• Tautology– use of different words to state the same thing. In wondrous merry mood- Here, the words wondrous and merry mean the same thing. And saw him peep within- The words saw and peep means the same thing.

• Repetition– Words or phrases are repeated for poetic effect. They were so queer, so very queer- Here, The word ‘queer’ is repeated two times for poetic effect.

• Inversion– The normal order of words is reversed, in order to achieve a particular effect of emphasis or meter. A sober man am I- Use of inversion for emphasis.

• Alliteration– Use of the same sound at the start of two words which are close in series. The grin grew broad- The sound of  ‘g’ is repeated twice for poetic effect.

• Hyperbole– A literary device used as exaggeration for a poetic effect. And shot from ear to ear- The wideness of the grin is exaggerated to show that servant found the poem to funny.

• Onomatopoeia– A word that describes a sound. He broke into a roar- the word roar denotes the sound of laughter.

• Transferred Epithet– A literary device that describes a person, place or object by accompanying it with an adjective. Ten days and nights with sleepless eye- the eye has not been said to be sleepless. The adjective or the modifier ‘sleepless’ describes the type of eye the speaker has been experiencing.

The Height of the Ridiculous Summary

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