1. Allusion:

The poet has taken a character from Homer’s Odyssey named Penelope. She is the wife of Odysseus or Ulysses. The poet alludes to the pain behind Penelope’s suffering. When her husband left her for the Trojan war, she had no other choice but to wait. But this waiting phase continued in her life for twenty long years. Meanwhile, to avoid marrying she chose to deceive the suitors with this weaving plan. Throughout the day she was weaving a shroud, but in the night she started to undo it. So, the poet wants to speak about her physical and mental pain.

2. Metaphor:

Metaphor is a literary device where two unrelated objects are compared to each other. The poet has used metaphor in the following lines.

And more than once: you can’t keep weaving all day

And undoing it all through the night;

Your arms get tired, and the back of your neck gets tight;

Here, the process of weaving is a metaphor for unending pain and suffering. Penelope knows that it is not going to be light to continue this process for day and night. But she chose to escape from her suitors. Thus “weaving” is a metaphor of pain and suffering.

3. Repetition:

Repetition is a literary device where a certain word or phrase is repeated multiple times to emphasise the word or to create a rhythm. This device is used in the following lines.

But only as a gesture,—a gesture which implied

Here the word “gesture” is repeated twice.Because, Ulysses chose to show only a gesture. He controls his emotions in front of the crowd. He failed to show empathy to her wife. So, the word “gesture” is repeated to show his actions.

Again in the following line, the word “Penelope” is repeated. This repetition highlights the pain and suffering she faced for twenty long years.

He learned it from Penelope …

Penelope, who really cried.

4. Anaphora:

Anaphora is a literary device that uses the repetition of short phrases or single words at the beginning of clauses or sentences to enhance rhythm. The poet has used this device in the following lines.

And more than once: you can’t keep weaving all day

And undoing it all through the night; (Lines 3-4)

And along towards morning, when you think it will never be light,

And your husband has been gone, and you don’t know where, for years, (Lines 6-7)

These lines begin with the word “and”. The poet wants to show the continuity of the idea. So, he preferred to begin the lines with “and”.

An Ancient Gesture Summary

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