The use of figurative speech In “Death Be Not Proud” and Hughes “Harlem.”
Death is not proud is a Holy Sonnet 10, which was written in 1633 by John Donne. The poem directly addresses death, presenting an argument that death is powerless simply because it acts as a mere short sleep and a gateway between the earth and eternal afterlife. Therefore due to its powerless nature, people should not fear it but take as something that takes us home.
Figurative speech in this poem is used to bring clarity, richness, and uniqueness to the author’s entire text. The author has used various literary devices to allow his readers to make a better and clear interpretation of the poem. There are four major figurative languages used in the poem. The four figurative language includes personification, metaphor, allusion, and paradox.
Personification has been used to bring an attribute of human to non-living things. The authors have successfully personified death throughout the poem (Marno &David). For instance, he says that death should not be proud of. Pride is a character associated with the human being. When he says death should not be proud, he is giving death human character.
Metaphor: there is three major metaphor in this poem. The first metaphor is used in the opening line, “death do not be proud.” In this line, death is compared to a proud man. The second metaphor is used in line 9,” thou art slave to fate”(9). The last line has an extended metaphor that is used to bring out the concept of non-existence or unrealistic object.
Allusion:
Allusion, as a figure of speech, is used in the final line. In this line, the author says that “the last enemy to be destroyed is death” this line echoes the sentiments presented in the poem, which means that nothing is enemy to a human being than death and that death does not have any power over a human being. This line’s ultimate message is that those who believe in Christ Jesus Christ will defeat death after receiving salvation (PUSPITA &VIDIA). This means that after receiving Christ, death is just short sleep, after which we will live eternally.
Finally, the author ends the poem with a paradox; he puts an emphasis on his main point by stating that individuals should not fear death. He says that if people stop fearing death, then death will effectively lose their power over people. The author uses paradox in three major lines.
Hughes, “Harlem”
The second poem is Harlem. Harlem is a poem that was written by Hughes. The poem is a representation of the collective experience of African Americans. It collects the series of disturbing metaphorical solutions and the difficult question that happen to a dream deferred. The main outcome for the dream put on hold is incredible images that will invoke some sense, particularly taste, smell, and touch. In this poem, the main point is that dream put on hold may dry up just like a raisin morning sun. The main figurative languages in this poem are simile, which uses language such as like or in making a comparison of things and metaphor. The rising simile is more compelling simply because we can relate to what the author is talking about. In a real sense, it is an image that helps all the readers appreciate the difficulty in swallowing the reality of the dreams that are permanently postponed.
Figurative speech in this poem has been used to enhance the meaning of the entire text and allow the readers to have a smooth interpretation in different ways. In regards to this, the author also uses metaphor to create a powerful image of what occurs when the wishes are left unfulfilled. If this poem is read without similes and imagery, then it is possible that we can lose its entire meaning.
Imagery: the author has used imagery to make the reader perceive things through their five senses. For instance, the author says: like rising in the sun,” does it stink like a rotten mean or does it explored?” this imagery makes the reader get involved when reading the poem. The reader can understand things based on the author’s perspective.
Metaphor: metaphor has been used in this poem to apply comparison. The comparison in this place has been applied between different objects or different persons. For instance, the author says, “or does it explore. In this line, the authors present a comparison between the Brocken dreams and the bomb.
Simile: the author has used a simile to presents a comparison between one thing with another. This helps in bringing clear meaning to the readers. For instance, “does it dry up like rising sun?” in this comparison, the Brocken dreams are compared with decaying food items. In conclusion, the use of figurative speech in poems helps bring clear meaning to the poems, and due to this, readers can relate to the poem from the author’s point of view.
Works Cited
Marno, David. Death Be Not Proud: The Art of Holy Attention. University of Chicago Press, 2016.
PUSPITA, VIDIA. “An analysis on the figure of speech in John Donne Poetry.” (2012).
Spillers, Hortense J. “Formalism Comes to Harlem.” Black American Literature Forum. School of Education, Indiana State University, 2017.