt are
'A thousand winters' is a hyperbolic exaggeration, and wrinkles as stories is a metaphor.
The drumbeat of war echoed in their hearts, drowning out the whispers of peace. The literary device used in this excerpt is
The 'drumbeat of war' is a metaphor, comparing the call to conflict to a drum’s sound.
The moon watched in silence, a quiet guardian over the sleeping village. The literary device used in this excerpt is
The moon is personified as watching and acting as a guardian over the village.
Her tears were rivers, carving canyons of sorrow in her soul. The literary devices used in this excerpt are
Tears are metaphorically rivers, and carving canyons is a hyperbolic exaggeration of sorrow.
The narrator described the hero’s journey as a tightrope walk over a chasm of doubt. The literary device used in this excerpt is
The journey is metaphorically a tightrope walk, implying its precarious and challenging nature.
The crowd’s cheers were a tidal wave, sweeping the victor into a sea of glory. The literary devices used in this excerpt are
Cheers are metaphorically a tidal wave, and the scale of sweeping into glory is hyperbolic.
The poet’s voice was a lantern, casting light on the shadows of human sorrow. The literary device used in this excerpt is
The voice is metaphorically a lantern, illuminating the sorrows of humanity.
The battlefield lay silent, its scars whispering of forgotten valor. The literary devices used in this excerpt are
Scars are personified as whispering, and they metaphorically speak of valor, conveying past bravery.
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