Poetic Devices in ICSE Class 9 English Poems

by | Jul 1, 2024 | General | 0 comments

 

Poetic Devices in ICSE Class 9 English Poems

 

List of Poetic Devices used in ICSE Class 9 English Poems

 

Poetic Devices in ICSE Class 9 English Poems – A “poetic device” refers to anything a poet uses to enhance the literal meaning of their poem. Poetic devices are an essential part of English poetry. It is therefore a tool that significantly enhances a poem’s substance, heightens its feel, or provides the essential rhythm. Let’s have a look at the poetic devices which have been used in ICSE Class 9 English Treasure Chest Book Poems.

 

Related links: ICSE Class 9 English Language and Literature Syllabus 2024-25

 

 

Poem – The Night Mail

 

Poetic Devices

  1. Alliteration: Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words in a line. 
  • Line 8: “Shovelling white steam over her shoulder” 

(repetition of “s” creates a hissing sound)

 

  1. Assonance: Repetition of vowel sounds in a line. 
  • Line 36: “Letters to Scotland from the South of France” 

 

  1. Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part of some verses.
  • Line 33: “Letters with holiday snaps to enlarge in,

Letters with faces scrawled on the margin,

Letters from uncles, cousins, and aunts,

Letters to Scotland from the South of France.”

 

  1. Simile: It directly compares two things by highlighting the similarities using comparison words such as “like”, “as”, “so”, or “than”.
  • Line 16: “Set on the dark plain like gigantic chessmen” 

(compares the furnaces to chessmen, highlighting their imposing presence.)

 

  1. Personification: It refers to the representation of a thing or abstraction as a person.

The Night Mail train is personified throughout the poem.

  • Line 6: “She remains on time as she travels…” – Using “she” refers to the train as a female entity.
  • Line 8: “Over her shoulder:” – Attributing a shoulder to the train suggests a human-like form.
  • Line 9: “Snorting noisily as she passes:” – This depicts the train making a sound, similar to how an animal might snort.

 

  1. Imagery

Visual Imagery: Vivid descriptions paint a picture of the train’s journey.

  • Line 8: “Shovelling white steam over her shoulder” 
  • Line 15-16: “Fields of apparatus, the furnaces / Set on the dark plain like gigantic chessmen” 

 

Auditory Imagery: The poem evokes sounds associated with the train and its environment.

  • Line 9: “Snorting noisily as she passes” 
  • Line 14: “steam tugs yelping down the glade of cranes” 

 

  1. Enjambment: It refers to the continuation of a sentence without a pause.
  • Lines 7-8: “Past cotton-grass and moorland boulder / Shovelling white steam over her shoulder” 

 

  1. Rhetoric Question: It is a question asked in order to create a dramatic effect rather than to get an answer.
  • Line 43: For who can bear to feel himself forgotten?

 

 

Related:

 

Poem – Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat

 

Poetic Devices

  1. Alliteration: the repetition of a consonant sound at the start of closely placed words.

 

“He will watch you without winking and he sees what you are thinking”

“Saying “Skimble where is Skimble for unless he’s very nimble”

 

  1. Imagery: It refers to the words and phrases used to help the reader form images that focus on their sense of smell, touch, sight, hearing and taste.

 

The poem provides vivid details through descriptive language “newly folded sheet” creating a sense of comfort and cleanliness.

 

“And the berth is very neat with a newly folded sheet

And there’s not a speck of dust on the floor.”

 

Another visual imagery in the poem is when Skimbleshanks’ eyes are described as green like the green signal of the train. He flashes his eyes and the signal mimics the colour of his eyes. 

 

“He gives one flash of his glass-green eyes

And the signal goes “All Clear!”

 

  1. Hyperbole: Hyperbole refers to exaggeration.

 

“And we’re off at last for the northern part

Of the Northern Hemisphere!”

 

The northern part of the Northern Hemisphere is the North Pole. This is an exaggeration and implies that the train goes to the northernmost part of Britain. 

 

  1. Metaphor: “In the watches of the night he is always fresh and bright” uses a metaphor to describe Skimbleshanks’ alertness throughout the night.

 

  1. Personification: To personify is to give an animal or inanimate object human traits. 

In the poem, Skimbleshanks is described as a human being. He is a figure of great importance in the train’s operation. 

Skimbleshanks is shown “greeting the stationmaster” and “speaking to the police,” giving him human-like qualities that showcase his role as an unofficial guardian.

 

“Where he greets the stationmaster with elation.

But you saw him at Dumfries, where he speaks to the police”

 

When the guard asks the passengers about his preference of tea, 

…..But Skimble’s just behind him and was ready to remind him

so that the guard does not forget the passenger’s preference and the passengers have a good travel experience.

 

Skimbleshanks is described with human actions and behaviors again-

“he has a cup of tea

With perhaps a drop of Scotch”

He drinks tea, when he keeps watch, greets the stationmaster, and speaks to the police. This makes him seem more important and in charge.

 

 

Related:

 

Poem – I Remember, I Remember

 

Poetic Devices

Alliteration: The repetition of consonant sounds in the same line.

  • The sound of  / r /  in  “The roses, red and white”
  • The sound of  / f /  in  “My spirit flew in feathers then”

 

Anaphora: It refers to the repetition of a word or expression in the first part of some verses. For example, the repetition of “I remember, I remember” at the beginning of each stanza in the poem “I Remember, I Remember”

 

Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line. 

For example,

  •  The sound of / oo / in “And summer pools could hardly cool.”

 

Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break. Instead, it is continued in the next line or verse. For example,

“And thought the air must rush as fresh

To swallows on the wing.”

 

Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example,

  • “The little window where the sun 

Came peeping in at morn”

  • “The roses, red and white, 

The violets, and the lily-cups”

 

Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between different persons and objects.

“My spirit flew in feathers then” –  This metaphor compares the feeling of swinging to flying like a bird, symbolizing the freedom and exhilaration the poet experienced in his childhood.

 

Simile: It refers to comparison using words “like” and “as”.

“And thought the air must rush as fresh / To swallows on the wing” (comparing the feeling of swinging to a swallow’s flight) emphasizes the exhilarating freedom of his childhood.

 

 

Related: 

 

Poem – A Doctor’s Journal Entry for August 6, 1945

 

Poetic Devices

Imagery:  The poet’s use of vivid and evocative imagery paints a stark picture of the devastation:

 

  • The “Strong flash” and “Magnesium flares” symbolize the blinding intensity of the explosion.
  • The collapsing roof and walls represent the destruction of physical structures and safety.
  • The presence of severed body parts, such as the head, illustrates the random and horrifying nature of the disaster.

 

Metaphor: This poetic device is used when a covert comparison is made between two different things or ideas. In this poem, survivors are compared to “ghosts” and “scarecrows” emphasizing their lifeless appearance and the extent of their injuries.

 

I saw the shadowy forms of people, some

Were ghosts, some scarecrows, all were wordless dumb

 

Enjambment: Enjambment: Many lines run on without punctuation, further emphasizing the doctor’s breathless state and the relentless unfolding of horrors.

 “Stumbling to the street

 We fell, tripped by something at our feet.”

 

Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of a consonant sound.  “Of shimmering leaves and shadows. Suddenly.” 

 

Personification: Personification is where a non-human / non-living thing is given human characteristics.

“The morning stretched calm.” Here, the morning is personified.

 

 

Related: 

 

Poem – A Work of Artifice

Poetic Devices

Metaphor: A metaphor is a figure of speech that is used to make a comparison without using words “like” and “as”. 

A bonsai tree is a metaphor for women, who face inequality, discrimination and oppression. The poet uses this to express that women have vast potential to grow and accomplish large things but fail to do so as a result of the manipulations and suppression. 

 

Personification: A figure of speech in which abstract ideas are invested with personality, and both inanimate and abstract ideas are endowed with the attributes of living beings. The poet gives human attributes to the bonsai by using words such as ” “brain”, and “hair”.

 

Apostrophe: Apostrophe is a figure of speech in which a speaker directly addresses someone (or something) that is not present or cannot respond in reality. The poet makes use of an apostrophe as the gardener addresses both women and the tree. By doing so, Piercy emphasises the way society directly or indirectly prevents women from reaching their full potential.  She uses the lines:

 

“the bound feet,

the crippled brain,

the hair in curlers,

the hands you

love to touch.”

 

Symbolism: Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.

 

  • Bonsai tree: Represents the individual restricted by societal expectations.
  • Gardener: Represents societal forces that control and shape individuals.
  • Pot: Represents the limitations placed on the individual’s potential.
  • Bound feet, crippled brain, hair in curlers: These symbolize specific societal practices that restrict individual growth, particularly for women.

 

Irony: The gardener’s words, “It is your nature to be small and cozy…how lucky, little tree,” are laced with irony. He justifies the limitations as the tree’s natural state, while the reader understands it’s an imposed condition.

 

Allusion: The allusions i.e., the reference to other works or culture, to allude to the restrictions imposed on women to curb their growth and potential.

“bound feet” in an allusion to the pre-revolutionary Chinese practice of binding women’s feet as small feet were considered as a symbol of beauty.

 

 

Related: 

 

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