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  1. The theme of this poem is the problems of childhood. How a child is forced to undergo the mainstream method of studying and is forced to endure the ridicule of peers is brought out through the poem. The Dunce Summary

    The theme of this poem is the problems of childhood. How a child is forced to undergo the mainstream method of studying and is forced to endure the ridicule of peers is brought out through the poem.

    The Dunce Summary

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  1. The central idea of this poem is childhood. The entire poem focuses on the persona’s tumultuous childhood with pressure both from his teachers and peers. The Dunce Summary

    The central idea of this poem is childhood. The entire poem focuses on the persona’s tumultuous childhood with pressure both from his teachers and peers.

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    Alliteration: A couple of examples would be “sentences and snares” and “teacher’s threats”. Metaphor: The phrase “blackboard of misfortune” acts as a metaphor for the rigidity of the educational system and the problems it poses for a young child. Repetition: The phrases “he says yes” and “he says noRead more

    1. Alliteration: A couple of examples would be “sentences and snares” and “teacher’s threats”.
    2. Metaphor: The phrase “blackboard of misfortune” acts as a metaphor for the rigidity of the educational system and the problems it poses for a young child.
    3. Repetition: The phrases “he says yes” and “he says no” are repeated in the poem for added emphasis.

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      1. There are no stanza breaks among the twenty-three lines that make up the poem, "Africa." It is composed in free verse without a definite rhyme scheme or meter.   Africa Summary

        There are no stanza breaks among the twenty-three lines that make up the poem, “Africa.” It is composed in free verse without a definite rhyme scheme or meter.

         

        Africa Summary

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      1. Alliteration – similar starting sounds repeated in following or closely related syllables. E.g. But your blood”, “beautiful black blood”, “back that never breaks”, “faded flowers”, “bit by bit.   Metonymy- Metonymy is a figure of speech in which a notion is referred by the name of another ideaRead more

        1. Alliteration – similar starting sounds repeated in following or closely related syllables. E.g. But your blood”, “beautiful black blood”, “back that never breaks”, “faded flowers”, “bit by bit.

         

        1. Metonymy– Metonymy is a figure of speech in which a notion is referred by the name of another idea  that is intimately related to it. E.g. But your blood flows in my veins, Your beautiful black blood that irrigates the fields, The blood of your sweat.

        Africa Summary

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      1. The poem is a reminiscence of Africa, a place the author first learned about through his grandmother's song. His descriptions of the history of European colonization in Africa and the resilience of the African people are fascinating.   Africa Summary

        The poem is a reminiscence of Africa, a place the author first learned about through his grandmother’s song. His descriptions of the history of European colonization in Africa and the resilience of the African people are fascinating.

         

        Africa Summary

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      1. This poem is written in the model of the Italian sonnet that has fourteen lines divided into the octave and sestet. The rhyme scheme is abcb defe gg hiih.   Asleep in the Valley Summary

        This poem is written in the model of the Italian sonnet that has fourteen lines divided into the octave and sestet. The rhyme scheme is abcb defe gg hiih.

         

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      1. Personification- Personification is a figure of speech in which an idea or thing is given human attributes and/or feelings or is spoken of as if it were human. Nature is personified in this poem. Alliteration- It is the occurrence of the same sound at the beginning of closely connected words. ExamplRead more

        1. Personification– Personification is a figure of speech in which an idea or thing is given human attributes and/or feelings or is spoken of as if it were human. Nature is personified in this poem.
        2. Alliteration- It is the occurrence of the same sound at the beginning of closely connected words. Examples- “slow stream”, “leaves long”, “gentle, without guile”, “catch cold”, “sleeps in sunlight”
        3. Metonymy– Metonymy is a figure of speech in which a thing or concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept. Example- The “two red holes” refer to the soldier’s injury and reveal to us that he is dead.

        Asleep in the valley Summary

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      1. The central idea of this poem is the violence of war and all the lives it takes. The poet introduces us to a very peaceful and vividly beautiful scene where a young soldier lies asleep in a valley, only to reveal that he is actually dead. This shocks us and makes us realise the violence and bloodsheRead more

        The central idea of this poem is the violence of war and all the lives it takes. The poet introduces us to a very peaceful and vividly beautiful scene where a young soldier lies asleep in a valley, only to reveal that he is actually dead. This shocks us and makes us realise the violence and bloodshed of war, and all the young lives lost to it. This is an anti-war poem.

         

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