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What are the Poetic Devices in the Poem Palanquin Bearers by Sarojini Naidu?

What are the Poetic Devices in the Poem Palanquin Bearers by Sarojini Naidu?

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  1. Following literary devices/figures of speech have been used in the poem Palanquin Bearers:

    1. Simile: It is a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind using “like” or “as”. In the poem, we find ample of examples of simile. e.g. “She sways like a flower”, “She skims like a bird”, “She floats like a laugh”, “We bear her along like a pearl on a string”, “She hangs like a star”, “She springs like a beam”, “She falls like a tear “.
    2. Metaphor: It is a figure of speech involving direct comparison of two different things, without the use of as or like. e.g. wind of our song”. In this phrase, the poet calls melody as wind. “brow of the tide”. Here the top layer of water tide is called brow.
    3. Personification: It involves attribution of human characteristics to non-human things. e.g. “lips of a dream”, “brow of the tide”.
    4. Repetition: It is a figure of speech involving repetition of words or phrases for poetic effect. e.g. “Lightly, O lightly”, “Gaily, O gaily”, “Softly, O softly”.
    5. Alliteration: It is the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. e.g. “She floats like a laugh from the lips”, “She springs like a beam on the brow of the tide”.

    Read summary of this poem.

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