Introduction to literature

1. 1
A. METHAPOR AND SIMILE
Similes and metaphors are both used to compare one thing to something else. While
similes and metaphors are very similar, there is one key difference between the two: similes
always use the words "like" or "as" to make their comparison, while metaphors lack
these two key words.
If we write a comparison between two things and omit the word "like" then we are
using a Metaphor. The metaphor goes a step further than the simile and instead of asking us
to picture one thing as being like another, we are asked to picture one thing as being another.
We are describing one thing as if it were actually another. Metaphors are not only use in
poetry but can be found in all types of writing, metaphors enliven ordinary language, it create
new meanings, they allow you to write about feelings, thoughts, things, experiences.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Desire
"Where true Love burns Desire is Love's pure flame;
It is the reflex of our earthly frame,
That takes its meaning from the nobler part,
And but translates the language of the heart."
Coleridge uses a flame as a metaphor for love to convey the burning desire and pain that love
can bring.
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two different things, usually by
employing the words "like" or "as" – also, but less commonly, "if", or "than". A simile differs
from a metaphor in that the latter compares two unlike things by saying that the one
thing is the other thing. Example
"The water is like the sun."
"The water is like the sun" is an example of simile because water and the sun have
little in common, and yet they're being compared to one another. The "is" is also part of what
makes this stanza an example of simile.

2. 2
Simile in poetry :
Dream Deferred
By Langston Hughes
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up Like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore– And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over– like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
A Love Poem
Your love is like a blanket
that keeps me toasty warm.
Your love is like a shield
that protects me from all harm.
Your love is like a chocolate bar,
velvet-smooth and sweet
Or like some comfy house slippers
that hug my tired feet
Your heartbeat’s like a lullabye
that beckons me to sleep
You permeate my memories
Romance from days long past
You underwrite my future
with a love that’s made to last
I need you more than words can say
My heart is sure and true
I’m yours until the end of time
Like, baby, I love you

3. 3
B. PERSONIFICATION
Personification in poetry is the process of giving human traits or characteristics to a
non-human object or idea. The form of poetry generally involves using figurative language
— that is, words and phrases with a meaning other than the standard definition — to convey
an idea or emotion. Using personification in poetry helps the reader develop a connection
between a distant object or idea and feel empathy or sympathy for that idea or object. Poets
often use personification to help the reader relate to the concept being presented, and to give
a more complete understanding of a difficult concept to comprehend.
An example of personification may involve giving human traits to a tree, which is
inanimate. This personification in poetry may read something like this:
"The tree of life can smile upon us all."
This line is written in iambic pentameter, which is a type of lyrical meter very
commonly used in poetry. Most poetry, in fact, is written in some form of meter and often
with rhyme, though some poems are not confined by these techniques. In the example
above, personification in poetry is used by giving the tree a human trait: the tree smiles. In
reality, of course, a tree cannot smile because it has no lips or mouth, but in this case, the tree
can smile in a figurative sense: it can create happiness or at the very least life in all things,
according to this line. Let see, personification in poetry
Lunch by Denise Rodgers
I'd love to take a poem to lunch
or treat it to a wholesome brunch
of fresh cut fruit and apple crunch.
I'd spread it neatly on the cloth
beside a bowl of chicken broth
and watch a mug of root beer froth.
I'd feel the words collect the mood,
the taste and feel of tempting food
popped in the mouth and slowly chewed,
and get the smell of fresh baked bread
that sniffs inside and fills our head

4. 4
C. IMAGE AND IMAGERY
Most figures of speech cast up a picture in your mind. These pictures created or
suggested by the poet are called 'images'. To participate fully in the world of poem, we must
understand how the poet uses image to convey more than what is actually said or literally
meant.
We speak of the pictures evoked in a poem as 'imagery'. Imagery refers to the
"pictures" which we perceive with our mind's eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin, and through
which we experience the "duplicate world" created by poetic language. Imagery evokes the
meaning and truth of human experiences not in abstract terms, as in philosophy, but in more
perceptible and tangible forms. This is a device by which the poet makes his meaning strong,
clear and sure. The poet uses sound words and words of color and touch in addition to
figures of speech. As well, concrete details that appeal to the reader's senses are used to build
up images.
“The Shell” by James Stephens and imagine the scene he describes
“The Shell” by James Stephens
And straightway like a bell
Came low and clear
The slow, sad murmur of the distant seas,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
And in the hush of waters was the sound
Of pebbles rolling round,
For ever rolling with a hollow sound.
And bubbling sea-weeds as the waters go
Swish to and fro
Their long, cold tentacles of slimy grey.
What are the uses of an image?
Understanding the use of imagery in poetry is essential for a comprehension of the
overall meaning. Images are essentially word-pictures and they usually work by a method of
association. This means that the images are created by associations that we make as readers
within the linguistic context of the text. For example, the word "red" immediately creates an
image or picture of the color red in our minds. This color is associated or has connotations
with other feelings or images, like anger, and this increases the depth of the poem. The
important thing to remember is that the images are an instrument that the poet uses to express
his or her intentions or feelings. Understanding the use of images means understanding the
essential meaning of the poem. Think of images as useful "tools" that the poet uses in order to
reveal or explain the meaning that is in the poem.

5. 5
D. SYMBOL
Symbolism can give a literary work more richness and color and can make the
meaning of the work deeper. Symbols that usually cast a spell over the readers and are often
used to enhance poetry in motion. Symbols that create colors, waves, movements, transition,
and enhance a sheer poetry into a form of art. The function of symbolism in poetry has been
to hide the true meaning of a poem. The beauty of poetry is often accredited to the ingenuity
of its symbolism. For example, a lilies flower maybe used as an allusion to purity or
virginity!
Symbols work like images that have meaning added to them. A rose is just a flower,
until it is one of a bunch given as a present. Then it signifies love, passionate if the rose is
red, chaste if it is white. When it appears in a poem by William Blake
The Sick Rose
O Rose, thou art sick.
The invisible worm
That flies in the night
In the howling storm
Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy,
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.
This poem appears to be about a rose and an aphid or a caterpillar, but even a non-
gardener knows that aphids are not invisible. Once the worm is seen as an abstraction, the
rose is too, and it can be interpreted according to conventional associations such as love,
faith, hope, tender emotions, youthful optimism; the list can extend as far as the reader's
imagination and ingenuity can take it. Another symbols :
An owl symbolises wisdom
The phoenix symbolises rebirth
The dove symbolises peace
Fire represents anger or safety

6. 6
E. ANALYSIS OF POETRY
Poetry analysis is the process of investigating a poem's form, content, and history in an
informed way, with the aim of heightening one's own and others' understanding and
appreciation of the work. Analysis means literally picking a poem apart--looking at elements
such as imagery, metaphor, poetic language, rhyme scheme, and so on--in order to see how
they all work together to produce the poem's meaning. By looking at a poem in terms of its
elements, one decodes the poem. This guide is to help readers learn what to look for and what
questions to ask in decoding a poem.
Example Poetry Analysis by Sara Patrick
“Auto Wreck” by Karl Shapiro
Its quick soft silver bell beating, beating,
And downthe dark one ruby flare
Pulsing out red light like an artery,
The ambulance at top speed floating down
Past beacons and illuminated clocks
Wings in a heavy curve,dips down,
And brakes speed, entering the crowd.
The doors leap open, emptying light;
Stretchers are laid out, the mangled lifted
And stowed into the little hospital.
Then the bell, breaking the hush, tolls once.
And the ambulance with its terrible cargo
Rocking, slightly rocking, movesaway,
As the doors, an afterthought, are closed.
We are deranged, walking among the cops
Who sweep glass and are large and
composed. One is still making notes under the
light.

7. 7
One with a bucket douches ponds of blood
Into the street and gutter.
One hangs lanterns on the wrecks that cling,
Emptyhusks of locusts, to iron poles.
Our throats were tight as tourniquets,
Our feet werebound with splints, but now,
Likeconvalescents intimate and gauche,
We speak through sickly smiles and warn
With the stubborn saw of common sense,
The grim joke and the banal resolution.
The traffic movesaround with care,
But we remain, touching a wound That
opens to our richest horror. Already old,
the question Who shall die? Becomes
unspoken Who is innocent? For death in
war is done by hands; Suicide has cause
and stillbirth, logic; And cancer, simple
as a flower, blooms.
But this invites the occult mind,
Cancels our physics with a sneer,
And spatters all we knew of denouement
Across the expedient and wicked stones.
1. Poem published: 1941
2. Facts about Karl Shapiro:
a. Karl Shapiro was born in Baltimore, Maryland on 10 November 1913
b. Shapiro was Jewish, and felt rejected by students at the University of Virginia
(1932-1933) who, Shapiro claims, regarded themselves as superior to Jews.
c. Due to his self-consciousness about his background, he thought of changing his
name to “Karl Camden,” to sound more Germanic. Although he never changed his

8. 8
last name, he did legally change the spelling of his first name from Carl to the more
Germanic Karl.
3. If I could ask Shapiro any question, I would want to know what inspired him to write
“Auto Wreck.” Was he ever in a major car crash or perhaps did he witness one?
4. Physical analysis: word count: 259; lines: 39; stanzas: 3
5. Topic: A car crash
6. Summary: The poem starts with a description of an ambulance rushing to the scene of
a crash, and hurriedly gathering up the victims and rushing them away. The second and
third stanzas explore the emotions felt after the car crash from the perspective of a wit-
ness.
7. Theme: A major theme from “Auto Wreck” is death. The author is exploring the random
and illogical nature of mortality by contrasting the car crash with other forms of death
(war, suicide, stillbirth, cancer) that are more understandable.
8. Mood: gloomy, reflective
9. “Auto Wreck” is a lyric poem because it gives a description of an event and reflections
on it, but does not tell a story.
10. Personal reflections: I selected this poem because of the realistic images and how a
reader can vividly picture the accident as if he/she was there to see it. It’s a morbid
poem, but the theme is relevant, since everyone will die some day and no one knows if it
will be sudden, like a car crash, or come on slowly like cancer. My favorite line is, “One
with a bucket douches ponds of blood.” It refers to the police man washing away the ex-
aggerated ponds of blood from the accident. I know this line is unpleasant, but I like it
because it so powerfully displays the shock of the onlooker.
11. “Auto Wreck” reminds me of John Donne’s poem, “Death Be Not Proud” because they
both deal with the themes of mortality. However, they are very different poems since
Donne’s poem denies death’s power and mock’s death, while Shapiro seems perplexed
by the unpredictableness of death by car crashes.
12. Confusing passage: I’m not sure I understand this passage: “We speak through sickly
smiles and warn / With the stubborn saw of common sense, / The grim joke and the ba-
nal resolution.”
13. Vocabulary:
a. douche: (verb) here it means to wash away with water
b. convalescent: (noun) a patient who is recovering from an illness or the effects of
medical treatment

9. 9
c. gauche: (adjective) lacking grace or tact in social situations; socially awkward
d. banal: (adjective) boringly ordinary and lacking in originality; dull; unoriginal
e. occult: (adjective) not capable of being understood byordinary human beings
f. denouement: (noun) a final part of a story in which everything is made clear and no
questions or surprises remain
14. Poetic Devices:
a. Rhyme Scheme: None
b. Alliteration: soft, silver; bell, beating; bell, breaking; down, dark; light, like; dips,
down; tight, tourniquets; sickly, smiles; stubborn, saw
c. Repetition: “beating, beating”; “floating down”, “dips down”; “rocking, slight- ly
rocking”
d. Imagery: “Pulsing out red light like an artery”; “One with a bucket douch- es
ponds of blood”; “simple as a flower, blooms”; “stretchers are laid out the mangled
lifted”
e. Personification: none
f. Parallel Structure: “One is still...”, “One with a bucket...”, “One hangs...”; “Our
throats were tight...”, “Our feet were bound...”; “And cancer...”, “And spat-
ters...”; “Who shall die””, “Who is innocent”
g. Hyperbole: “ponds of blood”
h. Allusions: none
i. Enjambment: The entire poem uses enjambment. Here is an example from lines
28-30: “The traffic moves around with care, / But we remain, touching a wound /
That opens to our richest horror.”
j. Onomatopoeia: “silver bell beating, beating”
k. Simile: “like convalescents innocent and gauche,” “red light like an artery,”
“throats tight as tourniquets,” “cancer, simple as a flower”
l. Metaphor: “the stubborn saw of common sense;” lanterns are described as
“empty husks of locusts”
m. Irony: “grim joke”
n. Oxymoron: “grim joke”
o. Refrain: none
p. Symbolism: light

10. 10
15. Effect: Shapiro uses similes and metaphors to emphasize the fantasy-like and wild
setting of the auto wreck. He describes the light as “Pulsing out” “like an artery,”
contrasting the red light emitted from an ambulance to the blood of an artery. The
idea that a light is spurted out like blood is abstract and bizarre. In addition to that
simile, Shapiro describes the wreckage as “Empty husks” locust- like in the devastation
they cause. This depiction of the auto wreck is extrava- gant and almost unreal. Using
figurative language, Shapiro reinforces the theme of death as being bizarre and
perplexing.

11. 11
REFERENCES
http://mmdelrosario.hubpages.com/hub/simile-and-metaphors
http://www.skypeenglishclasses.com/skype-english-blog/metaphors-and-similes-in-english-
langston-hughes-teaches-us-the-difference/
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-function-of-personification-in-poetry.htm
http://litera1no4.tripod.com/imagery_frame.html
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/617/02/
http://writing.wikinut.com/Symbols-in-Poetry/5ukfsmkm/
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_an_example_of_symbolism
http://www.studyguide.org/poetry_tips.htm
www.departments.bucknell.edu/stadler_center/shapiro/bio.htm
www.enotes.com/auto-wreck-salem/auto-wreck