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    Radhika

    Simile: Simile is a literary device that compares two unlikely things using the words "like" or "as". This poetic device can be found in the following lines. Feeling the light rain falling like mist Repetition: Repetition is a literary device where a certain word or phrase is repeated multiple timesRead more

    • Simile:

    Simile is a literary device that compares two unlikely things using the words “like” or “as”.

    This poetic device can be found in the following lines.

    Feeling the light rain falling like mist

    • 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 literary device can be found in the following lines.

    You know what work is—if you’re

    old enough to read this you know what

    work is, although you may not do it.

    just because you don’t know what work is.(Line 42)

    The poem starts and ends with the title “what work is”

    • Rhetorical Question:

    A rhetorical question is asked in a piece of work to not answer but to provide effect. It is used to emphasise the point or to make the audience think.

    The poet has used this device in the following lines.

    How long has it been since you told him

    you loved him, held his wide shoulders,

    opened your eyes wide and said those words,

    and maybe kissed his cheek?

    Here,  the speaker of the poem is asking himself.

    • Allusion:

    Allusion is an indirect reference to a person, event or text or to a part of another text.

    This device can be found in the following lines.

    Here, the poet has mentioned about a German composer named “Wilhelm Richard Wagner” who is known for his operas.

    Works eight hours a night so he can sing

    Wagner, the opera you hate most,

    the worst music ever invented.

    What Work is Summary

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    Radhika

    The poem "What Work Is" by Philip Levine examines the conflict between the speaker's connection with their sibling and their conception of labor. When they mistake another guy in a queue for their brother, the story takes place in the Ford Motor Company factory in Highland Park, Illinois, and the spRead more

    The poem “What Work Is” by Philip Levine examines the conflict between the speaker’s connection with their sibling and their conception of labor. When they mistake another guy in a queue for their brother, the story takes place in the Ford Motor Company factory in Highland Park, Illinois, and the speaker starts to consider what exactly constitutes employment. The poem eventually focuses more on the speaker’s inability to empathize with or comprehend the toll that waiting in line simply to be turned away takes on a person rather than on the speaker’s perspective of and connection with their sister.

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    Radhika

    The poem focuses on the challenges, boredom, and tiredness that frequently come along with a job while also exploring the struggles and dignity of working-class people. It also focuses on the need for fulfilling employment, a feeling of purpose, and the importance of interpersonal relationships andRead more

    The poem focuses on the challenges, boredom, and tiredness that frequently come along with a job while also exploring the struggles and dignity of working-class people. It also focuses on the need for fulfilling employment, a feeling of purpose, and the importance of interpersonal relationships and community among members of the working class. Levine muses on the significance of work in forming people and their lives, as well as the intricacies and problems involved in the pursuit of work and its effect on one’s sense of self, through vivid imagery and moving insights.

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    Radhika

    Imagery: The use of vivid and descriptive language to create mental images and sensory impressions. Levine employs imagery throughout the poem to evoke the physical and emotional experiences of work, such as "the smell of work" or the image of "the stack of forms" that represents unemployment. MetapRead more

    1. Imagery: The use of vivid and descriptive language to create mental images and sensory impressions. Levine employs imagery throughout the poem to evoke the physical and emotional experiences of work, such as “the smell of work” or the image of “the stack of forms” that represents unemployment.

    2. Metaphor: A figure of speech that compares two different things by stating that one thing is another. For instance, Levine uses metaphors to convey the idea of work as something powerful and consuming, such as when he describes the saw “singing” in the bone.

    3. Repetition: The intentional repetition of words, phrases, or sounds for emphasis. Levine employs repetition in the poem, particularly with the repetition of the phrase “What work is” to underscore the central theme and highlight the various dimensions and implications of work.

    4. Alliteration: The repetition of the same consonant sounds at the beginning of nearby words. Levine uses alliteration to create musicality and rhythm, such as in the line “sweat that stuck to the work” where the repetition of the “s” sound adds a sense of texture and intensity.

    5. Enjambment: The continuation of a sentence or thought without a pause beyond the end of a line or stanza. Levine employs enjambment throughout the poem, allowing the lines to flow smoothly and creating a sense of continuity.

    6. Simile: A figure of speech that compares two different things using “like” or “as.” Though not as prevalent in the poem, Levine does use similes to enhance the imagery and meaning, such as when he describes the unemployed as “staring at some site” like statues.

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