English Notes Latest Questions

  1. Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession. For example, the sound of /s/ in “Of seaweed snarled these miniatures of hands”. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line. For example, the sound of /a/ in “Of othersRead more

    1. Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession. For example, the sound of /s/ in “Of seaweed snarled these miniatures of hands”.
    2. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line. For example, the sound of /a/ in “Of others’ agony; perhaps the cruel” and the sound of /i/ in “Or, fed on hate, she relishes the sting.”
    3. Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example,

             “Looking into my daughter’s eyes I read

              Beneath the innocence of morning flesh

              Concealed, hintings of death she does not heed.”

           4. Hyperbole: Hyperbole is a device used to exaggerate a statement for the sake of emphasis. For example, the following verse, “Coldest of winds have blown this hair, and mesh” exaggerates the changing nature of time.

     

    My Daughter Summary

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  1. In this poem, a man muses on his anxieties about having an imagined daughter in the future. It starts with a reflection on his fictional daughter's fateful future and the gloomy setting in which she will live. The speaker worries that this world will fill her with hatred and destructive tendencies aRead more

    In this poem, a man muses on his anxieties about having an imagined daughter in the future. It starts with a reflection on his fictional daughter’s fateful future and the gloomy setting in which she will live. The speaker worries that this world will fill her with hatred and destructive tendencies and that she will relish the bitterness of other people’s suffering. This poem is distinctive because of the speaker’s realistic yet pessimistic perspective on the world and how it would devastate the life of his made-up daughter.

    My Daughter Summary

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  1. The poem's main themes include negativity, vivid imagination, and dread of a loved one going through pain. The poem depicts the speaker's bleak and depressing view of the world. According to him, the human spirit is poisoned by this world. It takes away their optimism and builds resentment in a persRead more

    The poem’s main themes include negativity, vivid imagination, and dread of a loved one going through pain. The poem depicts the speaker’s bleak and depressing view of the world. According to him, the human spirit is poisoned by this world. It takes away their optimism and builds resentment in a person.

    Because he only sees anguish and misery in the future, the speaker decides against having a daughter. The reader can sense the father’s anxiety throughout the poem because, unlike other parents, Kees also hopes for a good future for his kids. He chooses against having children after realizing that he cannot alter the course of events.

    My Daughter Summary

     

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