Thursday, September 16, 2010

Personification in "Bright Star"

Question 11: Point out examples of figurative language and explain their appropriateness.

The speaker in "Bright Star" speaks to a star, wishing to be steadfast as it is. He personifies the star in line 3 when he says the star "watch[es], with eternal lids apart." The star is not human and cannot have human qualities. The speaker uses this example, though, to better explain his feelings toward life and ultimately love. The star gives a more concrete example of the abstract feelings of hope and love for the future. Without this example, the reader would not be able to connect with the speaker as well. A concrete example gives the reader a starting point to begin basing ideas off of. Poetry would not be as beautiful without figurative language and the mystery it creates.

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