1. Simile- simile is used when the poet directly compares one thing to another by using the words “as” or “like”. In this poem, the poet uses simile when she says “ He says you are like a father to him”. Here the gunman is directly compared to t]a father for the son.
2. Irony – irony is used when what the poet says is in contradiction to what they actually mean. In this poem, the poet uses irony when she talks about how ironical the situation is that the gunman is like a father to him because a father would never hand his son a weapon of crime and violence.
3. Allusion – allusion is used when the words or phrases in a poem refer to something else. In this poem the poet uses a lot of biblical allusions. For example “Judas”, “Psalms” and “Absalom”.

The Woman Speaks to the Man who has Employed her Son Summary